REMEMBERING THE BABRI MOSQUE DEMOLITION

Twenty eight years ago , on the 6th December 1992 , the Babri mosque in Ayodhya India was torn down.

A day before the demolition of Babri Mosque, right wing Hindu activists organized a rehearsal for the destruction.

The demolition of the 16th century Babri Mosque in Ayodhya by Hindu nationalists lead to religious riots in which 2,000 mostly Muslim Indians were killed.

The so called Ayodhya movement, the right-wing mobilisation in India for the construction of a temple for Lord Ram on the site where Babri Masjid – a 16th-century mosque – stood , was executed in the visible knowledge of the Indian authorities.

The attack and demolition of Babri Masjid was not an act of spontaneous rage; it was a conspiracy. It was a premeditated plan with an ill intention to provoke a religious riot.

It cannot be denied that prominent BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee addresses 
kar sevaks in Lucknow, the Uttar Pradesh capital , in a provocative speech. The speech was seen by many as alluding to razing the Babri mosque.

A day after the speech, over 150,000 gather at Ayodhya following VHP’s announcement to perform a kar seva next to the mosque. As senior leaders address the gathering with a call to build a temple at the site, the mob turns violent. Kar sevaks demolished the Babri mosque in the presence of top BJP leaders, including LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, and Uma Bharti.

However the Indian court acquitted all 32 people accused of crimes in the 1992 attack and demolition of the 16th-century mosque that sparked Hindu-Muslim violence leaving 2,000 people dead.

Four senior leaders of the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, were among the defendants in a trial.

The four BJP leaders were accused of making inflammatory speeches that incited tens of thousands of their followers who had camped out in the city of Ayodhya ahead of the attack on the mosque.

After the demolition of the Babri Masjid, on the evening of December 6, 1992, kar sevaks started attacking Muslim residents of Ayodhya, ransacking and demolishing their houses. Eighteen Muslims were murdered, almost all their houses and shops were torched and destroyed, including 23 local mosques. Additionally, riots broke out in different parts of the country, including Mumbai, and around 2,000 people were killed.

We call all Muslims to mark this day as a Babri Mosque Black Day. This tragic day must be remembered to remind Muslims that they must stand united in the worst attrocities afflicted on Muslims and they will never allow any provocation to distract from their true path of holding on the teachings of Islam.

The 200 million Muslims in India cannot be denied to have equal treatment according to the law and rights as citizens.

We demand that the Indian authorities to protect the rights of all minorities according to the constitution of India. India cannot allow the nationalist and farcist group to prevail in denying the rights of the minorities.

We call the Indian government to stop the hate speeches by political leaders and extremist groups targeting Muslim minorities.

Claiming to be the biggest democracy in the world , India should conform to the rights of religious faith and practices.

We call on all peace loving people and civil societies of India not to condone hate campaigns and to rise against religious violance.

The verdict by the Indian court to allow the demolishing of the Babri Mosque and to be replaced by the temple of Lord Ram is regretteble . We register our strong objection to the erroneous decision of equitting the religious and political farcist leaders who orchestrated the attack on tge Babri Mosque

Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid
President Malaysian Council of Islamic Organizations.

Datuk Seri Syekh Ahmad Awang
Chair Alliance of World Mosque in Defence of Al Aqsa.

Datuk Wira Syekh Abdul Ghani Samsudin
Chair Secretariate for the Ulama Assembly of Asia

Dhajudeen Shahul Hameed President
Federation of Malaysian Indian Muslim Associations (PERMIM)

Sabarudin Abdul Rahman
President Inspirasi Muhibah India Muslim (IMIM)

Mohd Razali Yusof
President Perintis Malabar Malaysia(PPMM)

Munower Sadiq Kader Sultan
President
Young Muslim Sports Club Penang

Dato Najmudeen Kader
President Liga Muslim Pulau Pinang