‘Crux of matter lies in politics, not law’: Editorials on court order on Gyanvapi mosque

After a few months’ break, the Gyanvapi mosque controversy has returned to the news cycle. Yesterday, the Varanasi district court upheld the maintainability of a petition filed by five Hindu women who sought the right to worship in the premises of the Gyanvapi mosque. The women claimed the mosque has idols of Hindu gods inside its premises.

Protests had broken out earlier this year when a civil court had ordered the filming of the mosque based on the women’s petition. Given the sensitivity of the issue, did India’s leading English newspapers produce editorials on it?

Sort of. Both Indian Express and Hindustan Times offered their opinions in their pages this morning.

Express pointed out that it “must not be forgotten that the crux of the matter lies in politics, rather in law” and that the women’s petition “did not seek conversion of the mosque to a temple or demand ownership of the complex”.

“The Hindu claim to mosques at Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura has been part of a political project pursued by the BJP and other Sangh Parivar outfits, in court and on the street,” the editorial said. “Over time, shrine politics – its culmination the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 – has enmeshed with narratives of nationhood and Hindu self-pride that frame Muslims as outsiders.”

Hindustan Times also carried an editorial headlined “New Mandir battle begins”

“To be sure, this is merely the beginning, and only the preliminary matter of maintainability has been decided,” it said. “There is no doubt that the legal proceedings in the case will be long-winding and fractious...It will also have deep reverberations on similar cases before courts in Mathura and Agra.”

While referring to the Places of Worship Act 1991, the editorial said, “It is important that the top court weigh in on the most important aspect in the case – on the 1991 law itself – sooner than later, to guide the subordinate judiciary and forestall any attempts at fomenting trouble.”