Born in Kerala’s Alappuzha district, Muhammed Sabeeh was eight months old when Hindutva mobs tore down the 16th century Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.
He realised its significance when he turned 13. As a student of Class 8, he was preparing to go to school on December 6, 2005, when a family friend cautioned him about a shutdown call by a political party to protest the demolition that had taken place the same day in 1992. “I wondered who had demolished the mosque and what was the reason to call a hartal,” he said.
Two years later, Sabeeh watched a video of the demolition. “The visuals left me speechless and tears swelled my eyes.”
This was also the first time he heard about the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the Hindutva organisation that mobilised the kar sevaks who had demolished the mosque. He felt a deep sense of fear.
Sabeeh has pursued a mix of secular and religious education. He studied history at the reputed CMS College in Kottayam and attended a madrassa for six years. He gave Quran lessons to children, taught history at his alma mater and finally became a professional competitive examination trainer.
He remains afraid of the RSS. “Look, Hindutva forces are clamouring to build Ram temple in the same place where Babri Masjid once stood,” he said, referring to the demands that the Union government bypass the Supreme Court and bring an ordinance to facilitate temple construction. “They are fanning communal flames. A spark is enough to endanger this country.”
It is not just Hindutva fundamentalists who leave Sabeeh with a sense of dread. He is equally concerned about the growing clout of Muslim fundamentalist outfits. “For example, the Popular Front of India emulates RSS in organisational structure and practice,” he said. “I don’t think Muslim community needs such an organisation.”
Anxious about the possibility of communal riots in the wake of another Ram Temple mobilisation, he said Muslims should abandon their claim on the Babri Masjid site. “Let the RSS build a temple wherever they want. Remember Muslims are worst affected by riots,” he said. Further, Islam cannot be destroyed by the demolition of just one mosque, he added. “Islam is all about knowledge and it is not about quarreling,” he said.
Deepening Sabeeh’s anxieties were developments closer home. The recent Supreme Court verdict allowing women of all ages to pray at the Sabarimala shrine had sparked a backlash among sections of the Hindu community, which Hindutva organisations were quick to exploit.
“I am worried that RSS will turn Sabarimala into an Ayodhya of the South India,” he said. “I think their campaign is paying the dividends as some of my best Hindu friends have begun to toe the RSS line. I am worried, to say the least.”
This is the sixth part in a series of articles interviewing Indians born in 1992 about the Bharatiya Janata Party’s efforts to bring its plan to build a Ram temple in Ayodhya back to the political centrestage. The first part can be read here, the second here, the third here and the fourth here and the fifth here.