Babur, The Baburnama & The Masjid That Bore His Name

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A 17th-century portrait of Mughal Emperor Zahir ud-Din Mohammad (Babur). Victoria and Albert Museum, Museum no. IS.37-1972. Image: Public domain
Were the marauding mobs of December 6, 1992, or for that matter, the rampaging gangs of today, fed & led on fake views?

On December 6, 1992, Hindu zealots tore down, with impunity, a mosque that bore Babur’s name. To them, it was an act that closed the loop. Wasn’t Babur the Central Asian invader who founded the Mughal dynasty? And wasn’t this dynasty grossly inimical to Hinduism? Didn’t they convert a large chunk of practising Hindus to Islam?

Using a perverse logic of avenging historical wrongs, the Hindu fanatics brazenly pulled down the mosque, chanting hoarsely ‘Garv se kaho, hum Hindu hain;’ pulling down the mosque meant shedding all vestiges of slavery – or at least, that’s their telling of it.

We didn’t know it then, but the fanatical elements involved in the Babri Masjid demolition were a precursor to the marauding mobs who have, of late, struck roots in many parts of the country – claiming to protect the cow and proclaiming themselves to be the guardians of the Hindu faith.



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