On December 6, 1992, a Hindu nationalist mob tore down the historic 16th century Babri mosque in the northern Indian city of Ayodhya, claiming that it had been constructed on the site of a temple marking the birthplace of the god Ram.
The claims are certainly credible. The Mughal emperor Babur, who built the mosque, despised Hinduism, and such triumphalist behavior on his part would have been entirely in character.
On January 22, 2024, Narendra Modhi—a savvy politician who has played Hindu nationalists as deftly (and as cynically) as Trump has played American Evangelicals—consecrated his newly-built McTemple on the site of the old Babri mosque.
It was a missed opportunity.
So, the Babri mosque is gone?
Fine, and good riddance to the old triumphalism.
On its site, yes indeed, let us raise a new temple to honor the Rambhumi, the birthplace (literally, “Earth”) of Lord Ram.
Beside it, let us raise a new Babri mosque.
Hindu and Muslim standing together, side by side, neighbors extending the hand of friendship.
Is this not what Lord Ram, what Allah the Compassionate, the Merciful—what any god worth worshiping—would want?
A friend of mine was recently instrumental in opening a new ISKCON center here in town.
When Modhi opened his new Rambhumi temple in Ayodhya, there was a lot of pressure from the congregation to hold a big solidarity celebration at the center.
Goddess bless him, my friend put his foot down.
“What's going on in Ayodhya is political, not religious,” he said. “Prabhupad [the deceased founder of ISKCON] would not have been pleased.”
There was no celebration.
