CHANDIGARH: Prominent Sikh leaders Friday lent support to the Babri Masjid action committee which had organized a seminar at Guru Gobind Singh Bhavan on the theme Democratic solution to the problem”.

 The action committee considered the Babri issue as a “test” for secularism and rule of law for the country. Another aim was to put the whole issue in proper perspective and mobilize multi religious support for the cause.

The seminar was chaired by SGPC president Gurcharan Singh Tohra and inaugurated by Akali leader Sukhjinder Singh. The welcome address was read by a former IAS officer, Gurtej Singh, Obaidullah Khan Azmi, MP, stole the thunder with his oratory,

The speakers endorsed the stand of the action committee and pointed outta like the Sikhs and the Muslims no minority community was safe in India. The religious tolerance was on the wane 28 political power of the state became stronger. The sad part being, that even the state had over a period of time succumbed to religion.

Sukhjinder Singh did not mince words when he told the organizers that the Babri issue was primarily of Muslim concern. It was they who had to think and decide on the next course of action. Much would depend on strength and determination to safeguard the mosque. The Sikhs could only participate in the action program, if anything.

He, however, emphasized that minorities as a group were “insecure” in India where religious functions of the majority community wanted to erase other communities. In fact the very concept of one man, one vote was against the interests of the minorities. The Babri issue was an “emotive” and “political exploitation” by the BJP and detrimental to the democratic health of the country. It made a mockery of the country’s secular character.

Democratic protests had lost all meaning for the state, which was deaf, dumb and blind to the sentiments of the minorities. Giving the example of the Akali struggle, he said the center was “unmoved insincere and even betrayed and went back on the promises it made”,

Gurtej Singh confined himself to the historical factors and questioned the very existence of the place called Ayodhya. His thesis was that it was the Muslims who gave the Sikhs “unconditional” support when he approached the Imam with a letter written by the late Sant Harchand Singh Longowal and Sant Jamail Singh Bhindranwale.

He favoured religious coexistence. He regretted that political power had gotten into incompetent hands. He pointed out that there was no evidence of a temple having been ever demolished to build the mosque and no religion tolerated attack on its religious symbols and places of worship. Gurcharan Singh pointed out that he endorsed the views expressed by Gurtej Singh on the subject and was convinced that the minorities were being hounded by the state in the name of Hinduism.

The AIBMAC convener, Zafar YabJilani, gave a detailed resume of the issue and quoted from the historians report to the Indian nation which had stated “Our study shows neither any evidence of the existence of a temple on the site of the Babri Masjid nor of destruction of any structure there prior to the construction of the mosque”.

Legal aspects of the case and how the whole issue had been politicalized by the BJP and the VHP with the Congress playing a sinister role in the drama of pain are in question. He said the BMAC was prepared to accept any court verdict or solve the issue through democratic means but first there be concrete evidence of a temple having ever existed there.

Jilani strongly criticized the protagonists of the Hindu Rashtra saying that such people had “contemptuous attitude” towards the courts.

He distributed photocopies of the historians report and a booklet published by the committee on the 100 years of litigation”.

In a spirited speech, the MP, Azmi questioned the very basis of the country claiming to be secular when none of the acts of the state showed an iota of secularism in deed or practice.

His man worry was the manner in which the religious sentiments were being given political color and facts distorted, No one questioned the philosophy or the popularity and respect for Lord Rama but the Muslims could not digest the type of behavior the so called Ram Bhakats were displaying by abusing others. He came down heavily on the BJP and the Congress leadership for giving communal color to the issue.

Oppression and denial of justice had resulted in widespread frustration among the minorities. Such policies of the center and the BJP would eventually be responsible for leading the country to disintegration. Those propagating secularism were in act, wearing “communal mask”. The threat to India’s unity and integrity was from majority communalism and not from minorities. There were several speakers who expressed themselves on the subject and took the opportunity to attack the Center for its policies and made repeated references to Punjab and Kashmir. They included Ajit Singh Bains, Sukhjit Kaur Gill, Latafat Ali Khan, ex MP, Khan Mushtak Ahmed Khan, member AIBMAC, Sukhdey Singh Dhindsa etc.

The seminar was organized by the Punjab branch of the BMAC, which is headed by ex MLA Haji Anwar Ahmed Khan.

A formal statement was later issued to the press in which it was reiterated that the BJP and other parties must “honor” the court Verdicts and also castigated the government at the center and in UP for conniving with majority community to keep the pot boiling by “provocative actions”.

Article extracted from this publication >> January 24, 1992