A row erupted in a degree college in Puttur, Karnataka, after students enacted a skit on Rama Janmabhoomi and Babri Masjid demolition during a college day celebration a few days ago. The 25-minute skit was enacted by students of Vivekananda College and a video of the same was uploaded on YouTube, as stated in a report by The New Indian Express.
Objecting to this, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) demanded Dakshina Kannada police take a suo-moto case against college authorities for attempting to disturb the peace. A third-year student who was involved in the skit told The New Indian Express that they enacted the 'historical fact of Ram Janmabhoomi from King Vikramaditya to Narendra Modi'.
Skit details
"The programme was organised on June 12 and 13 (Monday and Tuesday). We are not inciting communal disturbance and some are making it an issue," said the student. As per the report, the viral video on skit shows Mir Baqi, Commander of Babur, Founder of the Mughal dynasty chanting "Allah-hu-Akbar" and then going ahead to raze down Ram Temple with his army at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.
The student who played the character of Baqi says, "Hindustan is becoming Islamic nation due to the blessings of Allah", and later on, he goes on to instruct the that the structure should be demolished. The skit depicted Ram Kothari and Sharath Kothari, who claim that they are heading to Ayodhya, as urged by the Sangh Parivar and one of the characters gives a call to rebuild Ram Mandir, it added.
Later, other characters wearing saffron shawls and carrying bricks enact the controversial demolition of the masjid. The skit ends with the foundation laying ceremony for Ram Mandir. Giving more details, Dakshina Kannada SP Ryshyanth said so far, no complaint has been registered.
Principal of Vivekananda College, Puttur, Prof Vishnu Ganapathi Bhat, told The New Indian Express, "It was part of the college's annual day programme. They have not highlighted the Babri Masjid demolition. They have enacted the developments from Lord Ram's birth to the formation of his kingdom and how Mughals destroyed it."
"The skit also included the construction of Babri masjid and its demolition and how Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the new Ram temple. It was just an enacting of the historical events surrounding Rama Janmabhoomi. It was not about only Babri masjid demolition. Students only have prepared it and we were not involved in it," he added
