Ayodhya and After: Issues Before Hindu Society is a book by Koenraad Elst

Koenraad Elst

Koenraad Elst is a Belgian writer and orientalist .He was an editor of the New Right Flemish nationalist journal Teksten, Kommentaren en Studies from 1992 to 1995, focusing on criticism of Islam, various other conservative and Flemish separatist publications such as Nucleus, t Pallieterke,...

 published in 1991 by Voice of India

Voice of India

Voice of India is a New Delhi publishing house, supportive of Hindu nationalist sentiment and political ideology. It was founded by Ram Swarup in 1983 and later joined by Sita Ram Goel, who themselves published extensively under the label...

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The book is about the Ayodhya debate, but does also discuss Indian politics and communalism

Communalism (South Asia)

This article deals with the use of the word communalism in South Asia, as a name for a force separating different communities based on some form of social or sectarian discrimination...

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Elst opines that reaching national integration "requires dropping the anti-Hindu separatist doctrines that have largely been created for the purposes of several imperialisms, and are now being kept afloat with a lot of distortive intellectual and propagandistic effort."

The book attempts to examine the polemics between 'communalists' and 'secularists' in India. He also writes about Indian secularism

Indian secularism

The Preamble to the Constitution of India declares that India is a secular country. The term secularism refers to the governmental practice of indifference towards religion. Secular politics attempt to prevent religious philosophies or bodies from influencing governmental policies...

 and Communalism

Communalism

Communalism is a term with three distinct meanings according to the Random House Unabridged Dictionary'.'These include "a theory of government or a system of government in which independent communes participate in a federation". "the principles and practice of communal ownership"...

, and alleges "that a clear majority of the riots are started by Muslims". In another chapter, the author discusses the banning of books like Ram Swarup

Ram Swarup

Ram Swarup , , born Ram Swarup Agarwal, was an independent Hindu thinker and prolific author. His works took a critical stance against Christianity, Islam and Communism. His work has influenced other Indian writers.- Life :He graduated in Economics at Delhi University in 1941...

's Understanding Islam through Hadis

Understanding Islam through Hadis

Understanding Islam through Hadis is a book by Ram Swarup, first published in 1982 in the USA. It was eventually banned in India.The book is a study, based on the English translation by Abdul Hamid Siddiqi, of the Sahih Muslim, the second most important collection of Hadiths...

. In the 14th chapter he discusses the concept of "Hindu Fascism".

Other books about the debate by Elst include Ayodhya, The Finale

Ayodhya, The Finale

Ayodhya, the Finale - Science versus Secularism the Excavations Debate is a book by self-described 'Hindu revivalist' Koenraad Elst published in 2003 by Voice of India....

 and Ayodhya: The Case Against the Temple

Ayodhya: The Case Against the Temple

Ayodhya: The Case Against the Temple is a book by Koenraad Elst that was published in 2002 by Voice of India.Elst has written several books on the Ayodhya debate and on the Ram Janmabhoomi controversy. Koenraad Elst reiterates his view that the Babri Mosque was built on an ancient Hindu temple, the...

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The Ayodhya debate

Elst believes that "in keeping with the internationally accepted standards of methodology and inference in scientific history-writing, we may conclude ... that the Babri Masjid was built in replacement of a Hindu temple where Ram worship used to take place. In fact, this conclusion is merely a restatement of what was a matter of consensus until a few years ago."

But Elst does not believe in a forcible take-over of ancient temples. According to him, the Hindus should ask for a gesture of good will:

The Hindu leaders should say to the Muslim leaders : Look, we want these places back. For many centuries they have been our sacred places, and we have suffered the mosques built there only under duress. We do not believe in the forcible take-over of places of worship, we are not Babars and Aurangzeb

Aurangzeb

Abul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir , more commonly known as Aurangzeb or by his chosen imperial title Alamgir , was the sixth Mughal Emperor of India, whose reign lasted from 1658 until his death in 1707.Badshah Aurangzeb, having ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for nearly...

s. But we want from you a gesture of goodwill, a sign that you turn this infamous persecution page of history. We will not take any kind of revenge if you do not feel ready for this gesture, but we will expressly wait until you are ready.

In one chapter, the book describes the press reporting on the debate. Elst alleges that the media was controlled by the anti-Temple side, and that "the foreign press has not added any extra facts or perspective to the reporting on Ayodhya. It has mostly copied the bias of the Indian press."