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M R Narayan Swamy in New Delhi
Two lessons can be drawn from the razing of a 16th century mosque on July 27 in the small Rajasthan town of Asind by Hindu vandals, who went on to install an idol of Lord Hanuman at the site.
One: The communal poison spread by the Hindu fanatics over the past decade-and-a-half has penetrated deep into Indian society in a manner never seen before.
Two: Despite this the bulk of the Indian society refuses to accept the politics of hatred that has accompanied the sectarian ideology.
The first is a cause for grave alarm. The second is a welcome silver lining.
Asind was sought to be turned into an Ayodhya by the very votaries of intolerance who brought down the Babri mosque in 1992 .
The fanatics in Rajasthan succeeded in what they wanted to achieve -- raze the single-wall mosque built by Akbar, the most secular of all Mughal emperors, in a larger temple complex and which, for centuries, had caused no problems.
As in Ayodhya, a Hindu idol was quickly raised at the site with policemen, like in 1992, looking the other way.
But there were crucial differences. The hate propaganda against the mosque in Asind had gone on for some time, but it failed to whip up the frenzy that Ayodhya evoked.
The venomous mob at Asind was just 300-strong, compared to the thousands in Ayodhya. More importantly, unlike Ayodhya, the Hindu idol was removed within days after the administration brought together Hindu and Muslim leaders.
The Asind mosque destruction did not generate any nationwide support, which unfortunately the Ayodhya movement did, thanks to the organised rabble roused by the stalwarts of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
There are also quiet but significant convulsions underway in both Hindu and Muslim communities, more significantly in the latter. These are vibrations that have the potential to bring about new equations for the betterment of the two sides.
Take for example some recent developments.
The Muslim Personal Law Board recently met some Muslim women to discuss reforms. There is growing feeling in the community that women's issues cannot be ignored on specious grounds.
Syed Ahmed Bukhari, the imam of Jama Masjid, India's largest mosque, was incensed when Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani called himself a Pakistani. Bukhari, often dubbed a communalist, told Geelani that no Muslim would ever agree to another partition of India.
At the height of the Ayodhya campaign, there was no dearth of Muslim leaders who declared: "If we are pushed out of India, there are 16 Islamic countries we can choose to adopt."
In just one decade, there has been a sea change in thinking. On Friday, when Muslims took out a protest march in New Delhi, 17-year-old Tanveer Ahmed, a student, told Indo-Asian News Service: "India belongs to us as much as it belongs to the Hindus. We are here and this is where we will stay."
The naib imam of the 17th century Fatehpuri mosque in New Delhi, Mohammed Mouzzam Ahmad, said: "As long as the political parties do not whip up passions, there will never be any Hindu-Muslim violence in this country."
"The Muslim community is trying to keep away from contentious issues. It is investing heavily in education. This is a positive development."
Ahmad should know. After the trouble at Asind, a local Hindu shopkeeper, Hira Lal, expressed disgust over the damage to the ancient mosque: "Here it is a custom to live together in harmony."
It is a view more and more Indians are beginning to appreciate.
Indo-Asian News Service
ALSO SEE Demolition of 16th century mosque leads to tension Two arrested for demolishing mosque in Rajasthan
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