“Like many other Muslims, Indian tailor Safi Mohammad plans to send his wife and two sons away before thousands of pilgrims arrive at his hometown of Ayodhya next months for the inauguration of one of Hinduism’s most sacred temples,” this is the opening line of an article published by Reuters dated 20th December 2023
It is indeed a talent, nay, an art to be able to victimise Muslims on grounds of imaginary fears, to project the natural existence of Hindus as the problem itself and to hold the faith of Hindus responsible for the imaginary problem, all in one sentence. Reuters has found “Dara Hua Musalman” in Ayodhya a month before the city will witness the much-awaited grand inauguration of Bhavya Ram Mandir.
Albeit, truth is stranger than fiction. Hell, if Reuters can base an article on imaginary fears, I can surely take the liberty to tweak this phrase to say that ‘truth is more inconvenient than fiction’, especially if you look at it from the eyes of the Muslim voices quoted in the Reuters report.
Because the truth is that no such threat to Muslims exists anywhere in India for that matter, let alone in Ayodhya, particularly not from Hindus. The Ram Mandir that Reuters is demonising is coming into existence after a civilisational battle of at least 4 centuries, right from the day the Mandir was demolished by tyrannical Babur to create the Babri mosque in its place.
In order to revive their place of worship of the revered Bhagwan Shri Ram, all that Hindus have resorted to is people-led social movements, political movements and legal battles.
Anyone who can tell right from wrong, irrespective of which religion they belong to, will see that the existence of Babri masjid symbolised the tyranny of Jihadi, Islamist Mughal rule over Hindus. Anyone with an iota of consciousness would agree that such a symbol must be destroyed.
Another sentence from the Reuters report reads, “The temple, built on a site Hindus believe to be the birthplace of Lord Ram and where a Mughal-era mosque once stood, stirs bitter memories for Mohammad.” Then again, this is where truth becomes inconvenient.
Bitter memories why? Because of the destruction of Babri mosque by Kar Sevaks on 6th December 1992, the report implies. The demolition of the symbol of tyranny – a past that haunts and hurts Hindus to this day – saddens the Muslims, as Reuters tries to say in cleverly weaved words.
Of course, why should they mention the brutal, cold-bloodied murder of Hindus (Kar Sevaks) at the same spot by the administration in 1990, just two years ago? And why should they mention that years before the Babri demolition, a mere rumour of the demolition had sparked a violent and savage outrage in Bangladesh leading to the rape and butchering of Hindus there?
For Reuters to mention this in their report, it would perhaps take conversion of Hindus into an abrahamic religion, preferably Islam given by their tone.
The article also says that the demolition of Babri masjid sparked religious riots across the country “that killed nearly 2,000 people, most of them Muslims. The dead included his (Mohammad) uncle.”
Without citing any data, Reuters establishes that most of the victims in these communal riots, which mean both sides were involved, were Muslims. At this point, the article establishes how the Ram Mandir of Hindus is responsible for the death of Muslims.
What is the grounds for Mohammad’s fear as quoted in Reuters? That “anything can happen anytime.” Every year, billions and billions of Hindus celebrate Diwali marking the homecoming of Shri Ram. It is peaceful, it makes headlines and is celebrate by world leaders. Nothing happens to Muslims in Ayodhya, in India.
On 9 November 2019, the Supreme Court announced the verdict handing over the land to Hindus for Ram Mandir, Hindus in their Hindu majority country celebrated peacefully, in fact, with restraint. Nothing happened to Muslims in Ayodhya, in India.
On 5th August 2020, PM Modi performed the Bhoomi Pujan of the land to mark the beginning of the construction of Ram Mandir. Hindus celebrated across the country and beyond. Nothing happened to Muslims in Ayodhya, in India.
It has been four years to the SC verdict, the temple is scheduled to be inaugurated on 22nd January 2024. The event is being discussed in great detail across the nation. Every Hindu in India and beyond is doing their bit to contribute to the divine inauguration. NOTHING has happened to Muslims in Ayodhya, in India.
So let me tell you what exactly has happened to Muslims since the verdict and what will happen to Muslims after the Mandir inauguration in Ayodhya and India at large.
Ayodhya has been thronged with tourists since the construction of the Ram Mandir began. In 2021, 1.57 crore tourists had visited the holy city. This number rose to more than 2.39 crore domestic tourists in 2022 and 1,465 foreign tourists.
This brings numbers of visitors to nearly 4 crore in 2021-22. Reports said this figure is estimated to touch 8 to 10 crores after the temple opens in January 2024. As per reports, the tourist footfall expected in Ayodhya by 2051 is a staggering three lakh people per day.
More pilgrims to Ayodhya Ram Mandir means more tourists to Ayodhya which further means more business for the city. The Ayodhya International Airport is soon to be open to travelers.
Vande Bharat trains will now also connect Ayodhya to the national capital, Varanasi and to Sitamarhi in Bihar. This circuit connecting through the Vande Bharat makes journey for pilgrims to the revered cities easier in terms of time and money too.
Another key highlight is the Ramayana Circuit (or Ram Circuit) which aims to connect major pilgrim sites in India and Nepal linked to the Ramayana.
A Mumbai-based real estate company The House of Abhinandan Lodha has invested nearly ₹300 crore in acquiring a 25-acre land parcel in Ayodhya and has laid out a plan to launch a plotted development project in January 2024.
CP Kukreja Architects and L&T submitted their master blueprint plan for Ayodhya in January 2022. The firms have identified more than 40 tourism spots and development of the same is being done in phases.
Add to that a solar city near the Saryu River, ferries, luxury river cruise, houseboats are only some of the many tourism-boosters to attract visitors and pilgrims alike. All this made possible with one grand Hindu temple.
This is what Muslims in Ayodhya are going to face; large-scale, unprecedented development all because of a temple. Reuters seems to know this too, but that’s not the line it wants to take.
After establishing just how much “fear” the Ram Mandir inauguration and Hindu visitors has created among Muslims, the article hails boost to economy under Modi government, believe it or not.
“Even as some of the residents around the temple expressed apprehension, several Ayodhya Muslims said there had not been any major violence under the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which also rules Uttar Pradesh, adding that the boost to the local economy from the pilgrims would help them too,” the Reuters report states.
There is no reading between the lines here. It is typical of the ecosystem to spin a narrative to make Muslims look like the victims at the hands of Hindus and the Hindu faith while they take advantage of the economic prospects brought about by this very faith they are demonising.
Talk about bake the cake and eat it too.
As a Hindu, it does make one wonder how exactly the thousands and lakhs of Hindu families that have been the victims of Islamist Jihad and terrorism are safe living amongst Islamists as the fear still very much looms over them.
The family of Kanhaiya Lal, whose throat was slit open by Islamists in Udaipur, which is still awaiting justice. His sons and wife cannot step out of the house without police security to this date. Kanhaiya Lal was also betrayed by a Muslim neighbour. Life in the area where the bereaved family lives has not been the same for any Hindu ever since Kanhaiya Lal was murdered by two Islamists for posting in support of Nupur Sharma.
Every single Hindu festival, right from Ram Navami to Durga Puja, has been attacked across cities for bigotted reasons like the procession was passing by a mosque, Muslims were being teased. Stones have been pelted at Hindu processions, public property vandalised.
Yet, when you ask Reuters, it is the Muslim in Ayodhya who feels threatened because of an imaginary threat perception in their minds against ‘kafir’ Hindus.
It is clear more than ever that such reportage by the likes of Reuters are attempts at obstructing the rare historic milestone of Ram Mandir that is being celebrate by Hndus. The ‘dara hua musalman’ rhetoric helps the sinister ecosystem
