The Babri Masjid Dispute: From 1949 to the Ayodhya Verdict
Mathura’s Shahi Idgah Mosque and the Krishna Janmabhoomi Dispute
In Where Will All This End?, former Supreme Court judge Justice Markandey Katju examines India’s growing mosque-temple disputes, from Ayodhya and Mathura to other contested religious sites. He questions the enforcement of the Places of Worship Act, 1991, the role of the judiciary, and the possible influence of electoral politics on religious controversies. The article raises a fundamental question about the future of Indian secularism, constitutional democracy and communal harmony.
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| Are Mosque-Temple Disputes Driven by Electoral Politics? Asks Justice Katju |
Where will all this end ?
By Justice Markandey Katju
In 1949, one night an idol of Ram Lala ( the infant Ram ) was placed in Babri Masjid, in Faizabad ( Ayodhya ) and it was declared that Lord Ram had miraculously appeared there. The facts are briefly narrated here :
Subsequently, in 1950, the state administration took control of the structure and allowed Hindus to perform worship at the site.
Thereafter, after a long agitation from the 1980s by some Hindus, led by BJP leader LK Advani, the Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992, and by a flawed Supreme Court verdict it was declared to be the birthplace of Lord Ram
Something similar happened in Mathura. There is a huge Shahi Idgah Masjid there. It is alleged that sometime in the 1950s some people built a tunnel deep under one of its walls, and placed an idol of the Hindu god Krishna there, and declared it to be the birthplace of Lord Krishna. Later a huge temple called Krishna Janmabhumi was built adjacent to the Shahi Idgah Masjid, and a litigation is going on in the district court, Mathura, praying for converting the Shahi Idgah Masjid into a Hindu temple.
Many other suits have been filed in India praying for conversion of mosques into temples, alleging that the mosque was built on the site of Hindu temples which had been destroyed.
It is true that some Hindu temples were indeed converted into mosques. For example, the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque in Delhi ( near Qutub Minar ) seems to have been definitely a Hindu temple at one time, since its pillars have carvings of Hindu gods and goddesses ( which no mosque will have ). Similarly, the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi has carvings of Hindu gods and goddesses on its rear wall.
But it cannot be said that all mosques in India were built after destroying a Hindu temple on its site.
Sakshi Maharaj, a former BJP MP, claimed that Jama Masjid in Delhi was built after destroying a Hindu temple, though there is no proof of this, and all accounts reveal that it was built by Moghul Emperor Shah Jahan, but without destroying any temple there
Delhi’s Jama Masjid built after temple razed, hang me if false: Sakshi Maharaj
The Places of Worship ( Special Provisions ) Act, 1991 was enacted by the Indian Parliament, which said in section 4(1) that the religious character of a structure as it existed on 15.8.1947 ( the day India became independent ) cannot be changed. In other words, even if a Hindu temple was converted into a mosque, it cannot be reconverted into a Hindu temple if its conversion into a mosque took place before 15.8.1947. The purpose of this enactment was to put a quietus to such disputes, because India has to move forward and forget what happened in the past.
However, this law is often being ignored by our law courts even in cases where the alleged conversion of a Hindu temple into a mosque took place long before 15.8.1947. Some courts have ordered surveys and digging of the mosque sites, apparently to find remnants of Hindu temples which were allegedly destroyed.
Many years back, I went to Daulatabad Fort in Secunderabad ( near Hyderabad ) and saw the Bharat Mata Mandir, which was a mosque converted into a Hindu temple.
Similarly, a Hindu temple was built under the southeast minaret of the famous Charminar building in Hyderabad, which was not there during the rule of the Nizam
The Kamal Maula mosque in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh, has been declared a Hindu temple
Many other such instances can be given.
The question to be asked is: where will all this end? Is India to move forward into the modern age, or backwards into the Middle Ages?
It is evident that all these acts are politically motivated, and the latest proof of this is that as state assembly elections approach in UP, the state having the largest population in India ( where state assembly elections are due in February/March 2027 ) attacks on mosques of Muslims have commenced
(Justice Markandey Katju is former Chairman, Press Council of India and former Judge, Supreme Court of India.)
Q1. What is Justice Markandey Katju’s article “Where Will All This End?” about?
Justice Markandey Katju examines the growing number of mosque-temple disputes in India, including the Ayodhya, Mathura and Gyanvapi controversies. He questions whether these disputes are undermining secularism, the rule of law and India’s progress towards a modern democratic society.
Q2. What is the Places of Worship Act, 1991?
The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, generally prohibits changing the religious character of a place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947. The Act was intended to preserve the religious character of existing places of worship and prevent new disputes over historical religious claims, subject to its statutory exceptions and subsequent judicial interpretation.
Q3. What is the Babri Masjid dispute?
The Babri Masjid dispute concerned competing claims over a religious site in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. The mosque was demolished on December 6, 1992. In November 2019, the Supreme Court of India awarded the disputed land for the construction of a Hindu temple and directed that alternative land be provided for a mosque.
Q4. What is the Mathura Shahi Idgah Mosque dispute?
The Mathura dispute concerns competing claims involving the Shahi Idgah Mosque and the adjacent Krishna Janmabhoomi temple complex. Hindu petitioners have sought legal relief concerning the mosque site, including claims related to the birthplace of Lord Krishna. The litigation raises questions about historical claims, religious rights and the applicability of the Places of Worship Act, 1991.
Q5. Why are mosque surveys becoming controversial in India?
Surveys of mosques have become controversial because petitioners sometimes seek archaeological or other evidence to support claims about earlier religious structures. Critics argue that such proceedings can reopen historical disputes and threaten communal harmony, while the legal questions include statutory restrictions, judicial procedure and the rights of the parties involved.
Q6. How do mosque-temple disputes affect Indian secularism?
These disputes raise fundamental questions about religious equality, constitutional secularism, the rule of law and the protection of minority rights. Their handling by courts, political parties and public authorities can influence public trust in institutions and relations between religious communities.
Q7. Are mosque-temple disputes linked to electoral politics in India?
Justice Katju argues that the timing and pattern of some religious-site disputes suggest political motivations, particularly around elections. Establishing a direct electoral motive in an individual case, however, requires evidence specific to that case.
Q8. Who is Justice Markandey Katju?
Justice Markandey Katju is a former judge of the Supreme Court of India and a former Chairman of the Press Council of India. He writes and comments on constitutional issues, politics, secularism, law and public affairs.
