India's top court is hearing several petitions challenging a decades-old law that preserves the character and identity of religious places as they were at the time of the country's independence. in 1947.
The law, introduced in 1991, prohibits the alteration or alteration of the character of any place of worship and prevents courts from entertaining status disputes, with the exception of the Babri Masjid casewhich was clearly exempted.
The Babri Masjid, a 16th-century mosque, was at the center of a long-running dispute, which ended when it was demolished by a Hindu mob in 1992. Court ruling in 2019 the site was given to Hindus to build a temple, managing debates about India's religious and secular fault lines.
The current petitions, including one from a member of Prime Minister Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), argue that the 1991 law violates fundamental freedom of religion and belief. statutory.
The hearing comes against a backdrop of Hindu groups filing cases to challenge the status of the many mosquessaying that they were built over demolished Hindu temples.
Many, including opposition leaders and Muslim groups, have defended the law, saying it is vital to protect religious minority places of worship in Hindu-majority India. They also question the nature of the historical evidence provided by the petitioners in support of their claims.
They say that if the law is struck down or weakened, it could open the floodgates for a host of similar challenges and ignite religious tensions, especially between Hindus and Muslims.
A court in Rajasthan recently accepted a petition that claimed there was a temple where the shrine of Ajmer Sharif stands (Getty Images)
Why was the law introduced?
The law states that the religious character of any place of worship – temples, mosques, churches and gurdwaras – must be maintained as it was on August 15, 1947, when India became independent.
The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 was introduced by the then Congress party government during a movement – led by members of the Hindu nationalist BJP – to build a temple at the Babri Masjid site in a city the north of the country. Ayodhya was getting stronger. The aggressive campaign provoked riots in several parts of the country and, accordingly some assessmentsleft hundreds dead.
The violence was a painful reminder of the religious strife India had seen during break up in 1947.
While bring in In the bill in parliament, Home Minister SB Chavan then expressed concern about “an alarming rise in intolerance spread by certain sections for their narrow interests”.
These groups, he said, were resorting to “forced conversion” of places of worship in an attempt to create new disputes.
The BJP, which was then in opposition, strongly opposed the bill, with some lawmakers leaving the parliament. An MP from the party said that he believed that the bill was introduced to appease the minorities and that it would only widen the gap between Hindus and Muslims.
Apart from archaeological sites – whether religious or not – the Babri Masjid was the only exception to the law, because there was a legal challenge against the structure even before independence.
However, the Hindu mob demolished the mosque within months of the law being enacted. In 2019, while handing over the disputed land to Hindu groups, the Supreme Court of India declared the demolition of the mosque
Violence broke out in the town of Sambhal last month after a court inspected a 16th-century mosque (Getty Images)
Why does it keep making news?
The Supreme Court's decision on the law will be crucial for the fate of dozens of religious structures, especially those of Muslims, which are contested by Hindu groups. Among them are Gianvapi and Shahi Eidgah, two disputed mosques in the holy cities of Varanasi and Mathura.
While the hearing is being watched closely, the law also makes news when there is a new development in cases that challenge mosques.
Two weeks ago, a court in Rajasthan issued a notice to the government after admitting a petition alleging that the venerable Ajmer Sharif dargah – a 13th-century Sufi shrine that attracts thousands of visitors every day – stands above a Hindu temple.
And last month, there were four kill in the town of Sambhal in the state of Uttar Pradesh when violence broke out during a court-ordered inspection of a 16th-century mosque. Muslim groups have challenged the investigation in the High Court.
There have been tensions over other investigations ordered by the court earlier, including the Gyanvapi mosque case. Hindu groups said the 17th-century mosque was built by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb on the ruined part of the Kashi Vishwanath temple. Muslim groups opposed the investigation ordered by a local court, saying it violated a 1991 law.
But in 2022, the Supreme Court bench headed by the then chief justice DY Chandrachud that did not stop the investigation from proceeding. He also noted that the 1991 law did not prohibit inspections of the status of a place of worship on August 15, 1947, while it did not seek to change it.
This has since been widely criticized, with former civil servant Harsh Mander saying it “opened the floodgates for this series of orders by courts which are against the 1991 law”.
“If you allow a mosque to be explored to find out if a temple lay beneath it, but then prevent activities to restore a temple on that site, this is a sure recipe for foster resentment, hatred and fear that can explode for years in bitter conflict. between people of different faiths,” Mr Mander write.
Critics also point out that the historic nature of the sites will make it difficult to definitively establish differing claims, leaving room for bitter inter-religious battles and violence.
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