National Seminar on the Question of Babari Masjid

Joint Statement, 7 December, 1999

To mark the 7th Anniversary of the Demolition of the Babari Masjid, the Babari Masjid Movement organised a National Seminar on National Seminar on the Question of Babari Masjid in New Delhi on 6 December, 1999.

The Seminar was attended by Maulana Sirajul Hasan, President, Jamaat-i-Islami Hind, Member, AIMPLB-BMC Maulana Shafi Moonis, General Secretary, All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat (AIMMM), Member, BMMCC; Maulana Ahmad Ali Qasmi, ex-GS, AIMMM, Member, BMMCC; Gen. J.S. Arora, ex-MP, President, A.I. Sikh Forum; Mr. V.T. Rajshekar, Editor, Dalit Voice; Rev. Fr. T.K. John, Vidyajyoti, Delhi; Mr. N.D. Pancholi, Convener, Citizens for Secular Action; Mr. M. Afzal, ex-MP, Editor, Akhbar-e-Nau Weekly; Mr. Kamal Farooqui, G.S., A.I. Milli Political Forum; Mr. Azeez Burney, Editor, Rashtriya Sahara Daily; Mr. S.R.Q. Ilyas, Editor, Afkar-e-Milli Monthly; Mr. Navaid Hamid, Secretary, Movement for Empowerment of Muslim Indians; Mr. Qamar Alam, Executive Member, AIBMAC; Mr. Shahid Badar, Representative, SIM: Mr. Shamshad Husain, Secretary, SIO; Mr. Anis Suharwardy, Advocate, Supreme Court of India and Mr. S. Shahabuddin, Convener, BMMCC. The participants adopted a Joint Statement:

Text of the Statement

"The Participants in the Seminar organised by the ALMPLB-BMC, the BMMCC and the AIMBAC to mark the 7th Anniversary of the Demolition of the Babari Masjid in. New Delhi on 6 December, 1999, REGARD the Demolition of the Babari Masjid as a blot on the fair face of the country and as a blow to the Secular Order and the Rule of Law, which form inalienable parts of the basic structure of the Constitution, to the supremacy of the Parliament, the dignity of the Judiciary and the credibility of the Executive and as an offence to the legitimate religious sentiments of the Muslim Indians, who form the second largest community in the country;

TAKE NOTE OF the continuous mobilisation by the forces of Hindutva to re-enact the Ayodhya Tragedy at Mathura and Varanasi, by demolishing the Shahi Idgah and the Gyan Vapi Masjids, situated there, despite their protection under the Act of 1991 relating to the protection of the religious status of all places of worship as on 15 August, 1947 and call upon the Govt. and the people to defend these two places of worship against any onslaught;

EXPRESS their unhappiness at the unsatisfactory progress of the civil proceeding in the Title Suit pending before the Special Bench of the Allahabad High Court, Lucknow, the criminal case pending before the Special CBI Court, Lucknow, and the inquiry undertaken by the Ayodhya Commission of Inquiry, and demand day-to-day hearing as well as expeditious disposal by the High Court of petitions filed by those indicted to obstruct and delay the course of justice, and the Constitution of a Joint Parliamentary Committee to oversee the progress of the title suit, the criminal case and the inquiry;

TAKE NOTE, with appreciation, of the exemplary restraint and patience shown by the Muslim community in not demanding the immediate demolition of the concrete platform constructed unlawfully in July 1992 and the dismantling of the make-shift temple illegally constructed on the Babari Masjid site and not insisting on the immediate reconstruction of the Babari Masjid on the original site in accordance with the law of the land, and request all secular political parties, individually and collectively, at least to assure them that if the final verdict on the question of title is in their favour, the Babari Masjid shall be rebuilt forthwith at its original site, whatever the political consequences;

DEMAND that like the Babari .Masjid site, the security of the Masjids in Mathura and Varanasi be the undivided responsibility of the Central Government and that the Central Government maintain the status quo in Ayodhya, reject any pressure, for relaxing the security or darshan regime at the disputed site and not undertake any renovation or reconstruction of the make-shift temple without express approval of the Special Bench of the Allahabad High Court;

TAKE NOTE of the suggestion of the Prime Minister to resolve the dispute through negotiations and, in this context, welcome the standing offer of the Muslim community to permit the construction of the proposed Ram Mandir in the proximity of the Babari Masjid, so long as the actual site of the Babari Masjid which is not negotiable, is restored to the community for reconstruction of the Masjid;

REITERATE that all divisive campaigns - speeches. yatras and publications - which violate the national consensus embodied in the Act of 1991 be banned and all those who incite any section of the people to invade and take over a place of worship belonging to another be prosecuted; and

THANK the political parties which have commemorated the 7th anniversary of the Demolition, for warning the nation against the long-term objectives and short-term plans of the forces of Hindu Chauvinism, Fascism and Fundamentalism which have gained strength, become active under the benign umbrella of the Vajpayee Government and constitute a grave threat to the unity and integrity of the nation."