Days after Mohan Bhagwat’s concern, RSS-linked magazine says ‘truth’ of disputed sites key to ‘civilisational justice’

The magazine has carried a cover story on the Sambhal mosque controversy, where it has claimed how a temple “existed in place” of the Shahi Jama Masjid in the UP town. It has also described Sambhal’s troubled communal history.

Significantly, the cover story and the accompanying editorial have steered clear of Bhagwat’s cautionary statement on temple-mosque disputes, contending that the demand for truth in the context of religious spaces that were historically invaded or demolished is a necessary undertaking.

“The time is ripe to address this quest for civilisational justice. Babasaheb Ambedkar went to the root cause of caste-based discrimination and provided constitutional remedies to end the same. We need a similar approach to end the religious acrimony and disharmony,” the editorial penned by the magazine’s editor Prafulla Ketkar states.

The edit has argued that this could be achieved only with Muslims accepting the “truth” and denying it would encourage separatism.

“This approach, based on accepting the truth about Itihasa, disassociating Bharatiya Muslims from the perpetrators of iconoclasm and religious supremacy, and redressing the quest for civilisational justice, offers hope for peace and harmony. Denying such access to justice and right to know the truth just because some colonised elites and pseudo intellectuals want to continue with the application of ‘shoddy Secularism’ would encourage radicalism, separatism and hostility,” the editorial says.

On December 19, addressing an event in Pune, Bhagwat underlined that Ram Temple in Ayodhya was a “matter of faith” for Hindus, but asserted that it was “unacceptable” to rake up “such new issues on a daily basis” simply because of “extreme hatred, malice, enmity and suspicion”.

Earlier, The Indian Express reported that with a flurry of suits filed seeking Hindu rights over various Muslim places of worship, there seemed to be an unease within the Sangh Parivar over the rising number of such cases in different parts of the country. The report had said that the Sangh leaders felt too many such claims would dilute “genuine claims” of Hindu rights over monuments such as Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi or Mathura Idgah. The report also flagged the Sangh Parivar’s silence on the matter given the support such petitions have gathered among its cadres.

The Organiser’s story and editorial seem to argue that it is important for the Muslim community in the country to acknowledge the “historical injustices” done to the Hindus by invaders. “From Somnath to Sambhal and beyond, this battle for knowing the historical truth is not about religious supremacy. It is against the Hindu ethos. It is about reaffirming our national identity and seeking civilisational justice,” the editorial says.

As part of the magazine’s cover story, an article, “Healing the Historical Wounds” written by Aditya Kashyap, states: “Acknowledging historical wrongs facilitates acknowledgment of injustices, creating a foundation for dialogue and healing. It also helps in promoting reconciliation since transparency fosters mutual respect and understanding between communities with differing historical narratives.”

The article has gone on to argue that courts must enforce this “with sensitivity to the complexities of history and faith”.

“A prudent approach in this regard may be nuanced with unbiased academic and archaeological research, scientific surveys and inspections, preserving heritage by safeguarding surviving structures, open public dialogue and above all restorative justice by acknowledging historical wrongs, and restoring the places and sites to the community and allowing them to take care of these structures or premises for cultural revival initiatives,” it adds.