Ayodhya and Somnath: Eternal Shrines, Contested Histories
Author(s)
Van der Veer, Peter
Abstract
Shrines in Ayodhya and Somnath in India have been the focus of Hindu nationalism, in both cases related to the restoration of Hindu shrines destroyed by Muslims. The projects reflect an essentialist view of Hindu-Moslem enmity produced by British colonialism. In Somnath, Muslims did little to oppose the rebuilding of the Hindu shrine in the 1950s. However, Ayodhya has been politically divisive because the mosque at the site was still being used up to 1949, when Hindus installed an idol of Rama. The conflict illustrates how religion is incorporated in nationalistic discourse.
