Faith balances the psychological and emotional disturbances in our life. Faith creates a hope in our mind. Faith is total trust, confidence or assurance in somebody, a theory, an idea, or something. Faith is connected with belief in God; more than a yearning, it is closer to a belief, that your wishes will be fulfilled. A belief is deep-rooted in the mind but faith is based in the heart. The world is full of diverse castes, creeds and religions; the way of thinking of each society is different, their impressions and philosophies are different but yet, each one has been grounded because of faith. Faith has a lot of positive energy. Faith is a quality that is inbuilt in a cultural mentality. It has been there right from beginning of mankind.

The 1991 Place of Worship Act says that a mosque, temple, church or any place of public worship in existence on August 15 1947, will retain the same religious character that it had on that day, this remains irrespective of its history and it cannot be changed by the courts or the government. In other words, the Place of Worship Act prohibits conversion of any place of worship and demands maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on the 15th day of August, 1947.

On 13th May 2022 All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi argued that the Varanasi court’s order allowing the survey and videography inside Gyanvapi mosque to continue was a “blatant violation” of the Places of Worship Act, 1991.

He further argued that it is a violation of Supreme Court judgment given in the Babri Masjid title dispute. He also expressed that he has lost one Babri Masjid and doesn’t want to lose another masjid. The significant fact of Gyanvapi Mosque is that it is located in Banaras, Uttar Pradesh, India and it was constructed by Aurangzeb in 1669 upon demolition of an older Shiva temple.

In August 2021, a petition filed by five women seeking daily worship rights at the Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal within the contentious Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanvapi Mosque complex in Varanasi. The petition is backed by the Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh (VVSS), headed by Jitendra Singh Vishen.

There are substantial evidences about the Gyanvyapi mosque being a Shiva Temple.  19th century English author James Prinsep, during his stint as illustrator and traveller, decoded the present Gyanvapi mosque way back in 1831 as he travelled across the length and breadth of the city of Varanasi.

History is circumstantial; when Mughal emperor Aurangzeb attacked Varanasi and ordered the demolition of the Kashi Vishwanath temple in the September of 1669, the priests of the temple had removed the Shivalinga and hid it in a well that exists between the Kashi Vishwanath temple and the Gyanvapi mosque. And thus, when the assailants came, they could not find the central deity of the temple and it escaped harm. It is recorded history that Muslim invaders were radicals who would mutilate idols of Hindu worship as damaged figures are not prayed to. So, while the assailants smashed the structure of the temple, its structure, and decorations, when they moved towards the Nandi to destroy it, a swarm of bees attacked them. The troops fled leaving behind the untouched statue of Shiva’s bull. Such is the anecdote.

Nearly a century after the attack by Aurangzeb, the Noble Maratha Queen Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore restored and reconstructed the Shiva temple near the Gyanvapi mosque and Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab contributed by sending two tons of gold which encased the temple’s sanctum sanctorum. This is the shrine that we all visit in its present form. It is supposed to have been built within hugging distance of the original site but not over the primary place.

After many years of contest about the original location of the ancient temple, as per court order, a videography team has collected evidence to establish whether the main temple was at the site of the current day Gyanvapi mosque. It is said that some interesting findings have come forth from within the mosque like Sanskrit hymns written on pillars, flowers, and swastika signs as wall decorations, and under the Shringar Gauri rock has been discerned Vishnu’s hood as well as Lord Brahma’s lotus.

The 1991 Act is not limited to mosques only but includes other places of worship of all faiths such as temples, gurudwaras, churches, monasteries, and any other place of public religious worship. The act mandates that all suits, appeals and proceedings with respect to converting the character of a place of worship, which are pending before any court or authority on August 15, 1947 will be declined as soon as the law comes into force. The law is a special enactment and prevails over any other law in force.

Is the 1991 Place of Worship Act Justified? Does it justify faith of other communities whose places of worships were barbarously demolished and converted to mosques by Mughals before 15th August 1947?  The Act violates “Secularism” which is the basic structure of the Indian Constitution. The 1991 act is biased against Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs whose places of worships cannot be reclaimed. It violates fundamental rights under Article 14 and 15 of the Constitution.

The biggest flaw in the act is that it prevents rights of other communities to get legal remedy for restoration of original place of worship by barring suits and approaching courts, including High Courts and Supreme Court. This is pure violation of fundamental rights. Further, The Act criminalises anyone who tries to convert the religious character of a place by imprisoning the person/people up to 3 years.

The central government has no the legislative jurisdiction to enact the law as it was enacted under the garb of ‘Public Order’, which is a state subject.

Two petitions challenging the validity of the Act are currently pending before the Supreme Court; one petition has been filed by Lucknow-based trust Vishwa Bhadra Pujari Purohit Mahasangh along with followers of Sanatan Vedic Religion, another has been moved by Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay.

As per the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India the data on Population by Religious Communities of Census 2011, the distribution of total population by six major religious communities namely, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain besides “Other Religions and Persuasions” and “Religion not stated” is: total Population in 2011 is 121.09 crores ; Hindu 96.63 crores (79.8%); Muslim 17.22 crores (14.2%); Christian 2.78 crores (2.3%); Sikh 2.08 crores (1.7%); Buddhist 0.84 crores (0.7%); Jain 0.45 crores (0.4%), Other Religions & Persuasions (ORP) 0.79 crores (0.7%) and Religion Not Stated 0.29 crores (0.2%).

India is home to people following different religions and having different faiths. For Indians, their religious sentiments are one of the most important concerns in their life. If anyone messes up with their religion and culture, they revolt considering it as their duty to protect their religion and get the accused punished for it. And therefore religion is used as trump card by politicians.

Conclusion

Traditionally, faith and reason have each been considered to be bases of explanation for religious belief. Because both can supposedly serve this same conscious function, it has been a matter of much interest to philosophers and theologians how the two are related and thus how the rationality should treat claims derived from either source. If faith is properly understood there will never be contradictory or competing claims

No country in world can treat faith poorly.  Therefore, the judiciary and government must rethink about the scope of what could be legally wrong against Places of Worship Act 1991 and how to amend it.