Mandir, masjid and Gandhi

Bindu Menon

In the heart of the city of Kozhikode (formerly Calicut) in Kerala lies a unique architectural structure. The Mishkal mosque is unique in the sense that it does not feature the typical cupolas and minarets of a conventional mosque. Rather, the four-storeyed, blue-and-white edifice is a nod to vernacular architectural traditions, with its tiled roofs and temple-style wooden arches. Named after a wealthy Yemeni shipowner and trader, Nakhuda Mishkal, who built it more than 650 years back, the mosque stands as a symbol of the syncretic culture that Kozhikode represents. The city was an important port of call in the spice trade route of the Arabs. But the Arab hegemony over the trade somewhat eroded when the Portuguese, looking for spices and Christians, arrived.

The rulers of Calicut were the Hindu Zamorins, who welcomed traders of every faith without much ado. The story goes that Vasco da Gama requested the Zamorin ruler to expel the Muslims from the city. But the king apparently replied that it was unthinkable “to expel more than 4,000 households of them who live in Calicut as natives, not as strangers” and from whom his kingdom had received much profit. The advent of the Portuguese, nevertheless, changed the status quo and their battle for monopoly over trade led to many conflicts. The casualty of one such conflict was the Mishkal mosque. It was set on fire by a marauding army of the Portuguese in 1510. However, the mosque was eventually rebuilt, with ample help from the Zamorin ruler.

History is replete with many such stories of India’s inclusive tradition. History is also scattered with incidents of repression and religious fanaticism. The question is, what learnings do we absorb, what narrative do we take pride in and what path do we follow? In his book ‘Rebel Sultans’, Manu S Pillai refers to the neighbouring Vijaynagar empire and argues why the attempt to portray the empire only as a bastion of Hindu resistance would be a reductionist view. The city of Vijaynagar, Pillai writes, “was not a citadel of defensive orthodoxy but the seat of wondrous, brave innovation; its rulers wallowed not in a sea of religious resentments, but grasped keenly the attractions of an eclectic future”.

It is this pluralism that our founding fathers believed in, and it is the ideals of a pluralist democracy that they enshrined in the Constitution. Today, as we witness a tight commingling of religion, state, politics and nationalism, one could learn some lessons from the life of a man who was felled by the bullet of a religious bigot, 76 years ago. Mahatma Gandhi’s understanding of religion was a progressive one, moulded by practice, tempered by experience and widened by inquiry. He was subsumed enough in religion to understand its true essence and its role in his personal, public and political life. He saw religions as different roads converging to the same point of Godhead. In an article titled ‘Crime of Reading Bible’ in Young India, Gandhi wrote, “I regard my study and reverence for the Bible, the Koran and the other scriptures to be wholly consistent with my claim to be a staunch sanatani Hindu… My respectful study of other religions has not abated my reverence for and my faith in the Hindu scriptures. They have broadened my view of life. They have enabled me to understand more clearly many an obscure passage in the Hindu scriptures.”

In Gandhi’s understanding, God is truth and love, ethics and morality, fearlessness and conscience; God is also the atheism of the atheist. In Hind Swaraj, he further writes, “In reality, there are as many religions as there are individuals.” There couldn’t be a better way to interpret one’s faith. Every individual follows her own path seeking the Truth, and that path is her religion.

It’s a philosophy that is echoed in Bulleh Shah’s sparse lyrics: “Dha de masjid, dha de mandir/ Dha de jo kuch dhainda/ Par kisi da dil na dha/ Rab dilan vich rehnda.” (Break down the mosque, break down the temple/ Demolish whatever can be/ But do not break hearts/ For, it’s in the hearts that God resides).

To imbibe this mindset, one must break down the mosque and the temple that have walled our hearts and minds, and install love and truth as deities. And not get trapped in the endless cycle of mandir-masjid conflicts. It’s the least we can do for our future generations.

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