A reconciliation commission comprising of experts in archaeology and history should be formed to bring about reconciliation among the concerned communities
For any society or civilization to flourish, long spells of peace are needed, especially internal peace. The visionary Nelson Mandela appointed a Truth and Reconciliation Commission after apartheid rule was ended in South Africa, to make sure that the bitter memories of apartheid and ill-treatment of the black people by whites, who were essentially invaders and occupiers, are forgotten, as far as possible. India has much to learn from Mandela’s example and the country needs permanent internal peace. This is unlikely to be established unless bitter memories etched in concrete by the invading settlers who occupied large parts of the country linger on.
South Africa suffered apartheid for nearly four centuries; India’s experience has been twice that, seven or more centuries. The African experience has few concrete reminders except perhaps statues of some white rulers, whereas India has thousands of standing mosques that were originally temples. Some were converted overnight from temples to mosques for those believing in one exclusive god. Many others were demolished to their plinth and rebuilt with the consequential debris. This is not the same as converting a church into a mosque or vice versa, because both are simply prayer halls. A Hindu temple is a residence of the divine.
A Hindu is not forbidden from trying to visualize, see or mingle with the divine; i.e., a spiritual quest, and a temple, a platform for it, is one of the pathways to spirituality. A mosque, church or synagogue is merely a prayer hall, a room for paying obeisance to an unseen and unseeable God. The Third of the Ten Commandments states: “They shall not make any gravel image of thy Lord the God”. Hinduism encourages divine idols to enable the worshipper to focus his worship. The Muslims did not understand what cruelty they were inflicting by destroying and desecrating Hindu temples. Generation after generation has come and gone since the Mahmud of Ghazni demolished the famous Somnath Temple.
Of late, we hear from some quarters that Partition was ill-conceived; black magic was performed by Qaid-e-Azam Jinnah so that he could dwell in the hall of fame. We, humans, cannot say which dushkarma (evil deed) is the cause of which durbhagya (ill fate), but believe that desecration and demolition of Hindu temples have had a great deal to do with the ill fate of the subcontinental Muslims. A humble suggestion is that the sins of the past, especially the destruction of Hindu temples, should be atoned for by the appointment of a commission for truth and reconciliation, as in post-apartheid South Africa.
Such a commission should comprise respected experts in archaeology and history, to bring about reconciliation between the concerned communities. While the number of temples destroyed, desecrated and converted by the Islamic invaders and iconoclasts is in thousands, noted historian and analyst Sitaram Goel had identified 3,000 prominent ones throughout the country, noted for their size, historical and archaeological significance, apart from civilizational and religious importance for Hindus.
It is also important to stress here that the purpose of such a truth and reconciliation commission is not to seek retribution for the wrongs of the past, but to enable the nation to move on in a spirit of reconciliation. The community that follows the faith the medieval invaders belonged to must be encouraged to admit the grievances and wrongs committed in the name of their faith, and voluntarily relinquish whatever claim they have on old Hindu places of worship. Of the 3,000 and more temples, 100 or 150 of the most important ones can be taken up immediately for being handed over to the Hindu community immediately through a competent agency notified by the commission. While the commission might include a couple of the members from the highest level of the country’s judiciary, it is important to lay down that the findings and conclusions of this truth and reconciliation commission should not be justiciable, i.e., open to being challenged in courts, as this would only mean dragging the issue for many years giving one side a false sense of victory while increasing the bitterness of the deprived side. Such a scenario is hardly conclusive to national harmony and the country’s future. This has to be full and finally accepted by all communities concerned.
The problem appears to be a continuing phenomenon. At the time of writing this on August 17, 2023, Mathura is experiencing this irritation. The Railways are endeavouring to regain their legally owned land; incidentally, near the Krishna Janmasthan. 135 illegal shanty houses have been demolished leaving families staying there homeless. They claim they were living there for about a hundred years and have currently moved to some ad hoc tents while approaching the Supreme Court for a stay. Another place of brewing contention is in New Delhi at a crossing called Sunehri Bagh, which became an important crossing after the Central Vista and New Parliament House were built. Earlier there was an old grave upon which a small mosque was built, or constructed after the road crossing came into being. Over the last 42 years, as I have seen, it has become large enough to cover the entire crossing island. The New Delhi Municipal Committee has now asked for the crossing to be vacated. Here again, the matter is in the court.
(The writer is a well-known columnist, an author, and a former member of the Rajya Sabha. The views expressed are personal)
