Show unity like the Hindus of Himachal
The movement of Hindus to take action against the illegal construction of a mosque in the Sanjauli suburb of Shimla in Himachal Pradesh is gaining momentum day by day. Three illegal floors were erected on a mosque here without taking permission from the Municipal Corporation Shimla.
On 1st September, some Muslims attacked local businessman Yashpal Singh in Malana area causing him severe head injuries. Luckily, Yashpal Singh survived. This became an important reason for the movement of Hindus against the illegal construction of the mosque. On 5th September, hundreds of locals under the leadership of Rumit Singh Thakur (President of Devbhumi Regional Association), surrounded this illegal mosque and demanded demolishing of the illegal construction. This movement of Hindus against the illegal mosque is not an instantaneous reaction to the attack on Yashpal Singh. Anger had been building up over a period and the movement is seen as an outburst of Hindus against the growing arrogance of Muslims here. Realising that this bigotry gets its strength from the mosque itself, the Hindus took this action. It is because of this outburst that the legal cell of the Municipal Corporation had to take an urgent decision. The Court has ordered that the illegal construction of the mosque be demolished within the next 30 days, otherwise the administration will demolish it.
In a way, this should be called a great success for the Hindus. This unity shown by the Hindus of Shimla is surely an inspiration for Hindus all over India. Hindus must study the different aspects of this phenomenon. Despite the Congress being in power in Himachal Pradesh, the Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh and Anirudh Singh (Minister of State for Rural Development and Panchayats) supported the Hindus and took the stand to demolish the illegal construction of the mosque. The legal cell of the Municipal Corporation also ordered the demolition of the illegal construction without considering aspects such as the minority community, religious place of worship, etc. and the main aspect is that the unity shown by the Hindus against this illegal mosque is admirable. All these are commendable.
The unity of the Hindus in Shimla is admirable especially after (Late) PN Oak (the famous historian and author) presented evidences of mosques built after the demolition of not only 1 or 2, but many Hindu temples, structures, etc. He brought to light the fact that many famous places like the Qutub Minar, Taj Mahal, Red Fort were not built by the Mughals, but destroyed by the Mughals. Even after PN Oak’s evidences, Hindus have not tried to reclaim these glorious heritage structures built by their own ancestors and the matter of getting them back remains a distant possibility.
So far, only the Shriram Temple issue has been resolved. The issue of mosques built after demolishing lakhs of temples in the country still remains to be resolved. To prevent this issue from escalating in the future, Congress took away these ancient religious places of Hindus forever by bringing the ‘Places of Worship Act’ (Prayers Act) in the Year 1991; but even after this, Hindus did not take to the streets.
While construction of Shriram Temple in Ayodhya has been decided in favour of Hindus, the cases of illegal mosques in Kashi and Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, and Bhojashala in Madhya Pradesh are still pending. Lakhs of temples in the country were demolished and mosques were built in their place, but Hindus are not aware of this to the extent they should be. This lethargy of the Hindus will cost them their lives in the future. Not only temples, but Nation & Dharma are being attacked daily by fanatics through Love Jihad, Land Jihad, etc. Despite these attacks in different forms across the Nation, Hindus throughout the country did not react; however, Hindus in Shimla have realised the danger and shown solidarity. That’s why this movement is turning out to be an eye-opener for Hindus.
When will all Hindus across the country realise this ?
Opposition to the illegal construction of the mosque in Himachal Pradesh is not merely a protest against a Muslim religious site or the fact that the construction is illegal. The reason for such a large number of Hindus taking to the streets was – the growing arrogance of the Muslims in the area; only after realising that the illegal mosque was the refuge of this arrogance, did the Hindus demand its demolition. This is why, Hindus took to the streets with all their might. Although the ‘Places of Worship Act’ permanently ended the right of Hindus over ancient and historically important places of worship, Hindus did not take to the streets. It is a tragedy that Hindus do not take to the streets even after the ancient religious places are lost and the new religious places are occupied by Muslims. Muslims have shown their authority over the forts made by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj – the architect of Maharashtra – by building illegal dargahs, tombs and mazars. Many forts and religious places of Hindus such as Malanggad, Durgadi Fort, Lohagad, Vishalgad, Chandan-Vandan Fort have been encroached by Muslims and are being encroached further; yet, Hindus have not taken to the streets. Hence, the solidarity shown by Hindus against the illegal mosque in Shimla is certainly exemplary.
Every devout Hindu rejoiced when Shriram Temple was constructed in Ayodhya; however, even after it was proved that the Babri mosque was an encroachment, the Court ordered giving alternate land to Muslims to build the Babri Masjid. This order of the Honourable Court is incomprehensible to the general public. Numerous evidences of Hindu religious sites have also been found at Kashi Vishwanath and Mathura; however, when the time comes for the Court’s decision, will the Government have to give a place for erecting an alternate place of worship to the Muslims ? There are many such questions in the minds of Hindus.
Will the yoke of secularism and concept of ‘All religions are equal’ in Democracy always be placed on the neck of only Hindus ? It is time Hindus find time to think about this issue. Illegal constructions abound in the country; but the illegal construction of mosques and madarasas is an attempt to demonstrate arrogance with Hindus, and this is dangerous not only for Hindus but also for the Nation; because, mosques and madarasas teach that ‘non-Muslims are infidels’, and Jihadis are given shelter in mosques. Many incidents of this nature have come to the fore over the years. Therefore, when will all the Hindus across the country realise what the Hindus of Shimla have realised ? To realise this, are the Hindus going to wait or many more conversion of temples, forts into mosques and madarasas ?
Hindus have not tried to reclaim the glorious structures built by their ancestors, and getting them back is a distant possibility !