23 January 2024:
Celebration from across the country marked Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir consecration ceremony. On one side, India witnessed Diwali-like atmosphere and celebration, where many school students dressed up like Hindu gods-godesses, groups of students at JNU and Delhi University organised ‘hawans’, ’bhandaras’ and ‘sundarkand’ recitals, devotees took part in religious processions, and people lighted up ‘diyas’.
But on the other side, the inauguration set dangerous precedents for minorities in India. The consecration ceremony unfurled as not just a celebration but also as a haunting specter for minorities, particularly Muslims. To Muslims, this event is a grief-stricken and unforgettable memory as the temple now stands where the Babri Masjid, which was torn down by Hindutva mobs on December 6, 1992, stood for centuries. The saffronisation of roads and public places and also the religious polarization in the past few days left no other option for Muslims than to stay back in their homes. To some Muslims, 22 December was a self-declared curfew.
Despite these precautions, minorities in India faced many challenges. In Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh, some Hindutva mob raised a saffron flag on a church, chanting religious slogans. A group celebrating Ram Mandir Inauguration in Mira Road, Mumbai vandalized properties of Muslims and also shouted genocidal slogans and in Sangareddy, Telangana a Hindutva mob celebrating the Ram Temple event burnt down a Muslim man’s shop, played loud music and danced outside a mosque, chanting anti-Muslim slogans.
Many universities across India also organized mass protests in remembrance of Babri Masjid and against the saffronisation of the country. Ambedkar Students Association HCU calls “Ram Mandir event the most naked emblem of Hindu Rashtra”, while the students of Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi boycotted classes and reading halls to commemorate the Babri Masjid Demolition yesterday. Also, the Students Association at The Film and Television Institute raised a banner with the message ‘Remember Babri’ inside the campus in Uttar Pradesh.
On these events of violence in full swing, actor Prakash Raj shared a video on his X account, expressing his apprehension about whether this would become the new normal in our country.
