On 11th April 2023, BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga shared the details of the contribution by the Nihang Sikhs in the historic movement to free the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi. In his tweet, Bagga shared the documentary evidence of the first FIR filed in regard to the case. He wrote, “In Ram Mandir Andolan, First FIR was filed against Sikhs for entering Forcefully to Babri Masjid on 30th November 1858 and Doing Pooja Paath.”
In Ram Mandir Andolan First FIR was filed against Sikhs for entering Forcefully to Babri Masjid on 30th November 1858 and Doing Pooja Paath pic.twitter.com/uueR3nR0IO
— Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga (@TajinderBagga) April 11, 2023
He also attached the photographs of the complaint filed by one Mohammad Asghar on the rituals performed by the Nihang Sikhs inside the disputed Babri structure and the report filed by the police station in charge on the eviction of the Nihang Sikhs from the said location.
Quoting his tweet, alleged journalist Mrunal Pande wrote, “Oh Lord! Our Bagga ji also turned out to be a historian!!”
हाय राम ! अपने बग्गा जी भी इतिहासकार निकले !! https://t.co/ZFtC4uIaSb
— Mrinal Pande (@MrinalPande1) April 11, 2023
Mrunal Pande apparently insinuated that what Tajinder Singh Bagga has tweeted is a piece of incorrect information. It, therefore, becomes necessary to know the contribution of Nihang Sikhs in freeing the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi from the clutches of Muslims.
Mrunal Pande doubted documented history
1858 is not a Mughal era history where one can insinuate anything, imagine or assume things ‘out of the box’, or write the history to praise and please the Islamic rulers. 1858 is when British rule was taking root in India, in the wake of the Queen’s proclamation after the famous mutiny of 1857.
The documents, records, etc. are thus available with the least additions of the pinch of liberal pseudo-secular salts. The document shared by Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga is the first FIR registered in the Babri Mosque versus the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi dispute case. This document was also a part of the evidence reviewed and upheld by the courts (from the local district court of Faizabad to the Supreme Court of India). So, it should be clear that what Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga shared was not a false claim but a documented historical fact. Mrunal Pande apparently doubted this nugget of history possibly because it ran counter to her assumptions and was shared by a Sikh politician from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
What is the incident quoted by Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga?
On November 28, 1858, an FIR was filed by an Awadh police official stating that around 25 Nihang Sikhs entered the Babri structure and performed ‘HawanPujan’ for many weeks. They also used charcoal to graffiti the name Ram on the inside walls. This shows that the name Ram is significant among the various Dharmic faiths born in India.
The FIR was filed in response to a complaint lodged by Mohammad Asghar Salim, the Moazzin of the Babri mosque. The Moazzin agreed that the Ram Janamsthan symbol had been there for hundreds of years, and Hindus performed puja within the three-domed building.
Sheetal Dubey, the station house officer of Awadh, confirmed the complaint in his report on December 1, 1858, and even said that the Sikhs had built a platform. This was the first recorded proof that Hindus were present not just in the outside courtyard but also in the inner courtyard. This document has thus become the base for the court to uphold the claim by the Hindus that the exact space below these three domes is the actual place of the sanctum sanctorum. This document proved a great piece of evidence that Muslim parties didn’t have exclusive ownership of the structure. The document razed to the ground the argument that Hindus never had access to the Masjid.
