ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday strongly condemned the consecration of the “Ram Temple” on the site which once hosted Babri mosque — a centuries-old Mosque demolished by a Hindu extremist mob in December 1992.
Islamabad’s statement comes as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the consecration ceremony for the Ram Temple in Ayodhya — which Hindus believe to be the birthplace of their god-king “Ram”.
The temple has been a key electoral promise of Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) which, for years, had advocated for the construction of a temple in place of the 16th-century mosque built by the Mughals in 1528.
For decades, the temple site was bitterly contested by Hindus and minority Muslims, leading to nationwide riots in 1992 that killed 2,000 people, mainly Muslims, after a Hindu mob destroyed the mosque that had stood there.
In 2019, the Supreme Court handed over the land to Hindus and ordered the allotment of a separate plot to Muslims where construction of a new mosque is yet to begin.
Lamenting that India’s superior judiciary not only acquitted the criminals responsible for the mosque’s demolition but also allowed the construction of a temple on the site of the demolished mosque, the Foreign Office (FO) said that today’s consecration ceremony “is indicative of growing majoritarianism in India”.
“These constitute an important facet of the ongoing efforts for social, economic and political marginalisation of the Indian Muslims,” the statement said.
“A temple built on the site of a demolished mosque will remain a blot on the face of India’s democracy for the times to come,” the FO said, adding that several other mosques, including Varanasi’s Gyanvapi Mosque and Mathura’s Shahi Eidgag Mosque, facing the threat of desecration and destruction.
Raising alarm bells over the growing “Hindutva” ideology threatening religious harmony and regional peace, the statement also recalled remarks made by chief ministers of India’s Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh who have termed the inauguration of the Ram Temple as “the first step towards reclaiming parts of Pakistan.”
Calling on New Delhi to ensure the safety and security of religious minorities, including Muslims and their holy places, Islamabad has urged the international community to take cognisance of the growing Islamophobia, hate speech, and hate crimes in India.
Pakistan has also urged the UN and other organisations to play their part in saving the Islamic heritage sites in India from extremist groups and ensuring the protection of the religious and cultural rights of minorities in India.
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