Description

Ayodhya 1992-2003:

The Assertion of Cultural and Religious Hegemony

E are used to the slogan, ‘Equal respeet for all religions'(Sarva Dharma Sama Bhava). Does the Indian Constitution, especially in its commitment to ‘secularism’, work in practice? There is a lot to think about when secularism is increasingly at stake today. This book contents that the true postscript to the turbulent decade 1992 2002 is to be found in the legal verdicts of 2003, and in contemptible report of the archaeological survey. The focus is on issues like: the Ayodhya dispute and the Muslim reaction to it, the representation of the incident by the French media, showing a lot of sensationalism and factual inaccuracies, depicting a poor image of India abroad, and the archaeological evidence from Ayodhya analysing the interaction between archaeology and politics which shows how archaeology has been abused to satisfy nationalist claims – all dealt with detailed case studies, The real culprits of Babri Masjid demolition are top leaders of the ruling coalition today.

The book also highlights the problems of identity in the past and how this identity is interpreted and misused in the present. It is dedicated to all those who campaign for justice, freedom and harmonious community relations in India and who wish to see the vision of Dr.Ambedkar and the other Indian Constitution-makers survive the challenges of the twenty-first century.

Contents

Frontispiece. Cartoon of the Mosque Razers Introduction

Professor Richard Bonney

The Land, the Mosque, the Temple: More than 145 Years of Dispute over Ayodhya Jan-Peter Hartung

Ayodhya: An International Perspective Anuradha Bhattacharjee

The Archaeology and Politics of Ayodhya Gillian Hawkes