With more than two years left until the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, the state’s political climate is changing, with several lawsuits filed in multiple district courts asserting Hindu rights to various Muslim mosques and monuments. It’s already starting to overheat.
Three such petitions were filed in UP in the last few weeks and one seeking investigation in Ajmer Sharif Dargah was filed in Ajmer court in Rajasthan.
On November 19, a petition was filed in UP’s Chandaushi court asserting Hindu rights to Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhar. The court ordered an investigation into the mosque on the same day, and the administration had begun its investigation by the evening. On November 24, violence erupted during the second inspection of this Mughal-era mosque, leaving at least four people dead.
Since then, petitions filed in court making similar claims against the Shamsi Shahi Mosque in Badaun and the Atala Mosque in Jaunpur have made significant progress.
Opposition parties have criticized the manner in which these petitions were admitted by lower courts, as well as the alacrity shown by the state government in implementing the orders.
Against this backdrop, the Supreme Court has now set up a special bench to hear a number of pending petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. The one case of Ayodhya, which was then under litigation, shall be maintained as it was on August 15, 1947.
Notably, petitions seeking Hindu rights to Janvapi Mosque in Varanasi and Idgah Mosque in Mathura were filed in 2021. This is a year before the 2022 UP polls, when Yogi Adityanath-led Bharatiya Janata Party returned to power for the second consecutive year, winning 255 votes out of 403. Against Samajwadi Party’s 111 seats.
The political fallout in the wake of the new petition and the resulting polarization galvanizes Mr. Adityanth’s brand of Hindutva politics, which many see as more aggressive than the Bharatiya Janata Party’s standard line. There is a possibility.
The Gorakhshnath Math in Gorakhpur, led by Adityanath, was closely associated with the Ayodhya movement, which culminated in the construction of the Ram temple in January 2024 following the 2019 Supreme Court verdict.
Maha Kumbh, considered the biggest Hindu cultural event, will also be held in Prayagraj, UP, in early 2025. The CM has already approached the RSS leadership to make it an inclusive event where all castes and sects of Hindu society can be represented. This is also being seen as Mr. Adityanath’s attempt to increase his national profile as a Hindutva leader.
In August this year, at a public meeting in Agra, Adityanath had said, “Batenge to katenge” (divided, we will fall), referring to anti-Hindu violence in Bangladesh. The slogan was used by the Bharatiya Janata Party in its campaign in the recent Maharashtra polls, which led to a landslide victory for Mahayuti. RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosavale also supported this.
“Hindutva plus law and order, governance and welfare is the sum total of Maharaj’s (Adityanath) politics. But Hindutva is the basis of everything else. Even though welfare politics has entered the competitive phase, the law and order performance will translate well into the 2022 polls. UP “At a time when opposition parties are trying to divide society on caste lines, we have to further strengthen Hindutva,” the BJP leader said.
He denied that the government had anything to do with the petition, and also claimed: All matters take place in court. However, if the other party creates problems despite the court’s order, action will definitely be taken under the Yogi government. ”
The petition also elicited mixed reactions from parties in the opposition Indian bloc. The SP, the main opposition party in UP, blamed the state government for the Sambhar deaths and accused the BJP of “spreading hatred”. However, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has not made any attempt to visit Sambhar so far. SP Leader of Opposition (LoP) Mata Prasad Pandey alone tried to visit the town on November 30 with a delegation of party leaders but was blocked by the administration.
Many see this as a move by the SP to approach the issue cautiously to prevent the BJP from polarizing the issue.
Meanwhile, the Congress has not only raised its voice on the issue, but also had party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi try to visit Sambhar but were stopped by the UP police. Earlier this month, the Parliamentary Working Committee reiterated its commitment to the Places of Worship Act in one of the resolutions passed at its meeting.
The minority in the UP Assembly has also launched a state-wide campaign against the alleged violation of the law following Sambhal’s petition. The campaign was launched on December 6, the Babri Masjid demolition anniversary, which also happens to be the death anniversary of Constitution-builder BR Ambedkar.
Some UP Congress leaders have even claimed that reopening these disputes could extend to the issue of land allotted to Dalits.
The Congress is trying to reunite its traditional voting base of Muslims and Dalits, which will be seen in the 2024 Assembly polls, when it faces suspicions that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is trying to “change the Constitution”. He was accusing me of it.
Support from these sections would also put the great old party in a better position in seat-sharing negotiations with India’s ally SP ahead of the 2027 assembly polls.
