A major political controversy has broken out in West Bengal after Trinamool Congress MLA Humayun Kabir announced that a foundation stone for a structure named “Babri Masjid” would be laid on December 6 at Beldanga in Murshidabad district. Posters announcing the event surfaced across the district this week, several of which were later found vandalised, heightening tensions at both local and state levels.

THIS ISN’T ABOUT FAITH. ON THE CONTRARY IT’S ABOUT WEAPONISING FAITH LIKE BABUR DID.
Posters of Babri Masjid put up in Murshidabad, Bengal. TMC MLA Humayun Kabir has said, “We will lay the foundation stone of Babri Masjid here on 6th Dec.”
BENGAL’S MURSHIDABAD FOR BABUR? pic.twitter.com/VEvG1aM1yh

— Rahul Shivshankar (@RShivshankar) November 26, 2025

Kabir told reporters that Muslim leaders would attend the ceremony and claimed the mosque would be completed “within three years.” The choice of date has set off a political storm: December 6 marks the anniversary of the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.

Despite the escalating row, the Trinamool Congress has not issued an official statement. Kabir, who has been distanced from the party and issued multiple show-cause notices earlier, continues to chart an independent political course and has even hinted at forming a new outfit. The party has not expelled him.

The BJP sharply criticised the announcement, calling it an attempt to provoke and polarise.

Humayun Kabir dismissed the criticism, asserting that the foundation stone would be laid as scheduled.
“This is a religious right and a demand of the local people,” he said.

The Congress distanced itself from the controversy.

This is not the first time Kabir has made such an announcement; he made similar remarks in 2024. With the anniversary of December 6 approaching, political parties have urged restraint, warning that statements of this nature could inflame tensions in Bengal’s communally sensitive districts.

The situation in Murshidabad continues to be closely monitored as the planned foundation-laying date approaches.

(Source: Times of India)

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The post “Babri Masjid” Posters Surface In Murshidabad As TMC MLA Humayun Kabir Says “We Will Lay Foundation On December 6” appeared first on The Commune.

The Supreme Court of India has declined to intervene in the case of Mohd. Faiyyaz Mansuri, a young law graduate who sought to quash criminal proceedings initiated against him for a 2020 Facebook post referencing the Babri Masjid.

The post in question stated: “Babri Masjid too will one day be rebuilt, just as the Sofian Mosque in Turkey was rebuilt.”

Hearing the matter, a Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said it found no reason to halt the trial and allowed the criminal proceedings to continue before the lower court.

The case originated from an FIR filed in 2020, alleging that Mansuri had uploaded an “objectionable” Facebook post about the Babri Masjid on August 5 that year. His plea challenging the summons was earlier dismissed by the Allahabad High Court, prompting him to move the Supreme Court.

After reviewing the post, the Supreme Court said it saw “no reason to interfere” and observed that the defences raised by the accused could be presented before the trial court. Following these remarks, Mansuri chose to withdraw his plea.

Background of the Babri Masjid Dispute

The Babri Masjid, a mosque in Ayodhya, was demolished in 1992 by Hindus who stated it had been constructed over a temple marking the birthplace of Lord Ram. The demolition triggered widespread communal riots and decades of legal disputes.

In 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that although the demolition was unlawful, the Hindu parties had successfully established exclusive possession of the outer courtyard of the disputed site. The Court granted the land to the deity Ram Lalla, paving the way for the construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, while directing that five acres of alternative land be allotted to the Muslim parties for a new mosque.

Mansuri’s Arguments

In his petition, Mansuri argued that his Facebook post was an expression of opinion protected under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and expression.

He contended that the post contained no “vulgar or inflammatory language” and that he was being “wrongly targeted” for comments made by other users on the post. Mansuri claimed that third-party remarks were incorrectly attributed to him and formed the basis of the criminal case. One of the accounts responsible for the allegedly offensive comments, he said, was a fake profile run by someone else.

Mansuri also told the Court that he had already been detained under the National Security Act (NSA) for over a year because of the same post. The Allahabad High Court had later quashed his preventive detention in 2021, holding that there was no legal justification for it.

His counsel described the ongoing prosecution as “malicious, selective, and an abuse of criminal law.” The petition argued that the High Court had disregarded the principles laid down in State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal – a landmark ruling that outlines circumstances under which criminal proceedings can be quashed. Instead, the High Court had passed a “cryptic” order asking for a speedy trial without examining whether the FIR disclosed any offence, the plea said.

Exchange in the Supreme Court

During the hearing, Mansuri’s lawyer maintained that the post contained no vulgar language, asserting that any objectionable content was written by another user.

He told the Bench, “My post doesn’t have any vulgarity. The vulgarity is there in some other person’s post.”

Justice Surya Kant responded that the Court would not make any comment on the post’s content, saying, “Please don’t invite any comment from us.”

The counsel urged the Bench to at least review the post before making a decision, leading to a brief exchange.

“See my post at least,” the lawyer said. “We have seen your post,” Justice Kant replied.

The counsel disagreed, insisting, “My lords have not seen it.”

Justice Kant repeated firmly, “We have seen it. We have read it many times.”

When the lawyer again said, “My lordships have not seen the post,” Justice Kant warned, “Don’t say that we have not seen it. How can you say we have not seen it? If you behave like this, you must face the consequences.”

The lawyer then reiterated that the charges were based on comments from other people, not on Mansuri’s own words. Justice Kant, however, maintained the Court’s position and refused to interfere.

Petition Withdrawn

Eventually, Mansuri’s counsel said he would withdraw the petition to avoid any remarks from the Court that might affect his defence during trial. The Supreme Court allowed the withdrawal, making it clear that the trial would proceed in the lower court.

The Bench also noted that Mansuri could raise all his arguments regarding free speech and alleged wrongful prosecution during the trial.

(Source: LawChakra)

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The post ‘Let Trial Decide’ – Supreme Court Rejects Plea To Quash Case Over Facebook Post That Said ‘Babri Masjid Will Be Rebuilt Like Sofian Mosque’ appeared first on The Commune.

The foreign media has been spreading lies and half-truths about the Ram Mandir consecration ceremony, and BBC Tamil News channel has jumped into the fray. In a video posted on 22 January 2024, the channel had asked opinions from selected commoners in the Muslim community about the consecration ceremony. The opinion said by the people in the interview is biased against the construction of Ram Mandir, riddled with misinformation.

The video begins with a short history starting from the demolition of Babri Masjid until the construction of Ram Mandir on the site, mentioning that the ceremony happened at the time when the LS elections are closing in. The narrator then says they asked the opinion of Tamil Nadu Muslims on this issue. The list of the opinions shared by the commoners in the video is translated and given below:

"அயோத்தியும் ராமரும் இல்லைனா பாஜகவே இல்ல…" தமிழ்நாடு முஸ்லிம்கள் என்ன சொல்கிறார்கள்?#Ayodhya #TamilMuslims #RamMandir #Ramtemple pic.twitter.com/isaCS0DJKT

— BBC News Tamil (@bbctamil) January 22, 2024

A man named Sathakkathulla says, ‘We see this consecration as the right to worship of the Hindus. But at the same time, for us Muslims, we see this as a pain. Going a step ahead, the Sangh Parivar groups are saying they will destroy Kasi, Mathura and 3000 more places of worship. This creates fear in us. The international community should monitor this. We should believe that there is still democracy and justice in India and give us our right to worship.‘

Sirajuddin says, ‘In the year 2019 they gave the verdict. Even in that, they didn’t say there was Ramar temple in this place. It is also seen clearly that they destroyed the Babri Masjid and constructed the Ram Mandir there now. We can see that this betrayal is being celebrated today.‘

Mumtaj says, ‘This is injustice and betrayal against a particular community. 100% politics. Without Ramar and Babar BJP will not exist today. This is something what they have done for politics…to assume power, but I don’t see any ‘bhakthi’ towards Rama in this. No religion supports violence. On that basis, if Rama was here, he will not allow occupying the place of worship of another community. Even Hanuman will not allow this.‘

Nishana says, ‘We see this (Ram Mandir) as a building created out of the tears of Muslims. We view this as a great injustice to the Muslims. Whenever we see that building, we are reminded of the injustice done to the Muslims. We are reminded of every life killed there when we see that.‘

Abdhul Raheem says, ‘If you are celebrating the “Ram Jenma Bhumi”  where a mosque was demolished, then all the Muslims all over the world we condemn this. We are not happy. Just because we are peaceful, the PM is saying we have agreed to this. But no true Muslim will agree to this.‘

Kaja Muhaideen says, ‘We are not sad about the temple or the Gods being worshipped because everybody has a different way of worshipping and faiths. But after saying that it is Babri Masjid through court and through misuse of your power you took it from us and in front of our eyes to prove your majoritarianism constructing a temple in that same place, we don’t agree to it soulfully. Whether you feel ashamed for it or not, but we do.’

Abdul Hakkeem says, ‘They are building a temple quickly and opening it. Only a particular group of people take part in it. The majority of the people are being ignored. Dalits, Islamists and the downtrodden are entirely ignored. Even the president has been ignored. As a commoner, I am asking, what happened to the mosque there? Why can’t you build a mosque there and open it along with the temple? We would have gone there happily. We could have participated in the consecration ceremony together. We expected a festival like that.‘

Benazir says, ‘I feel that the majority of the Hindus have been fooled. Because I see this (Ram Mandir) was constructed on lies. Because even if Rama came back and said I was not born here, “that crowd” will not believe that, is my instinct. This place of worship was created to make communal clashes and destroy the peace in the nation. Today everyone has some worship and nobody critics about the worship of the other person. The problem here is the demolition of the Babri Masjid mosque and the repeated lie that a temple was destroyed, and the mosque was built on it. Because of this (lie) the generations until now have been affected. The generations after this will also be affected is our concern.‘

While the majority of the Muslims in the nation has no animosity about the consecration festival, some media houses have been deliberately trying to flare up communal tensions by cherry-picking the sentiments of a handful of people and amplifying as the voice of the majority. However, due to the sensibilities of the Indian community, such efforts have been thwarted successfully.

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The post BBC News Tamil Posts Inflammatory Content As Opinions Of People; Fans Communal Tensions After Ram Mandir Consecration Ceremony appeared first on The Commune.

As the nation gears up to welcome Lord Ram at his grand temple in Ayodhya, DMK scion Udhyanidhi Stalin has said that his party is against the demolition of the Babri Masjid and building the temple on that site.

DMK Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin was addressing reporters at Chennai’s Anna Salai after inaugurating the torch run ahead of his party youth wing’s conference scheduled in Salem on 21 January 2024.

When a reporter asked “The AIADMK has said that participating in the Ram Temple inauguration is a matter of personal choice and that it should not be viewed politically.”, Udhayanidhi Stalin replied that the DMK was against the construction of building the temple at the site of Babri Masjid.

He said “They (AIADMK) have expressed their wishes. They sent people for the karseva. Kalaignar had already told that we’re not against the beliefs of anyone. We don’t have a problem with the temple coming there. But razing down the mosque present there and building the temple on that site is what we do not agree. Our treasurer has already said. Religion and politics shouldn’t be mixed.”

He also quipped at Edappadi K. Palaniswami’s non-participation in Ram Mandir celebration with excuse of having a leg pain.

“Since he keeps crawling every now and then, he is getting leg pain”, Udhayaindhi Stalin said in a sly jibe at Palaniswami’s act of falling at the feet of Sasikala Natarajan when he was appointed Chief Minister.

மசூதியை இடித்துவிட்டு கோயிலை கட்டியதில் திமுகவிற்கு உடன்பாடு இல்லை – அமைச்சர் உதயநிதி#UdhayanidhiStalin | #DMK | #AyodhaRamMandir | #Ayodhya pic.twitter.com/DMp7fWaDgJ

— PuthiyathalaimuraiTV (@PTTVOnlineNews) January 18, 2024

Udhayanidhi Stalin gained national spotlight in September 2023 for his abusive comments on Sanatana Dharma (aka Hinduism) at the ‘Eradicate Sanatana Dharma’ conference held by a Leftist-Dravidianist group.

The DMK Minister said “Mosquitoes, dengue, flu, malaria, corona – we should not oppose these things. They’ve to be eradicated completely. Same is the case with Santanam (Hinduism). Our first work should be to abolish/eradicate Sanatanam instead of opposing it.” 

This had led to a national outrage with even the I.N.D.I. allies distancing themselves from the DMK.

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It has been reported that the construction work for the grand mosque and hospital in Ayodhya is scheduled to start in May. In its judgement given on November 9, 2019, the Supreme Court of India granted 2.77 acres of land in Ayodhya for the construction of Ram Mandir, which was considered “a disputed structure”.

The apex court also ordered the Central government to provide 5 acres of alternative land for Muslims to build a mosque. Accordingly, 5 acres of land in Thannipur village was allotted for the construction of a new mosque. On this land, the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF) set up by the Uttar Pradesh State Sunni Waqf Board is to build a new mosque.

The spokesman of the IICF, Attar Hussein, said that the site would house a huge mosque, a hospital, a museum and a cultural centre. The architectural design was developed by SM Akhtar, a senior architect.

In the mosque complex, a green area and a parking lot are also to be established. Next week, the design map will be sent to the Ayodhya city administration for approval. With the approval, construction work on the hospital will begin in May, he added.

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The post Construction of mosque in Ayodhya to start in May appeared first on The Commune.

Iqbal Ansari who was one of the main litigants in the Ram Mandir – Babri Masjid case received the invitation for the Ram Mandir Pujan ceremony in Ayodhya.

Iqbal confirmed that he will be attending the event and added that it was Lord Ram’s wish that he receive the first invitation. He was jubilant and said that communal tension between Hindus and Muslims has finally come to an end.

He said, “Yes, I have received the invitation from Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust for the Bhoomi Pujan ceremony. I will certainly attend it. The dispute is over now after the court’s verdict. I belong to Ayodhya. All this (temple’s construction) will change the fate of Ayodhya. We all want our child to get better opportunities”.

Ansari added that he would be gifting a ‘Ram nami’ stole and a copy of the Ramcharitmanas to Prime Minister Modi, who would be attending the Bhumi Pujan on August 5. He went on to say that he respected sadhus and saints and that he was happy to have received the invitation for the ceremony.

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Many will be aware of what Butterfly Effect is. It’s a chain of events that gets triggered by one incident in the past and the impact of that one original incident wouldn’t have been fathomed initially. This is about one such butterfly effect moment in India.

In 1978, a man called Mohammad Ahmed Khan, a very affluent and well to do lawyer in Indore stopped giving the alimony money of ₹200 per month to his divorced wife Shah Bano. His wife was 63 years old and had five children. He had infact lived with two wives for many years and then divorced Shah Bano who was his first wife. Shah Bano then approached the local court. Mr. Khan argued that since he had divorced his wife, under the Muslim Personal Law, he was not under obligation to pay for maintenance or alimony. But the local court directed him to pay ₹25 per month to Shah Bano. The cases then went to High Court. High court directed him to pay ₹179 per month to Shah Bano as alimony. The case then went to Supreme Court. The Supreme Court in a landmark judgement asked him to pay ₹200 per month to his old divorced wife for herself and her children’s maintenance.

This caused a huge uproar and protests from the Muslim community who saw the Supreme Court as interfering in their personal laws while actually, it was not. Maintenance is not personal law whereas divorce is. However the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and other groups started applying pressure on the then Central Government. Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who had a whopping 413 seats in Lok Sabha was under pressure from his “advisors” and inner circle to bring a law to overturn the Supreme Court judgement. He was advised that if this was not done, then the party would lose in the next Lok Sabha elections as Muslims won’t vote for the Congress. The Rajiv Gandhi government brought an amendment to law through an act of Parliament that over turned the Supreme Court’s judgement of paying a monthly maintenance amount to divorced Muslim women. The Congress still lost the Lok Sabha elections in 1989 is a different matter.

This over turning of Shah Bano Supreme Court judgement by the ‘secular’ Congress government created another furore and uproar in the country, but this time, it was from the Hindus, civil society, women groups and others. The ‘secular’ Congress government was seen as caving to fundamentalists and playing open and active minority appeasement politics. Hence, once again Rajiv Gandhi’s advisors advised him, now to placate the Hindus, to open the doors of the locked Babri Masjid and allow daily shilanyas to be performed. The ‘secular’ Congress government did the same. Till then the Ayodhya movement hadn’t gathered much steam as BJP did not involve itself directly into the movement. It may sound quite unbelievable now. But then BJP had no high stake Hindu cause in its manifesto till then. Uniform Civil Code was more of a constitutional and legal reform and the abrogation of Article 370 was more of a nationalist position.

Seeing the blatant interference of the ‘secular’ Rajiv Gandhi government into religious affairs of the citizens in Shah Bano case and then in Babri Masjid, BJP picked up the cause of Ram Mandir as part of its political agenda and manifesto in the 1989 elections. BJP was pushed into doing this because, the Hindus were repeatedly being taken for a ride on the Ayodhya issue due to the interference of a certain section of politicians, self-proclaimed intellectuals and historians with ulterior motives who were twisting and turning at every point to conceal the truth. Rajiv Gandhi commenced his 1989 election campaign from Ayodhya promising Ram Rajya. He did this to placate the anger of Hindus triggered by overturning of Shah Bano judgement. This is the misunderstanding that our politicians, media and even most citizens have on being neutral or secular. Being neutral means being objective. It does not mean doing something for one group to compensate for what was done to another group. Being secular means the government not interfering in the religious affairs of anyone. It does not mean appeasement. Playing appeasement is neither secularism nor neutrality.

Thus, it is this non-payment of a meagre amount of ₹200 a month by a man to his divorced wife that paved the way for a chain of events to happen – Congress’s over turning the judgement, Congress opening the locks of Babri Masjid for Hindus to pray there, BJP taking Ram Mandir as an election issue, BJP growing strong and big in North India and winning a lot of seats in 1989 and 1991 elections, VP Singh government going back on its word to solve the dispute, Advani commencing Rath Yatra, Advani being arrested by Lalu Prasad in Bihar, VP Singh government falling, Chandrashekhar government trying to solve the issue, Congress toppling his government, Mulayam Singh Yadav government firing and killing Kar Sevaks in UP, BJP under Kalyan Singh winning a majority in UP, Babri Masjid being demolished, Bombay riots, Bombay blasts by Dawood group, a Hindutva government forming for the first time in Maharashtra, Vajpayee becoming Prime Minister courtesy Ram Temple movement, Godhra train burning of Hindus, Gujarat riots, Modi becoming the leader and becoming Prime Minister twice, a strong Ram Mandir propenent Yogi Adityanath becoming CM of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Parasaran representing Ram Lalla in court and finally Lord Ram returning back to his throne from exile.

In a way, it looks as if Lord Ram chose to return from exile through a Muslim woman, thus standing as a testimony to the ethos of this great land.

The post The butterfly effect of ₹200 appeared first on The Commune.

As works for the building of a grand temple at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi are underway, workers chanced upon remnants of an old temple, ancient idols, pillars and even a Shiva Linga while levelling the land for the temple.

The Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirth Kshetra Trust tweeted that a 5 feet Shiva Linga, 7 pillars of black touchstone, 6 pillars of red sandstone and broken idols of Gods were recovered during the excavation. The Trust said that they would be providing more updates regularly.

Statement of Shri Champat Rai, Trust General Secretary about findings of excavation activity at Shri Ramjanmbhumi.

श्री रामजन्मभूमि परिसर में मिले पुरातत्विक महत्व के स्तम्भों और अन्य वस्तुओं के संदर्भ में श्री रामजन्मभूमि तीर्थ क्षेत्र के महामंत्री श्री चम्पत राय जी का वक्तव्य pic.twitter.com/XczrY6wjgk

— Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra (@ShriRamTeerth) May 20, 2020

The Trust said that the works commenced on May 11, 2020 and that the work for levelling of land & removal of gangway in Shri Ramjanmabhumi Complex had started with the approval of DM Ayodhya. It said that many objects have been discovered during excavation since then. Some of them include many objects of archaeological importance like flowers made of stone, Kalash, Aamalak, Dorjamb etc.

श्रीराम जन्मभूमि पर श्रीराम जन्मभूमि तीर्थ क्षेत्र द्वारा भूमि समतलीकरण का कार्य 11 मई से प्रारम्भ हुआ है। जिसमें अनेक प्रकार की देवी देवताओं की खंडित मूर्तियां पुरावशेष, पुष्प कलश आमलक व दोरजाम्ब के पत्थर इत्यादि मिले हैं।#जय_श्रीराम pic.twitter.com/rfiMEpkPrQ

— विनोद बंसल Vinod Bansal বিনোদ বনসল వినోద్ బన్సాల్ (@vinod_bansal) May 20, 2020

“All norms prescribed wrt #Covid19 pandemic like regular sanitisation, mask for all 10 workers etc, are being followed at the site,” the Trust tweeted.

K.K. Mohammad, former Regional Director of Archaeological Survey of India had said in 2018 that the ASI team found ”brick foundations, which supported the pillars of a pre-existed temple.”  while carrying out an extensive survey at Ayodhya.

The recovery of pillars, idols and other items are crucial evidences and attest the fact that there existed a temple that was razed down by invaders for the construction of a mosque.

The post In Pictures: Ancient temple remains, pillars, idols, Shiva Linga found during land-levelling work at Ram Janmabhoomi appeared first on The Commune.