Islam and Peace Co-existence of Religions in India
discord over this mosque for a long period of time until, finally, on December 6, 1992, a group of Hindus took it upon themselves to demolish it. It is important to understand that this tragedy took place because of certain misguided policies of political leaders and not because of religious intolerance. That is why no notable Hindu or nonHindu ever came forward to justify the demolition of the Babri Masjid. And that is also why – with the exception of the Babri Masjid – approximately 350,000 mosques in India are still intact. They are all safe and secure, and are functioning as centres of religious worship and practice. Another point worth noting is that Justice P.K. Bahri has ruled in his 340-page verdict that the demolition of the disputed structure at Ayodhya was not preplanned. (The Times of India, June 9, 1993) Here I should like to emphasize that one religion versus another religion is quite a different matter from one community versus another community. So far as religion in itself is concerned, it is a fact that religious coexistence has always been found in its ideal form throughout the history of India.
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