Kozhikkode: Left historians conniving with Muslim fundamentalist forces prevented an amicable settlement to Babri Masjid issue, says Dr. K.K. Mohammad, former Regional Director (North) of Archeological Survey of India. Speaking to DC on the eve of the release of his autobiography Njan Enna Bharatiyan (I an Indian) in Malayalam Dr. Mohammad blamed a set of
historians including Dr. Romila Thapar, Prof. Irfan Habib and others for systematically derailing the attempts to solve the issue.
“A team of left historians in Jawaharlal Nehru University such as Romila Thapar, Bipin Chandra and S. Gopal argued that there was no mention of the dismantling of the temple before 19th century and Ayodhya is a Buddhist-Jain centre. Historians such as Irfan Habib, R.S Sharma, Akthar Ali, D.N Jha, Suraj Bhan too
joined and it became a big grouping”, Dr. Mohammad said in the book.
The author, however, failed to provide supporting documents for his claim in his book. Dr. Mohammad said historians like Prof. Sharma took part in several government-level meetings and aided the Babri Masjid Action Committee.
‘The action committee also held several meetings under the leadership of Irfan Habib, the then chairman of Indian Council of Historical Research.
“The Babri issue would have settled long ago if the Muslim intelligentsia had not fallen prey to the brain washing of these historians”, he said in the book. Dr. Mohammad also endorsed that a temple existed at the site of the Babri Masjid based on the unearthing of temple pillars during the excavation under Prof. BB Lal in 1978 at the site.
Dr. Mohammad was student at the School of Archeology in New Delhi in those days.Dr. Mohammad doesn’t hide his never ending tussle with Prof. Habib during his days in Aligarh Muslim University.
“He was the kind of historian who went any extend to stifle the voice of those disagreed with him”. Dr. Mohammad was of the opinion that the communalism in Hindu religion is not fundamental in nature but a reaction.
“Godhra incident was an instance of such a reaction”, he argues. After retiring in 2012, Dr. Mohammad now serves as the archeological director at Aga Khan Trust project in Hyderabad.
