After a 500-year-long battle, the Hindus, with the approval of the country’s highest court, are all set to seat their deity, Shri Ram, at the monumental Ram Mandir. The Ram Mandir (Ram Temple), dedicated to the Hindu god Ram, has been built on the Ram Janmabhoomi (the place of birth of Ram) in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. The original Ram Mandir was destroyed and a mosque was built atop its ruins in 1528 by Muslim invaders. The Hindu community has since striven to regain their temple, and won the case in 2019.
On January 22, the Ram Mandir will be consecrated amid much fanfare. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other dignitaries from sports, films, spiritualism, and business will grace the occasion. As a part of culture and courtesy, volunteers of Hindu organizations are going door to door, inviting people to the ceremony. Such drives are also known as the Akshat distribution drives.
Now, in a shocking incident reported from Shajapur, Madhya Pradesh, a Muslim mob attacked Hindu volunteers who were carrying out an Akshat distribution drive. The clash took place in the Somwariya region and turned the peaceful event into a violent confrontation. The riot-like situation unfolded when the Hindu volunteers proceeded with the Akshat distribution and reached a turn near a mosque in the Harraipur region. A Muslim mob vehemently objected to the procession passing in front of their religious site. The situation escalated rapidly, with the Muslim mob resorting to stone-throwing, which injured several Hindu volunteers. Allegedly expressing their contempt for the Hindu procession in that area, the attackers also shouted, “This is not a locality of Hindus; do not take out the procession here. ”
Some witnesses claim that stones were flung from building rooftops. Even women from Muslim households partook in the stone-throwing “ceremony.” Some Muslim youths also brandished swords, which intensified the heated situation some more.
Lalit, one of the injured victims, recounted the ordeal, stating that the attackers countered their procession with religious slogans including “Allahu akbar” while throwing stones at them. Lalit also testified that the Muslims were equipped with swords.
The clash between the Muslim mob and Hindu participants in the procession continued until the authorities were called in to intervene. Brijesh Mishra, Kotwal of Shajapur city, addressed the incident and confirmed that the peace has since been restored. He also revealed that authorities have filed a case based on the available information. Complaints have been lodged against 24 individuals from the Muslim mob. Further, some 20 unidentified persons have been accused, and efforts to apprehend them are underway.
The FIR against the accused has been filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 147 (Punishment for Rioting), 148 (Rioting, armed with a deadly weapon), 149 (Every member of unlawful assembly, guilty of offense committed in prosecution of common object), 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion), 294 (Obscene acts and songs), 295A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings), 298 (Uttering words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings), 323 (Voluntarily causing hurt), 336 (Act endangering life or personal safety of others), and 506 (Criminal intimidation).
Though India is a secular country, it is full of Muslim-dominated areas that are hotbeds of pro-jihad sentiments. Many Muslims residing in these areas have little to no regard for the country’s laws. Many consider their religious books and doctrines superior to the Indian constitution, and are involved in jihadi activities. One textbook example of this phenomenon was Islamic jihadis declaring a village located in Padgha in rural Thane as a “liberated zone” and as “Al-Sham.” Al-Sham generally refers to Syria and its environs.
Even in areas where the jihadis have yet to reach such extremes, they do not shy away from calling their localities “Muslim areas” where non-Muslims, Hindus particularly, shouldn’t enter. Almost any area centering around a mosque sees a mushrooming of Muslim dwellings, making it a “Muslim Area,” and residents often resort to violence to keep non-Muslims out of “their area.”
In other news, Muslim lawmaker and parliamentarian Badruddin Ajmal made a hateful and alarming remark regarding the consecration of the grand temple. While addressing a gathering, Ajmal cautioned Muslims not to travel by train from January 20 to January 26. This is concerning, because his statement suggests that an unfortunate incident might take place in Indian trains during that time, and Muslims should stay safe from such incidents. This remark is strongly reminiscent of the horrifying burning of the Sabarmati Express in 2002, in which more than 50 Hindu devotees of Shri Ram, including women and children, were burned to death by a Muslim mob. These pilgrims were also returning from Ayodhya.
rick says
Pose an armed Hindu squad 24 hours a day outside the Temple because as sure as there is a dawn and a sunset, there will be an attempt to burn down or blow up this Temple. Muslims can only speak the language of violence – except when they are faced with clearly superior forces.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Over the weekend, I was watching a YouTube show by someone who was narrating the entire history of Ayodhya, starting from when the original temple was built (by Kush, the son of Rama), and when it was destroyed. One startling discovery he made was that it was not destroyed by Babur, and nor was there any general by the name of Mir Baqi. Rather, it was destroyed by Aurangzeb, the same Aurangzeb who also destroyed the temples in Mathura and Varanasi, which are right now also court cases. (It should have struck me much earlier, since Babur had only a peripheral interest in India: his heart was really set on winning back the territory of his famous ancestor Timur/Tamerlane, particularly Samarqand, Ferghana, even Buqhara)
However, not all is well w/ the Rama Temple consecration, due to the BJP politicizing it on several levels. First of all, a lot of muslims were employed in various parts of the construction, be it the bells, various designs & so on. The “garba griha”, which is supposed to be representative of a womb, instead resembles the inside of a mausoleum: on X, there have been several posts showing the insides of the Taj Mahal, another mausoleum in Delhi and finally this room in Ayodhya, & tossing the question: “Which one of these is the garba griha?” Some are derisively calling it “Ram ka maqbara”, which translates into “tomb of Rama”. The idea that muslims, who spit on things that they sell to Hindus, would be contaminating these sacred artefacts is pretty galling
On a side note, while a big international airport is being built at Ayodhya, a major mosque is being built in a place some 15 miles west of that city. That was a part of the Supreme Court decision handed down in 2019, in which 5 acres was awarded to the muslims to build a mosque there. But while the original mosque was a fringe mosque for muslims, this new one being built is a grand mosque named after Muhammad, will be the biggest mosque in India, bigger than Jama Masjid, will be inaugurated by an imam from Mecca, and will have a lot of muslim traffic, unlike the Babri masjid did. As a result, a lot of the traffic in Ayodhya will be muslim traffic for this place. So Hindus in Ayodhya and those visiting are likely to be subject to riots just like when they are when processions pass through “muslim areas”
Finally, there is the politicization of the whole event. A lot of Hindu priests have pointed out that the consecration is inappropriate, given that the temple is not complete, and also, that the most appropriate time to do this would be on the birth anniversary of Rama, known as Rama Navami, which is in April. However, India is due to have its elections around that timeframe – April to May, and during that time, political parties are not allowed to use religious events for their campaigns. As a result, the BJP couldn’t have had Modi there at the inauguration had it taken place in April, and therefore could not have showcased that as one of their achievements. Also, while the inauguration of that mosque I mentioned above is a purely islamic affair, the inauguration of this temple is a secular event: invitees included Bollywood stars, including muslims and HINOs. There’s also the fact that a lot of historic temples were demolished by the BJP to create the “corridor” for this temple to make it a tourist attraction
Originally, I was looking forward to someday visiting this temple. After everything I’ve seen and read about it, I’m not so sure anymore
Rick Gordon says
I would like to believe that ‘most’ Moslems are peace loving and open to those of other faiths throughout the globe, but incidents such as this – and their waring history over the last 13-14 centuries make that difficult.
James Lincoln says
Rick Gordon says,
“I would like to believe that ‘most’ Moslems are peace loving and open to those of other faiths throughout the globe”
Tragically, not true.
Welcome to reality, Rick.
Andy says
Please do not say Hindu God Ram. God is one. We just have different approach. You will not say Christian God Jesus. Will you? Or Musim God whatever?
࿗Infidel࿘ says
That is an Abrahamic POV, which is fine in Judaism & Christianity. All faiths are not Abrahamic: there are monotheistic, polytheistic and even atheistic faiths. Yeah, Jesus is a Christian God: Jews don’t recognize him as God (even though he was Jewish), nor do Hindus, Buddhists, Daoists or anyone else. It’s a good idea to stop pretending that something that’s true only about Christians is a universal truth. Or else, what’s your argument against those who claim that allah is the only god?
RG says
Terrible. I hope Newsweek, CNN, Tony Perkins, etc will see this the next time they talk “Hindu Supremacy “,etc