Will mosques be removed from the temples of Mathura-Kashi too, will the Supreme Court’s decision on the Places of Worship law become an example?

New Delhi: The Places of Worship Act of 1991 has come under the scanner due to many such controversies that have arisen across the country after the Sambhal Mosque in Uttar Pradesh. Six petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court regarding this law. A bench headed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Sanjeev Khanna will hear the petitions filed regarding the validity of this law. Do they understand what the Places of Worship Act-1991 is? Who implemented it and why? Why are some communities in favor of its full implementation while others are in favor of repealing this law? Will mosques be removed from the temples of Mathura and Kashi due to the decision of the Supreme Court? Let’s understand this.

What is the Places of Worship Act-1991, why was the Ayodhya issue not within its scope?

It was 1991, when there was a Congress government headed by Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao in the country. The Congress government brought the Places of Worship Act, 1991, also known as the Places of Worship Act. According to this law, the place of worship of any religion which came into existence before 15 August 1947 cannot be converted into a place of worship of any other religion. If someone tries to do this, he/she can face a jail term of one to three years and a fine. The Ayodhya case was in the court at that time, hence it was kept out of this law.
Apart from Sambhal, these 10 mosques built by Mughals and Turks claim to be temples, why does Jamiat want the law of Congress government?

Did Congress bring this law to stop Ram Mandir movement?

The Ram Mandir movement was at its peak in 1991. BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani took out a Rath Yatra from Somnath on 25 September 1990. It was to reach Ayodhya on 29 October, but on 23 October he/she was arrested in Samastipur, Bihar. The order to arrest was given by Janata Dal Chief Minister Lalu Yadav. The effect of this arrest was that the Janata Dal’s VP Singh government at the Center fell, which was running with the support of the BJP. Congress brought the Places of Worship Act to stop the Ram Mandir movement.

The governments of VP Singh and Chandrashekhar fell

After this, Chandrashekhar separated from VP Singh and formed the government with the support of Congress, but this too could not last long. Fresh elections were held and the Congress government came to power at the centre. PV Narasimha Rao became the Prime Minister. Due to the increasing influence of the Ram Mandir movement, many other temple-mosque disputes started arising along with Ayodhya. The Narasimha Rao government had brought this law to put an end to these disputes.
Places Of Worship Act, 1991: Why did Babri and Narasimha Rao discuss the right to worship in Kashi-Mathura, know

Why was August 15, 1947 chosen for this law?

The purpose of the Places of Worship Act of 1991 is to restore the status of places of worship as they existed after 15 August 1947 and to prevent any alteration of places of worship, as well as to protect their religious character. 15 August 1947 is an important day for India, when it became an independent, democratic and sovereign state, with no state religion and all religions being viewed equally. At the height of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in 1991, Parliament passed the Worship (Special Provisions) Act and the President signed it into law. The then Congress Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao signed this Act.

BJP had then opposed this law

Even when the Narasimha Rao government brought this law in July 1991, the BJP had opposed it in the Parliament. At that time, the then Home Minister SB Chavan, while presenting this bill in the Parliament, had said that these measures should be implemented in view of the repeated controversies arising over the conversion of places of worship which vitiate the communal atmosphere. At that time, Arun Jaitley in Rajya Sabha and Uma Bharti in Lok Sabha had demanded to send this matter to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), but even after this this law was passed.

How the legality of this law was challenged in the petition

When one cannot go to court regarding the claim of a religious place, then how was this petition filed? This petition was not filed regarding any religious place’s claim. Rather, in this petition the legality of the 1991 law prohibiting claims has been challenged. Petitioner Ashwini Upadhyay has challenged the law, calling it discriminatory and a violation of fundamental rights. In the petition, a demand has been made to repeal sections two, three and four of this law. The petitioner says that these sections give legal recognition to the places of worship established illegally by the invaders between 1192 and 1947.

What will the Supreme Court decide, how will its direction be decided?

A bench of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice PV Sanjay Kumar will decide whether the Places of Worship Act, 1991, which prevents places of worship from converting to a religion different from theirs on August 15, 1947, is constitutionally valid . This decision of the Court will determine the direction of several challenges related to the ‘substantive nature’ of places of worship pending before subordinate courts across the country.
The petition states that this law deprives people of Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist religions of their constitutional rights. It also closes their legal path to get back their religious and pilgrimage sites which were destroyed by foreign invaders.

What argument has the petitioner given regarding the existence of a temple?

The petitioner has also argued that the destroyed temples are maintained under personal laws. Hindu law states that the gods are ‘eternal’ and they do not lose land due to the destruction of idols. According to Islamic laws, a Waqf is required to acquire a mosque. Waqf is not formed due to destruction of temples and mosque is not valid in Islamic law. Thus, the destroyed temples are still temples according to law.

What is the dispute between Kashi and Mathura, this decision will open the way

It is believed that beneath the land on which the Shahi Idgah Mosque of Mathura is built, is the place where Shri Krishna was born. In the 17th century, Aurangzeb demolished the temple and built a mosque here. Similarly, there is controversy regarding Vishwanath Temple and Gyanvapi Mosque of Kashi. If the Supreme Court considers the legality of the Places of Worship Act, it will also impact the Kashi-Mathura temple disputes.

Mosque or church built by demolishing 900 temples of the country

According to petitioner Ashwini Upadhyay, there are 900 such temples in the country which were demolished between 1192 and 1947 and their land was captured and converted into mosques or churches. There are a hundred of these which are mentioned in our 18 Mahapuranas. The base of this law should be 1192 instead of 1947, when Muslim invaders laid the foundation of the Sultanate on India.