Religion As a Political Tool: A Case Study of the Ayodhya Verdict
By: Kayva Gokhale
Tags: India, Conflict, Babri Masjid, Politics, Religion

Religion As a Political Tool: A Case Study of the Ayodhya Verdict

How a largely communal conflict was politicized at the national level

On the 16th of October, the five-judge constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, concluded the hearing on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case, the judgement for which was delivered on 8th November. According to the Supreme Court verdict, the entire 2.77 acres of the disputed land is to be used for the building of the Ram temple, while an alternate 5 acres of land will be awarded to the Sunni Waqf Board for the potential construction of a mosque. The court cited evidence of Hindu temple remains under the masjid as an important factor that led to this verdict.

Illustration by Pooja Nagaraj

This judgement is being hailed as one of the most important judgements in recent times due to the long, conflict-riddled history of Babri Masjid which will soon give way to a Ram Mandir. On the surface, this issue might seem like a religious one. After all, the three main parties involved are the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara, and ‘Ram Lalla’, represented by the Hindu Maha Sabha. However, contextualise the debate in a political timeline, and it becomes clear that the developments around the case were rooted in politics.

It all started in the mid-19th century when a Ram worshipping Hindu sect, called the ‘Nirmohis’, claimed that the Babri Masjid was built upon the ruins of a Ram temple. This claim gave rise to some minor communal skirmishes, but it was largely ignored by most. In the year 1949, some people claimed that they witnessed a mysterious child recognised as ‘Ram Lalla’ or infant Ram appear within the gates of the masjid with a sudden flash of lightning. This child then allegedly transformed into an idol of Ram which was found inside the masjid. Later investigations revealed that there was no proof of there ever being a child involved. In reality, three Hindu activists belonging to the Akhil Bhartiya Ramayana Mahasabha (ABRM), an offshoot of the Hindu Mahasabha (a right-wing Hindu Nationalist party), had broken into the mosque and placed the idol of Ram inside. Thus began the politicization of what was until now a largely communal conflict.

Upon the orders of the Supreme Court, the mosque was declared as a ‘disputed site’ and the gates were locked to both Hindu and Muslim worshippers. In the 1980s, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), an offshoot of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and affiliated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), spearheaded a campaign to ‘liberate’ Lord Ram’s alleged birthplace. This claim is unsupported by historical evidence, not that absence of evidence has ever been a hindrance in this issue. The campaign, aimed at demolishing the mosque and constructing a temple on the spot was led by BJP minister Lal Krishna Advani, who later went on to become the Home Minister. At this time, a relatively non-powerful party like the BJP started being included in the mainstream narrative of Indian politics. They also organised a whole hoard of rallies, marches and congregations to find support for their agenda.

Although this issue had mainly been used by right-wing ‘Hindutvavadi’ (parties which seek to establish the hegemony of Hindus) until now, the Congress joined the wagon soon after. After facing flak for the appeasement of Muslim fundamentalists in the infamous overturning of the Shah Bano judgement, the Rajiv Gandhi government decided to play the ‘Hindu card’ for the upcoming elections.

On the 1st of February 1986, the padlocks of the gates were opened to allow Hindu priests to worship inside the structure. Although the opening of the gates was a court-ordered decision, the promises made by the government to the Hindu communalists before the court decision and failure to appeal against the judgement revealed the hand of the Congress government.

Not to be left behind, the BJP in 1989 consolidated the Ayodhya Movement and made the building of the temple a substantial part of their manifesto; a move that proved to be extremely fruitful as BJP witnessed a steep rise in the number of seats secured in the next elections. In 1989, the Rajiv Gandhi government, having faced backlash for the Bofors scam ( weapon contract political scandal between India and Sweden), allowed the VHP to perform the Shilanyas ceremony (laying of the foundation stone on the mosque property) in November 1989, despite it still being a legally disputed site.

What had until now been covertly used by political parties to sway public opinion, soon became a full-blown political issue.BJP leaders like Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, and Uma Bharti organised a congregation for kar sevaks (volunteers for the religious cause) from all over the country, allegedly for a grand pooja in Ayodhya. However, things descended into chaos when the kar sevaks broke through the mosque gates and began to manually destroy the mosque using hammers, rods, and even their bare hands. By mid-afternoon on 6th December 1992, the mosque had been completely destroyed, and all that was left of it was rubble. Cases were filed against the BJP leaders involved but they all maintained that the demolition was completely spontaneous and not the intended outcome of the congregation.

However, later investigations into the apparent police inaction and testimonies of present journalists and camera people paints a clear picture of there being a significant amount of planning involved in the destruction of the mosque. One does not need to look further than the BJP leaders’ recent comments on the nearing resolution of the issue to understand how the ‘apparently’ religious debate stopped being (assuming if it ever was) a religious one and stands today as a purely political one. While the courts favoured the Hindutvavadi parties in their judgement, it does not seem like the last we will see of Hinduism being used to promote the current right-wing, near-militant, political agenda.