But the role that the country`s chief justice has played against this evil is undoubtedly unique. Self-motivated, he issued Suyomoto. He directed the Pakhtun chief secretary and the IGP to report by January 4. On the day of the January 4 hearing, the police administration admitted its failure. 92 policemen on duty including the police superintendent were dismissed. Maulana Sharif and his followers were blamed for inciting the demolition of the temple and were instructed to repair it. The court also directed to ensure the punishment of those involved in the demolition of the temple.

Biswajit Chowdhury: The issue of Babri Masjid has come up in the media again. As soon as the name of this mosque in Ayodhya, India (now it does not exist) was mentioned, that scene of December 6, 1992 came to the fore. Violent people called `Karsebak` are smashing an installation with a machete, shovel and hammer. The blow fell on the Indian Constitution that day. The Muslim minority in India may have realized with deep pain that day, no matter how much equality of law and security is enshrined in law and paperwork, the lives of minorities in any part of the world are in fact a curse.

The demolition of the Babri Masjid had an impact across the subcontinent. The mosque was attacked by extremist Hindus once in 1990 and their `success` in trying to dust it off in 1992 led to horrific Hindu-Muslim riots in India. Thousands died in 1992, most of them Muslims. The incident also affected Pakistan and Bangladesh.

In 1990, the anti-authoritarian Ershad movement peaked in this country. Ministers and MPs in the declining government and high-ranking officials tried to use the demolition of the Babri Masjid in India to save their own backs. They did their best to divert the anti-government movement to another sector by instigating a communal riot in this country as well; was temporarily successful. When the Hindu community of Bangladesh is attacked, tortured, looted and any other major crime is committed; they see their helplessness with tears in their eyes. Some are born and emigrated. The situation in Pakistan is probably no better. Because, the number of minority Hindu community there has decreased and now it is like counting on fingers.

`Here you are a minority, there you are` - we have learned to accept this destiny-determined reality. But suddenly something exceptional happened. Those events seem to bring us back some confidence in the words man and humanity. Feels a bit hopeful and reassuring. The Muslim community of India (Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation Trust) is planning to build a mosque on a five-acre land in the village of Dhannipur in the Sohaval Schedule of Ayodhya, instead of the Babri Mosque, recently. It is like a stream of peace over a world mad with violence.

According to the design, the mosque will be round in shape, where two thousand worshipers can perform prayers together. The mosque complex will have a 300-bed hospital, where any sick person, regardless of community, will receive treatment. A community kitchen will be set up in the mosque complex, where the entrepreneurs have promised to provide good quality food to the poor and starving people of the surrounding area free of cost twice a day. Most importantly, people there will not be divided into Hindu-Muslim-Buddhist-Sikh-Christian identities. They have only one identity, they are hungry, they are human. There are also plans to set up a library and a museum in the mosque complex. The design of this mosque has been made with the aim of surpassing the noble words, the practice of intellect and thinking and the great message of humanity in religion.

There was a lot of animosity, a lot of conflict and competition around the Babri Masjid. But the organizers of the mosque construction want to forget the violent past and start anew. The Supreme Court announced the verdict after a 26-year trial following the demolition of the mosque. The court also ordered the government to allocate five acres of land for the construction of a mosque at an alternative location in Ayodhya. Naturally, the Muslims were dissatisfied with this verdict. The feeling of defeat was also working in their minds.

But both the general secretary of the Indo-Islamic Cultural Trust and the mosque`s architect said they did not want to look back when the complex was built. They don`t even want to compare their own construction project with the `huge work` going on for the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The name of this mosque has not been decided yet. However, the trust has announced that it will not be named after any king. Most importantly, the foundation stone of the mosque was announced on January 26 this year. Because, seven decades ago, the Constitution of India came into force on this day. This constitution is based on pluralism, which will be the foundation of this mosque.

Mention of a recent incident in Pakistan would not be irrelevant here. On December 30, extremists stormed and destroyed a 100-year-old Hindu temple in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. People of the Hindu community did not even dare to go to court against it. But the role that the country`s chief justice has played against this evil is undoubtedly unique. Self-motivated, he issued Suyomoto. He directed the Pakhtun chief secretary and the IGP to report by January 4. On the day of the January 4 hearing, the police administration admitted its failure. 92 policemen on duty including the police superintendent were dismissed. Maulana Sharif and his followers were blamed for inciting the demolition of the temple and were instructed to repair it. The court also directed to ensure the punishment of those involved in the demolition of the temple.

These two incidents may be far fewer in number than the incidents of animosity between different communities across the subcontinent. But it is this liberal humanism that keeps the light of hope burning in the end.

Writer: Biswajit Chowdhury is  the joint editor, poet and writer of Prothom Alo