Today is December 6. 24 years have passed since an army of kar sevaks brought down the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. One would assume, 24 years is a long time to resolve disputes.
First what exactly happened on December, 1992.
Right-wing organisations, led by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), called on Hindus across the country and asked them to mobilise in Ayodhya at the site of Ram Temple, which many regarded as the birth place of the Hindu deity Ram. The supporters of the Ram Temple cause contended that the mosque on the site, Babri Masjid, had been built where there used to be a temple.
On December 6, 1992, after months of relentless campaigning, Hindu zealots converged at the temple site and pulled down the Babri Masjid. The push to raze the mosque was seen as being supported by senior BJP politicians, including the party’s current ideologue LK Advani.
The bloody aftermath of the historic event saw religious riots erupting in different cities across the country, which resulted in the death of at least 2,000 Indians.
One would also assume that with technological development, better modes of communication, improved economy people would be more prone to leave behind communal divides and begin with a clean slate. However, the fact that even after almost a quarter of a century has passed since the most horrific political-communal event in our country, the hatred remains intact. To be really honest, the hatred has only multiplied. A cursory look at some of the tweets today tells a tale of the sharp divide. This divide is manifested in the trending hashtags today: Babri Masjid and Shri Ram.
Here is a motley of tweets from both the trends.
Religious rights of minority Hindus are being snatched everyday in Bangladesh..
Why hypocrite Liberals are only vociferous on #BabriMasjid ? pic.twitter.com/FnID3NrNBA— জয়দীপ ® (@Joydeep_911) December 6, 2016
When a member of the CBFC thinks like this:
Today is 24th Martyrdom anniversary of #BabriMasjid
Hindustan is only for “Hindu” pic.twitter.com/v14xEqH3Io— Syed Munim (@SMunimPK) December 6, 2016
Muslims during their over 800 year rule of India have destroyed over 30,000 temples to build Mosques over them. #Perspective #BabriMasjid
— siya♔ (@siyatara) December 6, 2016
Then there are BJP leaders like Subramanian Swamy who are hell bent on making the issue a political agenda in the upcoming UP elections. He often disseminates his wishes and demands through social media.
Social media is a modern-day tool. Often used by youngsters to express themselves, share their lives and bring attention to issues that are being ignored. But that fact that such a tool is being used with ulterior motives to continue the game of communal hatred is deplorable. Even if the young generation wants to move ahead and begin with a clean slate, they are lost in the zealot ness of s0cial media.
An incident like Babri Masjid demotion might not happen again. But it is sad that modern tools of expression and communication help recreate and amplify the hatred for the younger generation year after year. It’s high time that we let the younger generation decipher this incident just on facts and not on sentiments propelled by social media trolls.
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