Daily Roundup: Babri Masjid and Web 3.0
Current Affairs, Technology
Babri Masjid demolition anniversary: What is happening today in Mathura?
Current Affairs
Security was tightened in Mathura and a ban on large gatherings was imposed with Section 144 invoked, on the event of the Babri Masjid demolition anniversary.
6 December 2021, marked 29 years of the demolition which took place on 6 December 1992.
While security in Ayodha is generally expected, Mathura has had harmony for several decades now. So why has the security been raised this year?
This comes after 4 right-wing groups, Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, Srikrishna Janmabhumi Nirman Nyas, Narayani Sena, and the Srikrishna Mukti Dal, sought permission to install an idol of Lord Krishna in the Shahi Idgah mosque, which is adjacent to the town’s iconic Shri Krishna Janmasthan Temple.
The groups claim that the site of the mosque is the deity’s actual birthplace. However, the groups have backed down and police have ensured the maintenance of peace and tranquillity with no disturbance or violence reported so far.
Dispute since 18th century
The site of Babri Masjid was a mosque in Ayodhya and has been a focus of dispute between the Hindu and Muslim communities since the 18th century.
As per the mosques’ inscriptions, it was built in the 15th century on orders of Mughal emperor Babur.
According to Hindus, the mosque was built after the destruction of a pre-existing temple of Lord Ram.
Active hearings from '92 to '19
In 2019, the Supreme Court noted that the mosque was not built on vacant land and the excavated structure underneath was not Islamic in nature.
With court cases running since as far back as1885, the site has been disputed, with idols of Lord Ram placed under the central dorm outside the disputed structure and Hindu worshippers allowed to pray in 1986.
On December 6, 1992, the Babri Masjid was demolished, followed by FIRs against unknown kar sevaks for demolition and BJP leaders like MM Joshi, Lal Krishna Advani, etc. for allegedly giving communal speeches before demolition.
After multiple cases and hearings, in 2019, the Supreme Court granted the entire land in Ayodhya to deity Ram Lalla with directions to the government to allot an alternative five-acre plot to Muslims to build a mosque.
Construction of temple & mosque under process
In August 2020, Bhoomi Pujan was conducted in Ayodhya, launching the construction of the temple, and in the following month, all the accused in the cases were acquitted.
The construction of the mosque is scheduled on the five-acre land in Dhannipur village and began last month. The site will include a mosque, a museum, a library, and a publication along with a 300-bed multi-speciality hospital with a community kitchen serving 2000 meals daily to the needy.
Worth the decades of tension and effort?
The issue of Babri masjid took decades to arrive at a conclusion with multiple cases and over 2000 people losing their lives in the demolition and ensuing violence.
It has also been a political issue along with being part of multiple election campaigns. One can go on arguing which side was right, with some claiming this was right or needed while some considering the whole exercise spanning over decades a huge time-energy investment.
Author’s opinion: Status quo needed
But it's all in the past and what we need now is the status quo.
With the fear of violence in Mathura this year and having to tighten security, re-construction/demolition of existing religious sites should become a big no, and political/religious groups asked to stray away from such issues, especially with communal tensions in the country already running high.
Web 3.0: Are we moving into the next version of the internet?
Technology
Web3 is the next version of the internet, where services will run on a public blockchain or distributed networks. Web3 is a decentralised internet that runs on a public blockchain, which is also used for cryptocurrency transactions.
Web3 is different from the centralised internet where tech giants like Meta, Google, Amazon, and Apple own the bulk of user data and drive a significant share of their revenue from it.
The evolution of Web 3.0
Web1 started in the 1990s as static web pages. In 1990, people were getting started on the internet and there was not much scope for interaction.
Web2 started in the 2000s with online services such as email, social media, food delivery and e-commerce run on the cloud - a remote data storage and processing service available via the internet. Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Microsoft’s Azure and other platforms offer cloud services and are the owners of this user data.
Web2 brings the problems of privacy and plagiarism with it.
In the case of Web3 blockchain, data is distributed across networks and no single entity owns the user information.
Examples of Web 3.0
Cryptocurrency is a key building block for Web3 since users need to transact crypto coins or tokens to participate in them.
The best example of the Web3 universe is NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), which are items such as photos, videos, audio, and other types of digital files bought using crypto coins.
Are the metaverse and Web 3.0 related?
The metaverse is about creating digital avatars and interacting with others in virtual spaces, be it offices or arcades. It does not have to be on a blockchain.
The whole point of Web3 is decentralisation and transparency and the Metaverse can be a subset of Web3.
Where is India in Web3?
Web3 is a budding concept in India and efforts are taken to promote and elaborate the space and gauge the path towards the Web3 universe.
Polygon, India’s biggest crypto project and blockchain has organized a hackathon to promote Web3 technology and culture among growing Indian developers.
Chingari, a desi TikTok-like social media platform, is showcasing India’s potential by directly connecting creators with users, and enabling them to transact with each other through GARI tokens is a step in the direction of Web3.0
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