Though the disputed structure of Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya was demolished this day (December 6) thirty-two years ago, there is no closer as it opened the Pandora’s Box instead of bringing the issue to a peaceful conclusion.

A grand Ram Temple has been constructed and many more structures are being added to the place where a mosque stood from 1528 till December 6, 1992.

However, many petitions regarding temples or their debris being found beneath mosques, dargahs or mausoleums have been filed in different courts in clear violation of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, of 1991.

What Is Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991?

The act was passed to make it clear that the Babri Masjid would be an exception and no other place of worship would be challenged.

The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 prohibits conversion of any place of worship and provides for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on the 15th day of August 1947. It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

The act also says that any suit, appeal, or other proceeding concerning the conversion of the religious character of any place of worship, existing on the 15th day of August 1947, pending before any court, tribunal, or other authority, shall abate, and no suit, appeal or other proceeding will continue.

Places of Worship Act Challenged

However, a petition seeking permission to perform puja in the Gyan Vapi mosque was filed. Similar petitions have been filed in the cases of Shahi Eidgah mosque and now the Ajmer Sharif Dargah.

Worse, Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay filed a separate petition in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of Sections 2, 3, 4 of the act. He said that these sections not only offend the Articles of the Constitution but also violate the principles of secularism.

He also claimed in the petition that foreign invaders destroyed several places of worship and pilgrimage to make Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs realise that they have been conquered.

Petitions Before Babri Demolition

It may be recalled that petitions were filed in the Allahabad High Court as well as the Supreme Court in 1991 regarding the acquisition of land in the area around the Babri Masjid and the proposed ‘kar seva’.

A Supreme Court bench comprising Justice M.N. Venkatachalaiah and Justice G.N. Ray issued an order on November 5, 1991. The Apex court said that the Government of Uttar Pradesh was “fully responsible for the protection of the Ram Janma Bhoomi – Babri Masjid structures”.

However, the kar seva was started around the disputed site on July 9, ignoring the contempt petitions that were pending before the Supreme Court.

The Allahabad High Court issued an order on July 15, restraining the State and other parties from raising constructions on the land. It also directed that if there was any necessity for doing something on the land, the court’s prior permission would have to be obtained.

Later, the Supreme Court appointed its own Registrar General and two technical experts on August 5 to report on the nature, size, of the land and the nature of the works executed.

Despite all these orders and observations of the High Court and the Supreme Court, the disputed structure was demolished on December 6, 1992.

What Did RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat Say?

Thirty-two years after the incident of vandalism, many more issues have cropped up. Though the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat publicly asked why should one look for a ‘shivling’ in every mosque, referring to the Gyan Vapi controversy, the matter has not been settled.

The matter was further complicated when Hindu Sena chief Vishnu Gupta filed a petition in Ajmer district court claiming that a temple was lying below the 12th century Dargah of Khwaja Moinudin Chisti.

The court issued an order on November 27, asking the Ajmer Dargah committee, the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs, and the ASI to file its reply.

Immediately after this, Ajmer Deputy Mayor Neeraj Jain claimed that the Aadhai Din Ka Jhonpara originally served as a Sanskrit college and temple before being demolished by invaders. This structure has been under the control of the ASI.

On the other hand, the ASI has said on its official website that the Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra is a masjid built by Qutub-ud-Din-Aibak, in AD 1199.

It is clear that there is no closer to the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmbhoomi Temple row, no lesson has been learned and the situation is back to square one.