In contemporary Indian political history, December 6 is one of the most consequential dates. One, Friday marks Dr BR Ambedkar’s 69th death anniversary; Second, it has been 32 years since the demolition of the Babri Masjid, which marked the beginning of a significant change in Indian politics.
This date is associated with two political ideologies that have been shaping Indian politics for the past few decades. One is Mandal, understood as the anti-caste and anti-social justice politics made possible by Ambedkar, and the second is the Hindutva reaction to create a pan-Hindu identity politics across “kamandal” or caste lines.
At present, the latter is the dominant political ideology, which has spread from the BJP’s more than 10 years of dominance. Unleashed by the demolition of the Babri Masjid, it continues to cast a shadow over Indian politics, finding expression in the current debate sparked by petitions for a survey of Muslim places of worship in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
In 1991, the then Congress government led by Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao enacted the Places of Worship Act amid heightened communal tensions due to the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. Although Babri stood then, the atmosphere was soured by LK Advani’s Rath Yatra, his arrest in Bihar and the shooting of Karsevaks in Uttar Pradesh. The Act states that any place of worship existing on August 15, 1947 should retain its religious character. However, the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case, any related legal proceedings, and Jammu and Kashmir were excluded from its purview.
Then in May 2022, recently retired Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, while hearing the Gyanawapi Masjid case, said that while the nature of a “(religious) place cannot be changed or converted” under the law, “certainty of religion”. The character of a place… cannot override the provisions of Sections 3 and 4 (of the Act).”
This, Congress said earlier this week, had opened a “Pandora’s box”. Petitions have been filed demanding a survey of the Ajmer Sharif Dargah in Rajasthan and the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh. Not to mention the petitions claiming the Gnanavapi Masjid in Varanasi, which overlooks the Kashi Vishwanath Temple; Shahid Idgah in Mathura which Hindu believers claim was built on the birthplace of Lord Krishna; and Jama Masjid Shamsi In Badaun of UP.
Violence in Sambhal during a court-ordered survey of mosques last month, in which four people were killed, has fueled tensions at Varanasi’s Uday Pratap Degree College since last week as several students were detained for protesting prayers there. Mosque in the premises.
Recommended reading: Places of Worship Act: What the Parties Said in 1991
Limitations of Congress
A question remains whether the opposition – in particular, the Congress – can frame an effective response. Since 2014, the BJP has repeatedly shown an uncanny ability to propel itself to electoral victories by using the plank of social justice.
It is not clear how the Congress or the SP, which is a product of Mandal politics and has pushed its “PDA, or Pichda (backward), Dalit, Adivasi” strategy in recent years, will succeed in rejecting the BJP’s welding project. Mandal and Kamandal. Haryana and Maharashtra showed the Congress that the BJP’s strategy of reiterating the narrative of the perceived threat posed to the reservation system and the Constitution and the demand for a caste census had limits. It obviously needs something more.
As a political scientist Suhas Palsikar August wrote, “The absorption of mandal politics by various parties, notably the BJP, and a quarter of a century later, now by the Congress, is accompanied by a reductionist view that numerical representation is an adequate response to the more complex social reality of injustice.”
Dissatisfaction is also seen in the union. The Sangh Parivar’s silence on the petitions filed also “betrays a sense of both unease and uncertainty”. Deeptiman Tiwari said. Several RSS leaders told him that “too many claims”, some of which may be frivolous, could undermine cases where Hindus have “genuine claims like Kashi and Mathura”. The association, sources told Deeptiman, had also advised restraint to some petitioners who approached it for guidance.
Happening today:
- Mahaparinirvana Diwas, or the death anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar, will be celebrated at Prerna Place in the Parliament Building complex. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla are among the dignitaries who will offer floral tributes before allowing the public to enter from 9:30 am to 12.30 pm.
- A group of about 100 farmers will begin their march to Delhi from the Shambhu border between Punjab and Haryana. As security increases, they are unlikely to make much progress.