Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
New Delhi (Agenzia Fides) – “The Ayodhya verdict, based on populism and on political compromise, could have serious repercussions on religious minorities in India. The Hindu extremists who destroyed the Babri Masjid mosque in 1992 claim the victory and in the same way, claim at least 3,000 other sites with places of worship belonging to other religious minorities.” This is what Fides has learned in a statement sent by Catholic John Dayal, Indian human rights activist and General Secretary of the All-India Christian Council, a group bringing together representatives of all the Christian confessions. It is very active in the defense of religious minorities.
Dayal tells Fides: "The verdict, with the arrangement of dividing the area disputed between Hindus and Muslims, was regarded as the only way to create peace between the two communities. But I think it could have the opposite effect: the Court, with this decision, has given legal credibility, without historical or archaeological evidence, to the Hindu mythology on the birthplace of the god Rama, on the ruins of which was eventually built the mosque. This is why the Hindu extremist groups, who leveled it in 1992, consider the verdict as a glorious victory and have taken it up enthusiastically. The head of the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, “National Volunteer Corps”) has already called on all the militants by launching a national campaign to build a magnificent temple to the god Rama, and some politicians like Lal Krishna Advani, of the Hindu nationalist party Bharatiya Janata Party, have expressed their favorable opinion."
Dayal noted, at this point, serious threats to religious minorities: "According to academics and lawyers, the Court, accepting the Hindu mythology as a real fact, are opening a Pandora's box that could have serious repercussions on religious minorities across India. Indeed, there are many other similar cases of disputed territories between religious groups in which archival documents and archaeological evidence are scarce. In relations between Hindus and Muslims alone, there are already three other major disputes. But, according to Hindu extremist movements like the Sangh Parivar, there are at least 3,000 places of worship belonging to minority religious communities, which are supposedly built on the ruins of Hindu temples. Today, following the precedence of Ayodhya, such claims could multiply or take on greater force, with negative effects on interreligious relations."
The Secretary continues: "Moreover, the decision ignores the law by which the land of a religious building - temple, mosque, or church - has been recognized and established forever from the time of the independence of India, August 15, 1947. And no one can usurp the place or building of another religious community."
The verdict of Ayodhya, reiterates Dayal, is a "wake-up call for religious minorities in India. What worries me most is to see that the courts do not decide on the basis of evidence or the law, but considering the feelings of the people. This gives the majority community, Hindus, an extraordinary power in a multicultural country like India."
A positive note, according to Dayal, was the attention given by the government and police on the matter: the control of the militants, the deployment of security forces, the blockade of the collective SMS. "This means that minorities can and should be protected," he concludes. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 01/10/2010)
