Babri Mosque: a historic bone of contention

Babri Mosque: a historic bone of contention

Since 1855, the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya has been the source of sporadic clashes between Hindus and Muslims. After a thorough scrutiny of the available historical literature on the Mosque, this article argues that to regard it as the birthplace of the Hindu deity Rama is untenable and the notion was...

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Main Author: Islam, Arshad
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Blackwell Publishing 2007
Subjects:
DA Great Britain
DS Asia
Online Access:http://irep.iium.edu.my/30892/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/30892/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/30892/1/Babri_Mosque_A_historic_bone_of_contention.pdf
id iium-30892
recordtype eprints
spelling iium-308922013-08-04T04:48:37Z http://irep.iium.edu.my/30892/ Babri Mosque: a historic bone of contention Islam, Arshad DA Great Britain DS Asia Since 1855, the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya has been the source of sporadic clashes between Hindus and Muslims. After a thorough scrutiny of the available historical literature on the Mosque, this article argues that to regard it as the birthplace of the Hindu deity Rama is untenable and the notion was actually put into circulation by British colonial officials to serve British interests in the Indian subcontinent. Successive colonial administrations tried to strengthen their grip on South Asia by playing off one group against another in the name of caste, race, and, most importantly, religion. The ongoing Hindu-Muslim conflict in India is largely the outcome of British policies. With their agenda of 'divide and rule' that aimed at consolidating their hold over the subcontinent the British tried to create a huge chasm between Hindus and Muslims. They labelled Muslims as the oppressors and Hindus as the oppressed, working to gain the support of the Hindu masses by provoking their hatred of the Muslims; and they strongly backed their religious and other claims in a vast amount of biased literature. It was with this colonial agenda that they endorsed the Hindu claim to the site of the Babri Mosque. Blackwell Publishing 2007-04 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/30892/1/Babri_Mosque_A_historic_bone_of_contention.pdf Islam, Arshad (2007) Babri Mosque: a historic bone of contention. Muslim World Journal of Human Rights, 97 (2). pp. 259-286. ISSN 1554-4419 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1478-1913.2007.00173.x/pdf
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Local University
institution International Islamic University Malaysia
building IIUM Repository
collection Online Access
language English
topic DA Great Britain
DS Asia
spellingShingle DA Great Britain
DS Asia
Islam, Arshad
Babri Mosque: a historic bone of contention
description Since 1855, the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya has been the source of sporadic clashes between Hindus and Muslims. After a thorough scrutiny of the available historical literature on the Mosque, this article argues that to regard it as the birthplace of the Hindu deity Rama is untenable and the notion was actually put into circulation by British colonial officials to serve British interests in the Indian subcontinent. Successive colonial administrations tried to strengthen their grip on South Asia by playing off one group against another in the name of caste, race, and, most importantly, religion. The ongoing Hindu-Muslim conflict in India is largely the outcome of British policies. With their agenda of 'divide and rule' that aimed at consolidating their hold over the subcontinent the British tried to create a huge chasm between Hindus and Muslims. They labelled Muslims as the oppressors and Hindus as the oppressed, working to gain the support of the Hindu masses by provoking their hatred of the Muslims; and they strongly backed their religious and other claims in a vast amount of biased literature. It was with this colonial agenda that they endorsed the Hindu claim to the site of the Babri Mosque.
format Article
author Islam, Arshad
author_facet Islam, Arshad
author_sort Islam, Arshad
title Babri Mosque: a historic bone of contention
title_short Babri Mosque: a historic bone of contention
title_full Babri Mosque: a historic bone of contention
title_fullStr Babri Mosque: a historic bone of contention
title_full_unstemmed Babri Mosque: a historic bone of contention
title_sort babri mosque: a historic bone of contention
publisher Blackwell Publishing
publishDate 2007
url http://irep.iium.edu.my/30892/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/30892/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/30892/1/Babri_Mosque_A_historic_bone_of_contention.pdf
first_indexed 2023-09-18T20:45:08Z
last_indexed 2023-09-18T20:45:08Z
_version_ 1777409623948525568

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