Babur was an invader, don’t compare the Babri Masjid to the brotherhood of India…

Bengaluru: Former Minister and senior BJP leader Suresh Kumar has strongly reacted to the statement made by Banu Mushtaq, an international Booker Prize recipient, regarding the Babri Masjid and India’s sense of unity.

Speaking at the 14th edition of the Bengaluru Literature Festival (BLF), Mushtaq had controversially equated the demolition of the Babri Masjid with the loss of national unity and brotherhood, claiming both events were detrimental to the nation’s democratic values.

Mushtaq had highlighted that the same day Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who championed equality and fraternity in India, attained his parinirvana, the Babri Masjid was demolished, symbolizing a loss to India’s pluralistic fabric.

She argued that while the mosque was demolished, what was truly destroyed was the idea of unity among the people of India. She further emphasized that the issue was not about the Babri Masjid or the Ram Mandir but about the identity of the nation itself. “The question is, who should the nation identify with — Ram or Babur?” Mushtaq said.

In her speech, she pointed out that Babur, the invader who ordered the construction of the Babri Masjid, was responsible for an attack on the collective dignity, respect, and honor of India’s indigenous communities. According to Mushtaq, the act was not simply the destruction of a mosque but an attack on the cultural identity of Hindus, symbolized by the centuries-old Ram Mandir.

In response to Mushtaq’s remarks, Suresh Kumar wrote a letter condemning the view. Kumar defended the idea of India’s national unity, rejecting the notion that the Babri Masjid and Ram Mandir issue was about religion.

He stressed that the real issue lay in safeguarding India’s shared values of equality, dignity, and respect for all, regardless of caste, religion, or creed. He went on to say that Mushtaq’s comments were an attempt to stir unnecessary divisions by invoking historical conflicts, and dismissed her view as an attempt to undermine India’s ethos of collective pride and unity.

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