AYODHYA – Some 2,000 baton-wielding Indian police were on duty in theflashpoint city of Ayodhya on Thursday to prevent any clashes around theanniversary of the demolition of a mosque.
Hindu zealots reduced the Babri mosque to rubble in 1992, kicking off riotsacross India that left thousands dead, most of them Muslims, and the site’sfuture has become a major touchstone issue in Indian politics.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) came to power in 2014 pledging to construct a temple on the samespot, but the issue remains tied up in the courts.
The anniversary of the demolition is always tense with some hardlinersseeking to commemorate the event, and on Thursday police were taking nochances, standing behind yellow steel barricades, checking vehicles andstopping some passers-by.
With around 1,500 Hindu devotees visiting the city, watchtower guards andsecurity cameras were trained on the ruins of the Babri mosque, which areprotected by a high steel fence.
There was no violence but police arrested eight people including a localpriest who threatened to set himself on fire.
Many Hindus believe Ayodhya marks the birthplace of the deity Ram, and thatthe mosque which stood there for 460 years was only built after thedemolition of an earlier temple.
Modi, running for a second term in 2019, has faced some disquiet from hiscore supporters who feel that he has not done enough for the cause ofhaving a temple built.
Uttar Pradesh’s state premier Yogi Adityanath, a firebrand monk who haslong campaigned for the temple, has also unveiled plans to build theworld’s largest statue in Ayodhya — a 221-metre (725-foot) bronze Ram.
On an average day, a few thousand Hindu devotees visit the makeshift templethat was established after 1992.
On Thursday dozens of holy men dressed in saffron robes meanwhile gatheredat an auditorium, chanting “Jai Shri Ram” (“Hail Lord Ram”) and pledging tohave a temple in place before next year’s anniversary.
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Muslim groups meanwhile held small commemorations of those who lost theirlives in 1992.
“All we want is peace and harmony. Muslims and Hindus of Ayodhya havealways lived in harmony but it is the politicians who stoke hatred fortheir electoral gains,” said Mohammed Shahzad, who runs a meat shop in thecity.
“The mosque in my neighbourhood was attacked during the riots in 1992. Ourhome was set on fire, we somehow managed to save our lives. We don’t want arepeat of the violence at any cost.”
Kalyani Ubhe, a tourist, said: “A temple must be built here. It is a matterof Hindu faith and devotion. We have a right to pray at the birthplace ofLord Ram.”
This was echoed by Sharad Sharma, the local spokesman for Vishwa HinduParishad, a militant right-wing outfit linked to Modi’s BJP thatco-organised a rally by tens of thousands of devotees in Ayodhya lastSunday.
Another rally is set to take place in Delhi this Sunday.
“Our Lord Ram is being made to run around the courts for so many years…There is no question about the fact that Ayodhya is the birthplace of Ram.We want a magnificent temple to be built there,” Sharma said.
“Our patience is running out. We can’t wait indefinitely for somethingwhich is our right. It is a question of Hindu identity and faith. We wantan ordinance to be brought as the courts have been sitting on this matterfor decades,” he said.
“Once a grand temple is built here, tens of thousands of devotees willcome.” – APP/AFP
