Despite acknowledging the absence of evidence supporting the temple demolition and recognising the destruction of Babri Masjid as a criminal act, the Supreme Court awarded the site to Hindus, prioritising faith over the rule of law.
Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) has said the January 22 consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, is a glaring symbol of historical injustice.
The temple has been built on the ruins of the 15th-century Babri Masjid, demolished by Hindu zealots in 1992.
IAMC, a staunch advocate for India’s pluralist and tolerant ethos, said in a statement on Friday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is orchestrating a grand spectacle in Ayodhya hosting over 6,000 guests. Simultaneously, Hindu far-right groups have planned car rallies, events, and parades across the United States, marking a distressing extension of this divisive celebration.
The Ram Temple, standing on the remnants of the historic Babri Masjid, symbolises the injustice inflicted by both the state and the judiciary upon Indian Muslims in particular and global Muslims in general, the IAMC statement said.
“We denounce this grandiose celebration of the temple built upon the ruins of the Babri Masjid. This event is not just a consecration but a glaring endorsement of the impunity enjoyed by those who orchestrated the demolition and a betrayal of the principles of justice. It is also a stark reminder of the failure of the Indian judiciary to deliver justice to Muslims and uphold democratic and secular values of the constitution,” the statement cited IAMC President Mohammed Jawad as saying.
IAMC Executive Director Rasheed Ahmed said: “The recent widespread festivities in the United States are concerning. The celebration of Ram Temple consecration and glorification of Babri Masjid demolition on a global scale is a blatant endorsement of religious intolerance.”
On December 6, 1992, the historic mosque was demolished by a mob of over 150,000 Hindu extremists, including members and leaders of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal and the BJP.
The aftermath saw large-scale riots throughout the country, leading to the deaths of thousands, predominantly Muslims. Almost three decades later, the Supreme Court of India, in November 2019, handed over the site to Hindus to build a temple, effectively legitimising one of the most criminal acts against a Muslim place of worship in independent India’s history.
In its judgment, the court, while denying the Hindu far-right claim that Babri Masjid was built after demolishing a temple, said: “The ASI report has left unanswered a critical part of the remit which was made to it, namely, a determination of whether a Hindu temple had been demolished to pave the way for the construction of the mosque. A determination of title was not obviously within the remit of ASI.”
The court also termed the demolition of Babri mosque a “calculated act.”
“During the pendency of the suits, the entire structure of the mosque was brought down in a calculated act of destroying a place of public worship. Muslims have been wrongly deprived of a mosque which was constructed over 450 years ago,” said the order of the then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, and Justices S.A. Bobde, D.Y. Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S.A. Nazeer.
Former Supreme Court justice A.K. Ganguly called the judgement “flawed” and said if he were a judge on this case, he would have “directed the restoration of the mosque.”
“Now the Supreme Court says that underneath the mosque there was some structure. But there are no facts to show that the structure was a temple. The Supreme Court’s verdict says they don’t have evidence to say that a temple was demolished and a mosque was built. There could have been any structure below – a Buddhist stupa, a Jain structure, a church. But it may not have been a temple. So on what basis did the Supreme Court find that the land belongs to Hindus or to Ram?” Ganguly asked.
India’s eminent academic and legal scholar noted that the court’s judgement relied more on “the mystery of the faith over rule of law.”
In November 2020, a special court in India acquitted 32 accused, including senior RSS and BJP leaders including Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti, of criminal conspiracy to demolish Babri Masjid.
This shocking verdict not only disregarded Supreme Court orders but also overlooked the findings of the Liberhan Commission, which was set up in 1992 to probe the demolition of the mosque and concluded that the demolition was meticulously planned.
The commission had said the mobilisation of the cadres of RSS, Bajrang Dal, BJP and Shiv Sena in Ayodhya was neither “spontaneous nor voluntary” but “orchestrated and planned.”
The subsequent failure of the Indian judiciary has encouraged attacks on other mosques and shrines, especially in Mathura and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.
The IAMC statement urged the international community to scrutinise these developments and question the rise of Hindu fundamentalism, the erosion of democracy, the decline of the judiciary, the soaring human rights and religious freedom violations, and advocate for a country where diversity is celebrated, not targeted and annihilated.