Islam, Arshad. Babri Mosque: A Historic Bone of
Contention
·
Pg. 259 colonialism
strengthened their grip on south Asia by dividing/weakening groups on issues of
caste, color, race, religion
·
“The ongoing Hindu-Muslim
conflict in India is largely the outcome of these policies, particularly those
of the British during their 200 year control of the Subcontinent.”
·
“divide and rule” policy of
British to create chasm between Hindus and Muslims
o
New imposed labels: oppressors
vs. the oppressed
·
British gained sympathy of
Hindu masses by appealing to historical resentment of Muslims and supported Hindu
religious claims through literature, gazetteers, reports
o
Pg.260 including the Hindu
claim over the babri Mosque in Ayodhyo
·
260-263 Hindu
scripture, archaeology, and legend hold purport various histories of the town,
but it’s sure that this was a multi-religious center for Jainism, Buddhism, and
Hinduism in early India, and then to Islam upon the Muslims’ arrival (many
mosques, monuments, and saints’ tombs)
·
264 British East
India Co. focused on curbing Muslim control from the time of their arrival in
Awadh region 1774-85; placed an army there and looted the Queen in lieu of
payment; the lands were gradually seized completely
·
265 “In 1870 Patrick
Carnegy published a regional history of the area that claimed the Mughals had
destroyed 3 temples in Ayodhya and replaced them with mosques because in his
words, of ‘the well-known Mohamedan principle of enforcing their religion on
all those whom they conquered.’”
o
Well that’s ironic….
·
Another, A.S. Beveridge, told
story of Babur destroying the temple to build a mosque out of jealousy of the
temple’s sanctity
o
“Like the obedient follower
of Muhammad, [Babur] was in intolerance of another faith, would regard the substitution
of a temple by a Mosque as dutiful and worthy.”
o
“Beveridge thus
unconvincingly framed her analysis, like many of her British compatriots, on
the so-called “dogmatism” and “fundamentalism” of the Muslims
·
266-267 British
encouraged a Hindu revival of sorts in the town by building more Hindu temples
and rewarding Hindu landlords and monks/abbots with confiscated Muslim land
after the successful suppression of 1857 Indian revolt
·
267 British
continuously supported Hindus in the town by supporting their mythical claims
over the city as if it were historical fact
·
British attempted to
exacerbate disagreements among Hindus and Muslims on religious matters like
idol worship by working under assumption that they could not cohabitate unless
in separate physically locations—thus the division into Hinde Adoyha and Muslim
Faizabad next door
o
Sounds a lot like the
partition of Pakistan…
·
Correspondence between
powerful British officials explicitly disucss the benefit of an Indian
population divided along religious lines—weakened and unable to pose a united
front to Britain
o
Methods discussed:
§ “Every civil building connected with the Mohommedan tradition
should be leveled to the ground without regard to antiquarian veneration or
artistic predilection” oct.9 1857 British PM Lord Palmerston to Viceroy of
India Lord Canning
§ Educational curriculum which would highlight communal hatred
among “natives”
·
270-271 the claim that the
babri mosque was created atop a destroyed Hindu temple is like a smear campaign
by the british to heighten tensions among Muslims and Hindus—the only basis for
the claim is in folklore and legend—all history known to them and archaeology
known to us shows that it was not built by Babur at all
o Plus Islam prohbitis the destruction of sacred spaces of other
faiths
·
271 Babur himself was
tolerant and interested in Hindu faith, visited many Hindu orders and palces of
worship
·
275 Independence and
partition—Muslims fled to Pakistan, including those of Ayodhya
o Dec 23 1949 Hindus places idols on pulpit of the mosque where
muslims had prayed for 420 years
o Against the law, and report was filed, no action taken by police
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