UP High Court Judgment on Babri Mosque Dispute is Flawed
Washington , DC: A Press Release issued by the Association of Indian Muslims of America, Washington DC, states:
The judgment of the UP High Court on the 60-year old Babri Mosque - Ram Janambhoomi dispute in Ayodhya ( India) - is a very flawed judgment that has completely ignored the facts of history and basic logic. In their arguments in the last 60 years, none of the Hindu community litigants, including Hindu religious organizations, ever presented any basis in legend or folklore or religious scriptures that could link the three-acre parcel of land, where Babri Mosque once stood, with the place of birth of Lord Rama. All they ever claimed was that it was a matter of their faith and that faith does not need to be substantiated.
Thus the UP High Court making an unambiguous conclusion that the said three-acre parcel of land and the land under the central dome of the erstwhile mosque, is the site of Lord Rama’s birth, is not only illogical but also irrational. It would have been much better if the High Court had stayed away from addressing this vexing question and instead made a judgment on the legal claims of the Muslim and Hindu litigants to the site. The Court has also erred in saying without giving any supporting information that since the mosque stood on a site near some ancient ruins it was not a mosque.
In a dispute as ambiguous and contentious as this one, it would have been fair to divide the said site equally between the Hindus and Muslims, instead of awarding the Hindu groups twice as much land as to the Muslim groups.
Indian Muslims have solid faith in the nation’s judiciary which has often upheld the secular ethos of the nation and has protected the minorities from injustice. Thus they are very disappointed at this very flawed judgment of the UP High Court.
In the interest of the larger good of the Muslim community and the Indian nation, our Association representing a large number of Indian-American Muslims, appeals to the Muslims of India to not get into confrontation with anyone, to put this issue behind them, and to focus their energies on building their community and the Indian nation for a better tomorrow.
