The tragedy of Babri Masjid demolition
Will the destroyers ever be punished? Photo: blogspot
MR. Kuldip Nayar's "Politics of Babri Masjid" in Daily Star November 27 was an eye opener for me. It was more so because it was by somebody like Kuldip Nayar.
It was even more of a surprise for me that the commission was a one man affair and Justice Manmohan Singh Liberhan, the one person appointed, submitted his report after 17 long years in a country like India (not Bangladesh!). Mr. Nayar also pointed out that Justice Liberhan, in his 900-page report, did not explain the cause of this long delay.
The report, however, has been revealing. It was more or less known that people like Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were at the helm of the job even at that time, i.e. December 1992, and it was in the air that it was going to happen. But the central government did not do anything to prevent it on the plea that the centre could not interfere in the affair of Uttar Pradesh unless the state governor asked for it. This is considered by Mr. Kuldip Nayar as merely an alibi. All these were only hearsay at that time. But it is now in the report of a justice commissioned by the state for an official inquiry.
Another surprise was the name of Atal Behari Vajpayee because he was considered to be a liberal in the BJP compared to the others. Can you imagine Vajpayee, who later became the prime minister, said on December 5, one day before the demolition of the Masjid, that the ground would "be levelled" and a yangya (religious celebration) held at that place. And India, in its constitution, proclaims itself to be a secular state. Even Arundhati Roy mentions this state sponsored action against the Muslims in Gujrat in her famous speech "Come September" delivered in US in 2002.
The Liberhan Commission said that these three top leaders were among the 68 who were "culpable," and that the destruction of the masjid was "preventable." Mr. Nayar adds: "Not only that, the three leaders acted against the Supreme Court's order 'not to disturb the status quo' " In other words, they made a mockery of the country's judiciary and the constitution..."
It is even sadder to see that even after Justice Liberhan's report, the government should say that there wouldn't be punitive action against anybody. Nayar even says: "Some of the guilty are saying openly that they are not repentant over what they have done."
It is even more shocking if you remember that in the same country a person as powerful as Ms. Indira Gandhi, when she was the incumbent prime minister, was barred from taking part in the ensuing election by the famous Allahabad High Court order because of as inoffensive an offence as using government transport when she went for an official tour but then made a political party speech during the same tour!
However, leaving aside Justice Liberhan's report, I would now like to comment about Babar's alleged destruction of a Rama-Mandir there to build a masjid. Did he actually destroy any temple there? We know that Babar was a great warrior, being a descendent of Timur Lang (or Tamerlane) on his father's side and of the great Chengiz Khan on his mother's side. But I wonder how many of us know about Babar's intimate personality, his innate character, his social aptitude, and his human qualities as a person.
He was a real gentleman even by modern standards. He was highly educated, a literary person, an author, poet, a great connoisseur of painting and music and an appreciator of beauty. He imbibed all these qualities from his both parent's families, who were also highly educated. His father Umar was a passionate reader of books and a skilled reciter. Babar wrote a poem of 2,000 lines, and in conversations he would express himself in a few poetical lines.
His great book Babarnama is his autobiography, and is mainly based on his methodical and meticulously written diary. In his diary, he always used to describe not only the terrain (geography) of the country he conquered but also the people, their behaviour, nature, and even the flora and fauna of that area. Therefore, Babarnama is in fact a history of the countries of a large part of Asia in all aspects, including societal and anthropological studies of those countries.
I want to mention here that although Babar's dynasty in India is known as "Moghul" in the sense of the Mongol race of Chengiz Khan, Babar himself never liked to be called a Moghal. He actually despised the Moghals and mentioned them in his Babarnama with reproach and dislike, saying, "mischief and devastation must always be expected from Moghul hordes."
Now coming on to the real matter after the prelude. I want to quote from Prof. R. Nath's (a non-Muslim professor of history of Agra University) India as seen by Babar. Prof. Nath says: "But in spite of his thirty six years' ventures in war, he was essentially a man of peace: honest and graphic chronicler, poet, ardent lover of nature and maker of beautiful gardens; artist, aesthete, and above all, a humanist. He was well bred and a thoroughly civilised and disciplined man." But the actual crux of the point is as mentioned by R. Nath is that "there is absolutely no record to show that demolition of temples was ever a program of any of his military expeditions"
This book by Prof R. Nath was first published in 1996, i.e. four years after the destruction of the Babri Masjid. Therefore, Mr. Nayar very poignantly said: "The question is not only legal but also moral and political [...] Those who have no clean hands should not be allowed to defile the temple of Parliament. And if they do so, what should be the punishment when facts come to light?" But BJP came to power through election. Vajpayee became prime minister; Advani became home minister and Joshi the human resources development minister.
There is something more striking in the book. Babur wrote a will, which he addressed to his son and heir Humayun. This was preserved in the State Library, Bhopal C.I. A photocopy was sent on December 11, 1921, by B. Ghosal, the curator of the library, to Sir (Syed) Ross Masood, the then director of public instruction in the then Nizam's government of Hyderabad.
Babar's will reads (translation by Prof. R Nath):
"O my son, the Empire of Hindustan consists of various religions. Domination and sovereignty whereof has been bestowed on you by the grace of the Almighty. It is incumbent that religious bigotries should be wiped off the tablet of the heart, and justice meted out to each religion according to its own tenets. Specially, abstain from sacrifice of cows as this would tend to win the hearts of the people of Hindustan and the populace of the country would be loyal to the Royal favours. The temples and places of worship of whatever religion under the Royal authority may not be desecrated. Such justice may be adopted that the King may be pleased with Rayyat (subjects) and the Rayyat with the King. The advancement of Islam is better achieved with the weapon of obligation rather than the sword of tyranny. Overlook the dispute between Sunnis and Shias since such weakness still persists in Islam. Establish administration with the Rayyat of various communities in accordance with the four principal elements so that the body of the Empire may be free from different diseases. The model work done by his Late Majesty Timur (Tamerlane) Sahib-Qiran should always be kept before the mind so that you may become mature in the work of administration." (Written on Jamadi' al-Awal 1, 935 H -- January 11, 1529 AD -- when he was camping at Dholpur.)
Babar died the next year, 1530. This will is additional testimony of his sagacity, thought for his Rayyats and conquered people, his capacity of administration and, above all, his education, upbringing, and human nature.
What more proof is required for Vajpayee, Advani, Joshi and associates of Babar's innocence in any destruction of a temple?