Last Rites In Kashi

The Keshav Dev temple and Shahi Idgah in Mathura

Traffic blares outside Garg바카라�s house. The road leading to the Krishnajanmasthan temple is dotted with pilgrims. Next to the mandir is the Shahi Idgah mosque which the Sangh parivar alleges was built over a Krishna temple razed by Aurangzeb in 1659. The mosque at Mathura and the Gyanvapi masjid at Benares are often referred to as future Ayodhyas by the parivar since it is alleged that both were built after razing temples. While a civil suit was filed in 1991 in the case of the Benares mosque, no legal action has been taken on the Shahi Idgah. 

There are no signs of the heavy security presence in Mathura that was in place on verdict day. Shopkeepers are happy that business is back to normal. It was severely hit during the run-up to the verdict with PAC jawans, CRPF and UP police personnel literally taking over the town. Dharmendra Jadaun, 28, a shopkeeper in Deeg Gate says, 바카라�It was a moment of joy for all of us. The Hindus here are happy. That said, the relationship between us and our Muslim friends has not changed after September 30. We have always lived like brothers.바카라�

Jadaun바카라�s words find resonance among several Muslims. Sixty five-year-old Liyaqat Ali, a fruitseller, says, 바카라�The judgement is good. Even if we got a third of the entire land, at least we got something. That should be celebrated.바카라� Adds Akbar Quereshi, 70, a scrap dealer: 바카라�The judgement has been pronounced. With that, the tension and the fear is gone. We were tense till the 30th.바카라� Being a minority (one lakh Muslims out of a total 25 lakh population), such studied optimism probably comes from compulsion. Particularly when the community is entirely dependent on the temple and commerce around it for livelihood. 바카라�The temple is the only industry here. Most of us are either weavers catering to the needs of the temple or depend on pilgrims who come here,바카라� explains Haji Hussain, who runs a shop close to the Krishna temple.

Such economic compulsions may be true for Mathura. But 800 kilometres away, Benares, one of the main Hindu holy centres, throws up a different picture. The narrow lanes of this temple town are also choked with pilgrims and tourists. Life seems to be all calm. But that바카라�s on the surface. Look deeper and you see things are simmering. Welcome to Madanpura, a Muslim locality. 바카라�Would you call this justice?바카라� asks 50-year-old Mohammad Noomani, a weaver. 바카라�The court had been given the job of deciding who owned the land. Their job was not to divide it. What the court has done is worse than what happened in 1992.바카라� Mohammad Ibrahim Ansari, 73, is enraged. 바카라�The court has divided Hindus and Muslims once again. I feel a little less Indian today. We had put all our faith in the judiciary and it바카라�s let us down. Our faith in the judicial system and the government has gone forever,바카라� he says.

In Benares, the bone of contention is the Gyanvapi masjid which stands next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple. The Hindu side believes that a Shiva temple was razed by Aurangzeb in 1669 and from its rubble the mosque was built. In 1991, a civil suit was filed in the Allahabad HC in this regard. The plaintiffs on the Hindu side include Lord Vishwanath himself and Pandit Somnath Vyas. The defendants are the Anjuman Masjid and the Sunni Waqf Board. The  case is still pending.

Maulana Abdul Batin Nomani, the representative of the town바카라�s Muslim community, sums it up, 바카라�Our hopes have been dashed. We had hoped for justice...but justice was not done. The verdict will open the doors for troublemakers in outfits like the VHP, Shiv Sena and the Bajrang Dal. Muslims here now fear that these forces will take confidence from this verdict and demand the same for the Gyanvapi masjid.바카라�

Indeed, the fear has seeped down to the ordinary Muslim. In Lallapura, another Muslim ghetto, sentiments are running high. Discussions over the September 30 verdict are still not over. A week after the judgement, chai shops still buzz with groups talking about the verdict. 바카라�Babri was not just a mosque. It was a symbol of the Muslims in India. The court has made us second-class citizens today,바카라� says Ramzan Ali. Adds Ghulam Gaus, a 45-year-old weaver, 바카라�The property was ours and the judgement has given it to someone else. Injustice has been done.바카라� Choking on his words, Mohammad Islam, 35, says, 바카라�The lumpen lot have been empowered. No one likes to spell it out, but we are scared that the Vishwanath temple dispute will meet the same fate. Behind closed doors,  every Muslim in Benares fears this.바카라�

What is worrying the Muslim is the verdict comes despite the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which makes it impossible for anyone to change the status of a religious place, including Kashi. Will Ayodhya become a precedent? Atiq Ansari, who heads the weavers association here, points out: 바카라�The verdict was based on faith, not evidence. It바카라�s strange that the court decided to acknowledge the faith of the Hindus but not that of the Muslims. The judicial system in this country cannot be trusted now. The same thing can happen here. After all, it has been the VHP바카라�s longstanding promise to the Hindus.바카라�

Ansari바카라�s fear is not entirely unfounded. Dharamguru Kameshwar Upadhyay, who is closely associated with the VHP, makes it clear, 바카라�Kashi and Mathura are as important symbols of Hindu pride as Ayodhya and Somnath. The BJP can go on advocating restraint. The sant samaj will not listen to the BJP. The new generation of Hindus has new-found energy after this verdict. Only time can tell what this energy will unlock. Whatever be the case, Hindu pride will win.바카라�