...and there were more

NEW DELHI: Qutub Minar, NizamuddinAulyia''s Dargah, Sher Shah Gate in Purana Qila, Bhadra Palace and Ahmed Shah''sJama Masjid in Ahmedabad, Jama Masjid in Varodara, Pinjor Garden in Ambala, andMoiuddin Chisti''s dargah in Ajmer.... These are just a few of the monumentsbuilt by destroying Hindu temples.Or, so claims VHP''s in-househistorian Sita Ram Goyal. Goyal''s book ''Hindu temples- what happened to them?'',provides ''clinching'' evidence to prove that 3600 Hindu temples were destroyed byMuslim invaders. The VHP, goes one step further and claims they have evidencethat over 30,000 temples were destroyed by the invaders."For astart, we will be happy ''liberating'' the Krishna Janamsthan in Mathura and theKashi-Vishwanath temple in Varanasi," maintains VHP vice president GirirajKishore. He has refrained from mentioning the Ram Janambhoomi in Ayodhya becausethe VHP seems confident that it is only amatter of time before they build atemple at that site.Considering that Goyal''s book has listed severalhundred monuments, out of which 72 belong to Delhi alone, is the VHP planning toliberate these as well? "We will cross that bridge when it comes. Why should wereveal our cards now? For the present we are focussing our energies on freeingthe three janambhoomi''s of Ram, Krishna and Shiva," replies Kishoreenigmatically.Kishore insists this is being done in order to evoke asense of pride amongst Hindus. But when asked why their campaigns are invariablystepped up around election time, he replied," The VHP is a culturalorganisation. We have not launched this movement to favour any politicalparty."But in Gujarat, several of its leaders were found openlycampaigning for the BJP. Kishore collects his thoughts for a moment and replies:"We have maintained an equidistance from all political parties. Regarding theBhogshala controversy in Madhya Pradesh, my party has maintained that theVajpayee government put pressure on the British authorities and force them toreturn the Saraswati idol which is lying in the British Museum inLondon."Kishore is of the opinion that reclaiming the Ram Mandir,the Kashi-Vishwanath Mandir and the Krishan Mandir are but three episodes in theHindu struggle to reclaim their culture. "Meanwhile, there arehundreds of ancient temples waiting to be repaired and rebuilt in order to berestored to their original glory. If in the bargain, we have to liberate thesemonuments from existing mosques, then we will decide at thattime."Historian Sumit Sarkar points out that there are severalcountries where churches co-exist alongside Muslim monuments. "This has happenedall the time in history. They are cloaking their gameplan in order to capturepolitical power," he says.