When the Christians of Spain were defeated by the Moors, a large number of churches were converted to mosques. Similarly, when the Moors were expelled by the Christians in the 15th century, masjids were reconverted into chapels, churches and cathedrals. The position in eastern Europe was similar. When the Russians conquered Poland in 1797, they converted the central cathedral of Warsaw into an Orthodox church. However, when the Poles became independent in 1918, one way they announced their freedom was to reconvert the church to a Catholic cathedral. There is an Anti-Hindu reason behind why there are mosques in Kashi, Krishna Janmabhoomi – Mathura & Ram Janmabhoomi – Ayodhya, why temples were burned & broken by Islamic invaders and why the idols were smashed into pieces and laid on those pavements leading to the mosques.
There is surely something for the Hindus to learn from the Jews of Israel, for them the Temple of Jerusalem is what Ram Janmabhoomi is for the Hindus. The Temple Mount, referred to in Hebrew as Har Habayit, is traditionally said to be where Abraham exhibited his commitment to God by taking his Son Isaac to be sacrificed. The mount is likewise the site of both old Jewish sanctuaries. The first constructed by King Solomon, was crushed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. The second was built in the 6th century BCE and stood for almost 600 years before it was demolished by the Roman kings and during the Islamic conquest of Jerusalem, the sacred place was changed over into a mosque ‘Dome of the Rock’ and today it is considered as one of the holiest spots for the Muslims, fundamentally the same as how Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir was changed over into the Babri Masjid, Mathura’s Krishna Mandir was changed over into Shahi-Idgah Mosque and Kashi Vishwanath Temple was changed over into Gyanvapi Mosque. The Jews who were forced to flee from their own nation have returned and have succeeded in claiming a sovereignty in their homeland while reclaiming temple mount is likewise under process, and eventually they are exceptionally well positioning themselves to succeed.
Babri mosque was constructed in 1528 at the same sacred place where Bhagwan Ram was born. Mir Baqi, one of Mughal ruler Babur’s commanders decimated the existing temple, erected a building and called it the ‘Babri Masjid’. When the head of the Nirmohi Akhara, in 1885 filed a petition seeking permission to offer prayers to Ram Lalla at the said place, the permission was denied. However, in 1886, district court ruled stating, “It is most unfortunate that a masjid should have been built on land specially held sacred by the Hindus, but as that event occurred 356 years ago, it is too late now to remedy the grievance.” In 1950, the Idols of Bhagwan Ram appeared inside the illegal building following which in 1992, Ram devotees managed to demolish the structure while the intent of restoring the Mandir is yet to be realised. Besides the judicial process, it is the prime duty of every Indian to reclaim the heritage and build a Grand Ram Mandir at the very same place, for the Muslims it’s more of a moral responsibility to handover the land and not to litigate further, so as the glory of the “Maryada Purushottam – Bhagwan Ram” during whose rule the ultimate Dharma, Ramrajya, was upheld, is passed on to the succeeding generations.
Keshav Dev temple stood tall at the birth place of Lord Shri Krishna in Mathura, but today one could also sight an illegitimate mosque. The temple was said to be built seven millenniums earlier by Vajranabha, the great-grandson of Lord Krishna. The second Chandragupta reconstructed the ancient small shrine into a very grand premise in the 5th century CE, however it was destroyed by Mohammad Gazni in the 11th Century. The Hindus, under the rule of King Vijay Paldev rebuilt it while it was again destroyed by Sikander Lodhi in the 13th Century. After about 125 years Vir Sinha Judev Bundela constructed a grand temple which stood 250 feet tall and in order to protect the temple from evil eye of Muslim rulers, a tall and strong wall was also built around the temple. The elegance was not tolerated, Aurangzeb bulldozed and destroyed the temple in 1669 and replaced it with Idgah-Shahi. Before the region falling into the control of the British and during the transition period the shrine was almost left deserted, post which in 1815, the area was auctioned and sold to King Patnimal of Kashi. However, though King wanted to rebuild a grand temple, the locale Muslims took objection of the auction stating that it was not for the place surrounding the Idgah. The unfair and illegal demand took the course of disputes to legal battle. However, in 1928, a mill was started for maintenance and renovation of Idgah. A case was again registered in the Court and it was ruled that “the Katara Keshavdev is the property of descendants of Raja Patnimal and hence neither renovation of Idgah nor installation of mill was disallowed”. In 1944 Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya expressed his desire to rebuild the Temple, while few Krishna devotees joined hands, framed the Krishna Janma Bhoomi Trust and purchased the entire stretch of land for the same purpose. However, in the year 1960 when the case was again reopened, the verdict allowed Muslims to pray. The fact is that Idgah, legally is the property of Shri Krishna Janma Bhoomi Trust, land tax for the entire area including Idgah is being paid by the Trust and in series of judgements made, it is clear that Idgah is the property of Trust. Despite this, Hindus are forced not to observe freedom and practice their custom in their own land.
In the year 1193 CE, one of the Lieutenants of Mohammad Gori, Kutubud-din-Aibak completely pulverized the Varanasi Kashi Vishwanath temple, during which, the chief priest had managed to rescue the main idol from being contaminated and decimated. By the efforts of Raja Todar Mal, who was then the Governor of Jaunpur in 1585 did manage to restore the shrine. However, it did not survive for long, as Aurangzeb demolished it in 1669 CE and replaced it with a mosque, which is presently known by the name Gyanvapi Masjid. In 1742, after the Marathas assumed control from the Mughals, King Malhar Rao Holkar attempted to destroy the mosque and rebuild the Kashi Vishwanath shrine, yet because of insubordination of the nearby Muslim Nawabs, especially those from the Lucknow locale, it was not productive. To which in 1780 his daughter Ahilyabai Holkar built another temple, adjoining the mosque and it is where Bhagwan is being worshipped now. Though, the Temple trust has filed a law suit in 1991 claiming that the temple was constructed by Maharaja Vikramaditya more than 2,000 years ago and the land of the mosque belongs to the Hindus, due to the places of worship (special provisions) act, 1991, the mosque stands protected.
The Hindu Temples have played a pivotal role in crafting the Indian heritage and the traditional unity, to fight this and with a hidden agenda of religious conversion, the Muslim invaders destroyed most of the Temples. By passing the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, The Congress government legitimatized every such deed. Today this bill stands valid and prohibits re-conversion of any place of worship and to provide for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on the 15th day of August 1947. Did the Congress government, which sponsored the Act, mean to prevent Muslims from returning illegitimate mosques to the Hindus? Or was the Act an eyewash, for the Congress to appear to be secular and pro-Muslim. However, the bill may have been passed in the house of parliament but it does not upheld justice to the Hindus. Similar instances have taken place at other parts of the world as well, yet nowhere the justice has been denied for the aboriginals as it has happened in the case of Hindus in India. Multiple important and significant shrines which stood for the traditional Hindu unity, today stands foreign and few of them are in ruins. Kailash Manasarovar is very sacred to Hindus, it is in the holy Himalayan Mountain Range situated in Tibet. Skanda Purana describes that Kailash Manasarovar is the supreme mountain where Bhagwan Shiva dwells and is his residence. Lake Manasarovar is described as Supreme Holy Lake where Bhagwan Shiv and Indra swam as Swans. Though Tibet has been illegitimately occupied by China, it shall ever remain a very much integral part of Akhand Bharath. Sharadapeetha – Saraswathi temple and Shankaradevi Temple, two of the eighteen MahaShakti Peethas of Devi Durga is today situated in the Muzaffarabad region of the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and Trincomalee region of Sri Lanka respectively; Two of the Fifty-One Shaktipeethas of Devi Durga, the Kothari temple and Mahishimardhini temple lies in Baluchistan and Karachi regions of Pakistan respectively. Similarly, five, three, and one Shaktipeetha each out of the total Fifty-One Shaktipeethas lie in the contemporary Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri lanka and Tibet respectively. It is the responsibility of the Indian Governments to revive its heritage, irrespective of its location.