An ill-conceived move in Bengal

The move by West Bengal MLA Humayun Kabir to construct a “Babri Masjid” in Murshidabad is totally ill-conceived. The misguided MLA--rightly suspended by the Trinamool Congress--is acting against the collective will of the Muslim community which had decided to comply with the Supreme Court ruling to let go of the site where the original Babri Masjid stood in Ayodhya. Kabir’s attempt to undo it by raising another Masjid in a place that not even remotely bears any relationship with Babri Masjid will only rip open the wounds that had begun to heal with the Mosque being replaced with Ram Temple. 

As for Muslims, they have not even shown scant desire to raise a mosque at the alternative site provided at Dhannipur, five kilometres from the demolished mosque. It was in the spirit of ‘let bygones be bygones’ that Muslims had resiled from the claim over the site of the disputed place of worship following the apex court’s final judgement to hand it over for raising of the temple.

In the current scenario, it seems plausible that Kabir is acting in tandem with  forces trying to polarise the West Bengal electorate prior to elections. He is wittingly playing to a script prepared by the forces looking for an issue to counterpolarise the majority community votes. It is rather surprising that the Calcutta High Court has given a go-ahead for a controversial mosque which is all likely to inflame passions across communal lines.