Skip to main content

Why it is important to remember a Temple, a Gurdwara, and a Masjid on August 5

By Nikhil Mandalaparthy
August 5, 2021 is a day to remember three houses of worship, from three different religious traditions, in three different countries. Each of these houses of worship belong to minority communities in their respective countries, and they have each been targeted by those who subscribe to majoritarian political ideologies.

Ganesh Mandir, Pakistan

On August 5 this year, a Muslim mob numbering in the hundreds vandalized a Hindu temple in the town of Bhong in Pakistan’s Rahim Yar Khan district, in the southern Punjab region. According to local police, around 100 Hindu families live in the area.
A few weeks ago, a nine-year-old local Hindu boy was arrested under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws for allegedly urinated at the library of a local Muslim seminary. He was later granted bail by a local court, and the local Hindu elders apologized to the seminary leaders -- but soon after, a social media post urged local Muslims to “take revenge for the desecration.” The mob who gathered at the temple smashed the temple’s windows, doors, and murtis (images) of Hindu gods and goddesses. Protesters also blocked a local highway for hours.
As we have previously written, Pakistan’s draconian blasphemy laws have long been used to criminalize and target non-Muslims (Hindus, Christians) and even those whom the Pakistani state refuses to recognize as Muslim (Ahmadis).
Although Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has promised to rebuild the temple, this incident is part of a long trend of Hindu temples being attacked in Pakistan. In the last year alone, seven temples have been attacked across the Pakistani provinces of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Singh.

Oak Creek Gurdwara, United States of America

Nine years ago, on August 5th, 2012, a neo-Nazi white supremacist attacked the Sikh gurdwara of Oak Creek, Wisconsin. He opened fire on the congregation while they were worshiping, killing six community members: Paramjit Kaur (age 41), Satwant Singh Kaleka (65), one of the gurdwara’s granthis, Prakash Singh (39), Sita Singh (41), Ranjit Singh (49), and Suveg Singh (84). Another granthi, Baba Punjab Singh, was shot in the head, and died from his injuries last year.
Each year, our Sikh siblings have commemorated this horrific incident by honoring the lives of those who were lost, celebrating the resilience of Oak Creek’s Sikh community, and reminding us that white supremacy is very much alive and well in America today. According to Sikh scholar and community activist Simran Jeet Singh, the Oak Creek massacre serves as a reminder to all of us that “ending racism is a matter of life-and-death.” Our friends at the Sikh Coalition pledge that “We remain relentless in our efforts to combat hate through the legal system, policy change, education, and community mobilization--and we continue to draw strength from the resilience and chardi kala spirit of the Oak Creek sangat.”

Babri Masjid, India

One year ago today in the northern Indian city of Ayodhya, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducted the Bhumi Pujan (ground-breaking ceremony) for a temple to Lord Rama which is being built over the ruins of a medieval mosque known as the Babri Masjid. Since the 19th century, both Hindus and Muslims have laid claims to the site of the mosque. Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s in particular, Hindu nationalist organizations across India mobilized Hindus to demand the destruction of the Babri Masjid by claiming that the mosque was built over the birthplace of Lord Rama.
On December 6, 1992, a Hindu mob stormed the mosque and illegally tore it down. This act of violence triggered Hindu-Muslim riots across India, and resulted in “retaliatory” attacks on Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Since then, Hindu nationalist organizations and political parties, namely Modi’s BJP, have demanded the construction of a temple to Rama on top of the illegally-demolished mosque.
On November 9, 2019, India’s Supreme Court agreed in a controversial decision to grant the disputed land of the Babri Masjid to Hindus, clearing the way for the construction of a Rama temple. Muslims were to be given another plot of land on which they could build a new mosque. And on August 5th, 2020, the construction of this temple began, inaugurated by the highest leaders of the Indian state.
As we have previously shown, many Hindus have also spoken up against the demolition of the Babri Masjid and the construction of a Rama temple over its ruins. Yugal Kishore Shastri, mahant (priest) of Ayodhya’s Ram-Janki temple, opposes the BJP’s politics of hate and believes that the construction of the Rama temple over the Babri Masjid is wrong. He told us, “Lord Ram is very personal to me. He lives in you and me, and doesn’t need a temple.” Similarly, HfHR board member Sravya Tadepalli writes that “the faith of the Bharatiya Janata Party and other Hindu nationalist groups is not my faith. My Rama is not the same as their Rama. I grew up hearing stories about the Rama who believed every person in his kingdom needed to be treated equally. My Hinduism is not the same as their Hinduism.”

Victims of Majoritarian Ideologies of Hate

Each of these houses of worship -- Pakistan’s Ganesh Mandir, the USA’s Oak Creek Gurdwara, and India’s Babri Masjid -- were attacked by seemingly different groups or individuals: a Muslim mob, a white supremacist, and a Hindu mob. What all the perpetrators share is a commitment to a majoritarian, exclusive, ultranationalist ideologies in which certain minority groups are seen as perpetually foreign, suspect, and unwelcome.
On this day, let us resolve to speak up for the rights of oppressed minorities across the world, irrespective of their caste, class, religion, gender, sexuality, or nationality.
I want to close with a few lines by an Indian Urdu poet, Jagan Nath Azad (1918-2004). Journalist Saquib Salim writes that on the day the Babri Masjid was destroyed, “Azad was flying from Jammu to Delhi.”
Azad’s writings reveal that “a co-passenger informed him that a dome of Babri mosque had been demolished. This news pained him deeply and he wrote a three-stanza poem while onboard. Upon reaching the home of his son he was informed that the mosque had been completely razed. Engulfed in anguish he wrote further stanzas to the poem, one which helps us understand the shock and sadness that all Indians – Hindus and Muslims alike – felt. For Azad, this destruction harmed not just Islam but also Hinduism. Being a Hindu himself, he feels that this act shamed the whole religion. At an international stage, India lost its reputation of being secular.”
In these lines, Azad is speaking from the perspective of a Hindu horrified by the demolition of the Babri Masjid. But these sentiments are undoubtedly similar to a white American horrified by the attack on the Oak Creek Gurdwara, or a Pakistani Muslim horrified by the destruction of the Ganesh Mandir.
This August 5th, and each day going forward, let us pledge to stand up to violent, majoritarian, exclusionary ideologies, and do everything we can to stand up for minorities in our communities.
***
Your deed has not harmed Islam a bit
But you have stabbed a knife into
the heart of the Hindu religion
You have mutilated the face of India
You have planted thorns in its path to progress
Mosque and temple, both are the abode of God:
My Hindu religion has taught me only this much
This is not religion, but the politics of hate
You have been taught a satanic lesson
This mosque is still intact in the hearts of loving people
Do you know this, destroyer of the mosque?
This country is not yet empty of good people
Those who heal broken hearts still reside here
- Jagan Nath Azad (translated by Saquib Salim)
---

Comments

TRENDING

Global Ambedkarites in deep shock over killing of Buddhist Ambedkarite youth in Nanded

Joint  Ambedkar International Mission and Ambedkar Association of North America statement on killing of an Ambedkarite Buddhist youth for celebrating Dr Ambedkar Jayanti (birth anniversary) in his village on 1st June 2023 in Bondhar Haveli village, Nanded, Maharashtra: *** Every single public event hosted by any social or political organization in Maharashtra is not completed without citing Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and yet an Ambedkarite Buddhist youth, Akshay Bhalerao was brutally murdered for celebrating Dr Ambedkar Jayanti in the village Bondhar, Nanded, Maharashtra by dominant caste goons. Caste Atrocities are common in such villages where the Scheduled Castes and Buddhists are daily humiliated, mocked, or abused with caste slurs and women subjected to sexual violence. 

How this top Maoist leader couldn't extricate completely from the Left adventurist line

By Harsh Thakor  On the 31st of May Katakam Sudarshan, known as Comrade Anand, breathed his last, at the age of 69. Anand was a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Maoists) and an important leader of the revolutionary movement of India.

Discussion on making school education meaningful to vulnerable communities

ActionAid note on workshop to boost National Curriculum Framework operations: *** Leading educationists and activists striving to make education meaningful to vulnerable communities gathered in Delhi to discuss the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE). Acting in response to the call of the NCF Steering Committee appointed by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, ActionAid Association had organised the meeting to gather feedback on the draft NCFSE. This is part of ActionAid Association’s commitment to promote inclusive and gender-responsive education. The two-day national workshop titled ‘NCF Perspectives: Seeking Feedback on National Curriculum Framework (NCF)’ on May 30 and 31, 2023, was held at India International Centre, New Delhi. The workshop aimed to ensure a structured approach to gathering feedback from key stakeholders and enhancing their active participation in shaping the response sought by the Government of India. Stakeholders representing e

Abrogation of Art 370: Increasing alienation, relentless repression, simmering conflict

One year after the abrogation by the Central Government of Art. 370 in Kashmir, what is the situation in the Valley. Have the promises of peace, normalcy and development been realised? What is the current status in the Valley? Here is a detailed note by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties , “Jammu & Kashmir: One Year after Abrogation of Art. 370: Increasing Alienation, Relentless Repression, Simmering Conflict”:

Release of dabang neta: Rule of law can't be allowed to be slave to political rhetoric

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  When we look to politicians for solutions and politics as the 'final solution' for every evil then we are disappointed most of the time. In politics, we knowingly or unknowingly become part of the propaganda tool of the ruling elite which exists everywhere across different castes. We often provide issues and talk about them in binaries which suit our elites. The minorities among the marginalised who have no political space and representation rarely get heard by these majoritarian parties whose agenda remain power communities. Every political party in today's time is following the 'successful' formula of 'democracy' which is keeping the 'powerful' 'jaatis' with them leaving aside the marginalised one. The BJP started this but yes they cobbled together all other communities too through a diverse narrative.

J&K RTI activist denied opportunity to address audience, bring forward critical issues

Statement by Er. Irfan Banka, Founder of J&K RTI Foundation and convener of the Nalae Ferozpora Bachav Movement, regarding the incident of official misconduct during the My Town My Pride Jan Abhiyan Program and communication to Raj Bhavan: *** Er. Irfan Banka, a prominent RTI Activist and advocate, has come forward to address an incident of misconduct that occurred during the My Town My Pride Jan Abhiyan Program held at Mugam Town Hall in  Budgam. Additionally, Er. Irfan Banka has communicated the matter to Raj Bhavan, seeking appropriate action. During the event, Er. Irfan Banka was denied the opportunity to address the audience and bring forward critical issues concerning the people and services in the community, including waste management, traffic management, and the achievement of sustainable development goals. The incident involved the Additional Registrar Co-operative Kashmir, who not only prevented Er. Irfan Banka from speaking but also subjected him to public humiliation. E

Why are 17 Indian cos, including Sterlite, blacklisted by Norway bank

By Venkatesh Nayak* Readers may recall the gory incidents that took place at Thoothukudi (Tuticorin) in Tamil Nadu in the southern part of India on 22 May, 2018. Thirteen protesters died on the spot when the police opened fire to disperse an assemblage of thousands of local residents and representatives of civil society groups. They were protesting against the adverse environmental impact of the industrial operations of Sterlite Copper which runs a copper smelter plant in the area. Accusations against the company have ranged from polluting local water resources to plans for expanding the installed capacity of the plant without the necessary environmental clearances. A ground report published in The Wire recently, mentions the decision taken by Norges Bank a few years ago to not invest funds from Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) in Sterlite “due to an unacceptable risk of complicity in current and future severe environmental damage and systematic human rights violations

Sengol imbroglio suggests reason why Modi, BJP don't respect modern Indian history

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  The new parliament building opened on February 28. It looks it is not the Parliament but part of #Pratinidhisabhas ' started by earstwhile #princelystates in India. The #BJP for long has been acting as if India is a #Kingdom and Modi ji the new #King of India. Even at the coronations of Kings, you find a large number of people, and dignitaries but look at the opening ceremony we have only one face as if he build everything. Is it the dream of a republic.

Danger ahead: Smartphones making teens sexually smart, but mentally disturbed

By Harasankar Adhikari  We live in a digitally globalised society. Bombarded consumerism and imitation of foreign cultures and practises reshape our everyday lives. Life choices and lifestyles are the driving forces of modernity at present. People of almost all ages are within this realm and rhythm of consumerism for happiness.

Cave of Spleen - a feminist perspective: Status of women in early 18th century England

The Cave of Spleen: Aubrey Beardsley's illustration for Pope's “The Rape of the Lock” By Pragya Ranjan  "The Rape of the Lock" by Alexander Pope published in 1712 is a mock-heroic narrative which satirically glorifies trivial incident of cutting of locks of protagonist Belinda. This poem was written in the Augustan Era (1660-1784) which is marked by the period of scientific reason and rationality, whose effect can be seen on the writers of those times. This timeline is particularly important to analyse the episode of the Cave of Spleen.