Monday, November 17, 2008

Thirst

Hi, For the sake of introduction, I am Himanshu Mishra, an Indian currently living in Hyderabad, for more information please click on my Profile. I have never ever written any blog before; this is my first ever blog so if I don't follow the so called "Blog-Culture", please forgive me.
I was thinking a lot about the title of my first blog, unfortunately not about the content. Because I always look for a start, I don't bother much about things come after start... (For some of you it may look like dumb!!)...can't help it, this is the way I think. And that's why I named it "Abhikrama", the commencement...'Abhikrama' is a word taken from 'Sanskrit' language and derived from 'Arambha', which means any beginning as in any effort, so as in English 'The Commencement'.
I was born in a small city named 'Faizabad', it is in Uttar Pradesh, North India, never heard of it right? But I am sure you must have heard of 'Ayodhya'...if you are an Indian, no matter what religion you follow. As I took the name of Ayodhya, some familiar names are started striking into your mind like 'Ramjanamabhoomi', 'Babri masjid', '6 December 1992', 'Riots', 'Hindu-Muslim' and etc-etc. Now you have got some idea about Faizabad. But that is not my intention to you to get familiar with 'Faizabad'. I just want you to get a clear picture of the words which I have mentioned above.
I will start with 'Ramjanmabhoomi', The Ramjanmabhoomi is called to be the birth place of 'Lord Rama', a Hindu mighty God, 'avatar' (incarnation) of Bhagvan 'Vishnu'. According to the Hindu and some historians view there was a temple on this place prior to 1528 and was demolished on the orders of Mughal invader 'Babur' and a mosque was built on its ruins. Countless disputes and lots of different views are there on this issue. And I am not at all interested in adding one more into this.
'Babri Masjid' was a mosque and built by 'Babur' in the 16th century. Babur was the first Mughal Emperor of India. The Babri masjid was one of the biggest mosques in Uttar Pradesh. Babri masjid was demolished by some Hindu Activists and nationalists. Countless disputes and activities started after this demolition.
Both of these unfortunate events have given millions of scars and stigma on the body of Indian common man. Those people have done whatever they wanted to do but now we are facing the consequences of their stupidity. I don't mind calling those activities as a stupidity because I can not find much appropriate word for these kind of acts. The acts which has been played for a chair and for few thousands of votes.
Countless 'Riots' occurred across the nation after the demolition of babri masjid in which more than 2000 people were killed. Riots broke out in many major Indian cities including Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad and now each and every city is affected by this. The flame was not only in India but also it was outside of India too and the most affected nation was Bangladesh and its people, who were from minority community. In the name of one mosque they have destroyed hundreds of temples and killed thousands of people. It has not stopped, it is going on but now it has taken a bigger, awful and horrible face named as 'HUJI' or 'Indian Mujahideen'. Here I am not comparing but trying to tell the consequences of one wrong step, which was taken on '6 December 1992'. Now they are killing people in India itself. Before placing a bomb they don't see whether it will hurt a Hindu or a Muslim, what they want is just the destruction of Unity and killing of humanity in India. This we all know so won't go deep into it.
What will we discuss here is about 'The similarity' between both the structures ('Ramjanmabhoomi' and 'Babri masjid'). Both of them are related to two different religions, but used for the same cause, which is to Pray to God. Both of them gave shelter to their devotees.
Very few of us know that Hindus and Muslims used to worship together in the disputed structure in the 19th century until about 1855. According to a British Historian, the Hindus and Muslims alike used to worship in the 'mosquetemple'. Since the British rule a railing has been put up to prevent dispute, within which, in the mosque the Muslims pray, while outside the fence the Hindus have raised a platform on which they make their offerings. The platform called "Ram Chabutara" prior to Independence, and used equally by both the religions to pray the God before the Britishes put the fence.
There is a well which both the Hindus and Muslims claim has miraculous properties. Many Hindu devotees came during the annual Ram festival 'Ram Navami’ to drink from the water well in the Babri Courtyard. It was believed drinking water from this well could cure a range of illnesses. But here again dispute in views comes into picture Hindu pilgrims believed that the Babri water well was the original well in the Ram Temple under the mosque. Ayodhya Muslims believed that the well was a gift from 'Allah', and was nowhere related to Ram mandir. What I say is, let the well came from anywhere or made by anyone but finally what matters is to quench the 'Thirst' of a common man.
My main intention behind creating this topic was to discuss about this 'Thirst', which I have mentioned above, more elaborately and in much appropriate manner.
That’s it for now.
Thirst continues…