Let us strengthen unity and solidarity of our people!

Let us oppose communal division of society!

December 6, 2018, marks the 26th anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. Over the past 26 years, people of our country, irrespective of their religious faith, have condemned it as a crime against humanity. They have demanded that those guilty of brazenly destroying a legacy of our people must be punished for this crime.

The demolition of Babri Masjid was pre-meditated and planned in advance. The Congress Party which ruled at the center and the opposition BJP colluded in whipping up communal passions all over the country. BJP openly carried out an all-India campaign for its demolition. The Congress government at the center and the BJP government of Uttar Pradesh made sure that the security forces did nothing to stop the demolition of the mosque. Prominent leaders of the BJP incited the mob to carry out the criminal act, right in front of the Indian and international media.

The demolition of the Babri Masjid was aimed at humiliating all people of the Muslim faith. It was a dagger driven into the heart of our society, aimed at smashing the unity and solidarity of our people.

It is clear that the state machinery — the governments at the center and the state, the intelligence agencies, as well as parties like Congress and BJP — was responsible for this act. This is why the organisers of this anti-social and anti-national act have not been punished.

Over the past 26 years, there has been a great escalation of anarchy and violence. People of the Muslim faith have been continuously targeted for communal attacks. All Muslims are slandered as “terrorists” and “Pakistani agents”. Innocent youth are tortured and jailed for years on end under laws such as POTA and UAPA. Many have been murdered in fake encounters. In the name of “gau raksha”, people are being lynched. The state has failed in its duty to protect all people, irrespective of their religious beliefs.

On October 29, the Supreme Court postponed the hearing on a property dispute over who owns the land where the Babri Masjid stood. The postponement of the hearing is being used to whip up communal tensions. Calls are being given for immediately constructing a Ram temple at the site. What is not being questioned is why the Indian state failed to protect a historical monument and to protect the right to conscience and right to life of thousands of its own citizens.

An extremely dangerous situation confronts our people. Communalisation and criminalization of politics and unleashing of state terrorism have become the preferred method of rule. Parties like the BJP and Congress have shown that they are willing to go to any extent, including organizing of communal genocides, to come to power or retain power. Their activities are posing a great threat to the unity and solidarity of our people.

The Babri Masjid cannot be looked at as a mere property dispute. At the heart of the problem is the question — what kind of India shall we leave for the coming generations? The people of India have always upheld that the state has the duty to ensure prosperity and security to all. The tragedy is that the present day state has failed in its duty.

This state has worked to ensure that the corporate houses enrich themselves at the expense of the people. The electoral process ensures that only parties backed by the corporates are entrusted with running the government. Such parties cynically inflame passions on the basis of religion, caste, region, or language, to prevent the people from uniting and fighting for their rights.

The state machinery has been used, time and again, by the party in power, to unleash communal violence and state terror. People do not have any mechanism to punish their elected representatives or state officials even when they commit the most terrible crimes or fail in their duty to defend the lives of the citizens. People are thoroughly marginalized in the present system.

Lok Raj Sangathan is committed to the struggle for justice, to putting an end to communal violence and state terror and all forms of violations of human rights. This struggle is closely linked with the struggle for the empowerment of the people.

Let us build our unity, firmly upholding the principle that “an attack on one is an attack on all”. We must resolutely oppose the attempts of the rulers and the corporate media to paint the victims of communal violence and state terror as “anti-nationals” and “terrorists”.

Justice demands conviction and punishment of those who organised the demolition of Babri Masjid and incited communal massacres 26 years ago.

Lok Raj Sangathan appeals to people to unite in the struggle for justice and an end to communal violence and state terror. Let us defeat the efforts of the rulers to break our unity! Let us fight for power in the hands the people!

Issued by Lok Raj Sangathan