Is RSS Trying To Probe Muslim Mind On Kashi And Mathura Mosques?

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For representation purposes only. Photo credit: The Economic Times.

Syed Khalique Ahmed*

NEW DELHI—Why is the RSS holding repeated meetings with Muslim leaders? First, it held a meeting in August 2022 with retired bureaucrats, a Muslim businessman, and a journalist-turned-politician.

In the second round, the saffron organization held a meeting with leaders of Muslim religious organizations, including Jamaat-e-Islami Hind and Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind. The second meeting held on January 14 was facilitated by the same bureaucrats who had held direct talks with RSS leaders in August last year.

But the question arises: what is the purpose of RSS leaders behind holding a meeting with Muslim bureaucrats and Muslim religious leaders? What do they want to achieve from these meetings? In the two meetings, they did not make their intentions clear to the Muslim leaders.

However, what one can infer from the response of the RSS leaders having participated in the second meeting is that the RSS wants to probe the mind of Muslim religious leaders with regard to the takeover of Kashi’s Gyanvapi mosque and Mathura’s Eidgah mosque.

In their reply to the Muslim delegate’s questions, the RSS delegation led by Indresh Kumar categorically stated that handing over three mosques – Ayodhya, Varanasi and Mathura – will help in restoring the Hindu-Muslim relationship. This was in response to Muslim delegates who had raised the issue of hate speech, mob lynching, frequent calls for genocide against Muslims, bulldozing of Muslim houses for the slightest reasons, atrocities on Muslims, particularly in BJP-ruled states, and arrest of Muslim youths on trumped-up charges, etc.

Capturing the three mosques is an old agenda of the RSS and its frontal organizations. While they captured the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya through a judicial verdict, the RSS wants to acquire the two other mosques also. But the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, is coming in its way. The 1991 Act makes it clear that the character of any religious place as it stood on August 15, 1947, cannot be altered. The only religious place that was exempted from its purview was the Babri Masjid. Even in the case of the Babri Masjid, all the evidence was in favour of the Masjid party and the Supreme Court in its verdict accepted that Babri Masjid was not built on the debris of any temple. The apex court also admitted that the demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992, was illegal and an act of crime. Despite this, the Supreme Court handed over the site of the mosque to the temple party. Though Muslims accepted the verdict, it certainly weakened the trust of the Muslims in India’s judiciary.

Now several cases have been filed in the court by Hindu parties claiming Gyanvapi and Mathura’s Eidgah Masjid. As RSS leadership is well aware that it cannot capture the two mosques through the judicial route because the 1991 Act has sealed its doors, they are now trying to approach and persuade the Muslim leadership to take possession of the mosque through backdoor diplomacy.

But reports leaking into the media quoting those who attended the second round of talks clearly say that Muslim leaders have categorically told them that bargaining over the Masjid is not at all possible. They reminded the RSS leadership about the existence of the 1991 Act. They also told them that the trust of the Muslim leadership in the judiciary has weakened after the Supreme Court handed over the Babri Masjid to the temple party despite clear evidence in favour of the mosque.

The RSS leaders as well as BJP leaders fear that the image of India as a secular democratic country will be completely tarnished beyond repair if it used any means other than Muslims voluntarily handing over the two mosques to them. India’s image as a secular polity has already suffered badly because of a number of actions on the part of several state governments and the central government maintaining total silence over them.

Nobody knows about what will be the reaction of the RSS leaders in the future on the issue of the two mosques whose possession they are demanding. Will RSS go silent on the issue or it will resort to some other tactics? The Muslim community is already facing the worst crisis for the last decade in 70 years of India’s independent history. Are atrocities committed on Muslims a part of a planned strategy to force Muslims to accept the demand of the RSS regarding mosques? Will Hindu-Muslim tensions come to an end if the Muslims agree to hand over Kashi and Mathura mosques? The same thing was said about Babri Masjid by the Sangh Parivar leaders. But the anti-Muslim violence did not stop even after the Hindu party got the Masjid site through a judicial order. What is the guarantee that communal polarisation against Muslims would come to an end if the Hindu parties get the Kashi and Mathura mosques? Who will give the guarantee because the saffron forces have not stopped their threat and intimidation of Muslims even after getting possession of the Babri Masjid? Despite the presence of the 1991 Act, cases have been filed in courts making claims over the Gyanvapi and Mathura Eidgah mosques. There are groups among radical Hindus who claim 3,000 mosques, besides historical monuments like the Taj Mahal to be converted into temples. So, the list is endless.

Whether two parties arrive at any final decision or not, the dialogue must continue. The Muslim party has already declared to carry on the dialogue with the RSS leaders.

(This is the author’s personal opinion and editorial policy of India Tomorrow does not necessarily agree with the views of the author.)

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