Dear Friends,

The Article 21 of the Indian constitution guarantees not only the Right to Live but Right to Live with Dignity. It is one of the most important fundamental rights. As pointed out by Baba Saheb Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar, the responsibility of the legislature is not just to provide fundamental rights but also and rather, more importantly, to safeguard them.

However, the Places of Worship Act, 1991 tends to violate the Right to Live with Dignity of the Hindu citizens of India in the sense that it orders the Hindu community to give up their rightful claim on their places of worship (including the most important ones like Gyanvapi, Krishna Janmasthan etc) which were forcefully demolished and / or taken away from them by the foreign invaders.

What is Places of Worship Act, 1991?

The law aims to maintain the "religious character" of places of worship as it was in 1947. It bars the conversion of a religious place of worship into a place of worship of a different religion.

How does the Places of Worship Act, 1991 violate the Right to Live with Dignity of the Hindu community?

NOTE: Even though the law does not specifically target the Hindu community, the major incidents of demolitions took place in Hindu sites. Therefore, Hindu community is the most affected by this law.

The Places of Worship Act, 1991 orders the majority community:

1. To live with the fact that the sites which hold the utmost importance for the Hindu community and were forcefully taken away from them will never be returned to them.

2. To live with the fact that their monuments which were demolished by the foreign invaders will remain demolished.

3. To live with a constant humiliation of not being able to offer prayers to the Hindu Gods even in the places of utmost importance for the Hindu community which were forcefully captured by the foreign invaders.

4. To live with the fact that the evidences of their glorious religious history and civilization will be erased in the absence of any physical monuments, temples etc.

In fact, the Places of Worship Act, 1991 also directly attacks the existence of the Hindu community in the future as the future Hindu generations will never be able to witness the physical religious evidences of the past. They will only hear the stories, which, in the long run will be rejected as myths. This will create a major disconnect between the coming Hindu generations and the Hindu religion.

Acknowledging our glorious past and ensuring the safety of our culture as a Hindu community is an integral part of our Right to Live with Dignity. Hence, we demand the Indian government to repeal Places of Worship Act, 1991.