AYODHYA VERDICT: THE BATTLE OF FAITHS

On September 24th the Allahabad High court bench will pronounce the Ayodhya title suit verdict after sixty years. The title suit case was first filed in December 1950 by Mahant Ramchandra Das Paramhans which was followed by several more suits filed by other parties including the Sunni Central Boards of Waqfs, UP, in December 1961. A total of four suits were clubbed together and brought before the Allahabad High Court which began recording oral evidence in July 1996.

The interesting point is that the court will decide whether Lord Ram was born at that very same disputed piece of land where the Babri mosque structure stood. The whole Ayodhya movement began as a socio religious issue in the

19th century and became a burning political issue by the late 1980’s which changed the political landscape of this nation. BJP’s LK Advani spearheaded the whole campaign via his Rath Yatra that bolstered BJP’s electoral strength.

‘Faith’ was the single most important factor on which this issue was carried forward. Many middle class average Hindus also subscribed to the belief that Lord Ram was born there and Mughal King Babar in the 16th century demolished an existing temple and constructed a mosque which was known as the Babri Masjid post independence. On 6th December 1992, the Babri mosque was demolished by Hindu activists, which led to one of the worst communal riots in different parts of the country which claimed thousands of lives.

Without getting into different versions of history advocated by either side, the real issue is that the court will decide whether Lord Ram was born there and if a temple existed before the Babri mosque was constructed on that site. An issue which never got solved through an out of court talks that will be decided in the court of law on the basis of ‘material’, evidence & documents. Though all parties involved in the case which includes the right wing Hindu groups, Muslim groups and the political parties have appealed to maintain peace and accept the court verdict, almost all of them have suggested that the legal option of going to the Supreme Court is still open to them if either side is unhappy with the verdict. The irony of the situation is also the stand of two principle political parties which have been at the heart of the problem. The BJP which captured power on the back of this issue is now in a situation where it is trying to reposition itself as a moderate right wing party in order to strike a chord with the new generation. On the other hand the Congress which has never taken a clear stand on the issue and has changed its position depending on the prevailing political environment and is now in the process of regaining the confidence of the two opposing sides in this case-the Muslims which had deserted the party after the demolition and upper cast Hindus which traditionally supported the cause of the temple. In a sense everyone wants to avoid the verdict to prevent any communal disharmony to resurface.

A majority of average Indians today are of the opinion that the verdict really doesn’t matter now. India has moved on and there are more important issues that matter rather then a mosque or temple. Faith is a matter of trust in an idea. So the response of an average Indian irrespective of the religion after the verdict is something that will shape our faith in the idea of secularism. Majority of Hindus in India are secular in their thoughts and this has been proven by the previous few general elections where they did not vote for the right wing parties like the BJP which fought elections on the Hindutva plank. It has always been politicians (even in this Ayodhya issue) that have used religion to create disharmony by mixing politics with religion. But time and again post 1992, the secular faith of Indians have stood out against hard-line religious faith. Barring the Gujarat riots of 2002, Hindus & Muslims have stood united even when fundamental groups have targeted places of worship.

The ideal solution for this particular issue would be to construct a hospital at the disputed site which would do service to the society irrespective of religion. But no matter how romantic this idea of secularism may sound, the fact remains that history has been a testimony that even though India has changed from time to time, communal violence has been a constant part of our post independence history. And that is why cynics are worried that the Ayodhya verdict might just put the lid off the volcano and destroy the communal calm & peace that has prevailed for the last one decade. The court verdict on September 24th will not decide the winner between Hindus V/s Muslims but between the ‘Hard line Religious Faith’ V/s the ‘Indian Secular Faith’. And let’s hope that Gods of all religions bat for the latter.

26/11 & 6TH DECEMBER: TWO DATES, ONE REALITY

26/11 & 6th December are separate dates on the calendar, but they share one reality- Attack on the ‘Idea of India’. This term was used by Union Home Minister P.Chidambaram for the 26/11 attack, but it perfectly describes both the events in a nut shell.

The demolition of the Babri Mosque was the most shameful day for the Republic of India. The image of a nation that was built on the foundation of equality & secular credentials was shattered. The demolition of the mosque triggered a series of awful events that have battered us in the name of religion for 17 years. From the Hindu-Muslim riots in December 92’ which claimed 3000 lives to the first bloody bomb blast of Bombay on 12th March 93’ by Dawood Ibrahim in the name of Babri revenge which claimed 250 lives to the Godhra carnage in Feb 2002 to the Hindu-Muslims riots in Gujarat in March 2002 to the series of bomb blast in Mumbai including the devastating train blast of 2006 to the bomb blasts at temples in Varanasi, & Akshardham to the bomb blasts at mosques in Delhi & Hyderabad to the bomb blasts of Jaipur & Goa. They all have a connection and that is, ‘violence in the name of religion’. to the series of bomb blast in Mumbai including the devastating train blast of 2006 to the bomb blasts at temples in Varanasi, & Akshardham to the bomb blasts at mosques in Delhi & Hyderabad to the bomb blasts of Jaipur & Goa. They all have a connection and that is, ‘violence in the name of religion’.

The Liberhan commission which was set up in the aftermath of the Babri mosque demolition finally came out with its finding after 17 years. The report was much criticized by the political class & the media for the lack of fair assessment and indictment. While A.B. Vajpayee indictment came as surprise for many, it was the clean chit to then PM, Narasimha Rao that raised questions on the credibility of the report. The indictment of Advani, VHP, and RSS etc in the report was nothing new as everyone knew they were the principal culprits for the demolition. The biggest failure of both the report & the government was the refusal to take any action against the culprits. Advani still remains the leader of opposition; in fact this report almost gave him a chance to resurrect his political career. But the government’s refusal to take any direct action has left everyone high and dry. The end result- after 17 years, a 1000 page flawed report submitted with no action. The culprits remain where they were and everyone has forgotten or rather don’t care about justice! Politicians survive and politics wins over justice.

The first anniversary of 26/11 saw huge coverage across the media. The turn out of people for the memorials & 26/11 programmes was not overwhelming. Last year on 3rd December, India Gate saw a legion of celebrities, businessmen, youngsters & Mumbaikars crowding up to pay their tributes and they took an oath to change the system. 1 year after 26/11, what has changed? The Kasab case is still on and in all certainty he will be hanged sooner or later. But how does it change the vulnerability surrounding our security? The main culprits- the Hafiz Saeeds and Maulana Azhars are still roaming scot free. Zakiur Rehaman Lakhnavi is arrested but there are no signs of a speedy trial against him. Saeed continues to run his ‘Attack India’ factory, churning out more and more Kasabs. Pakistan continues to blame India for the lack of evidence against Hafiz Saeed. India has been pushing the U.S to pressurize Pakistan to act against the culprits but Obama’s top priority is Afghanistan and for that he needs Pakistan. Media investigations also exposed the embarrassing reaction of the top brass of the Mumbai police when they failed to take swift action on the night of 26/11. And to top it all- R.R. Patil the Home minister of Maharashtra at the time of the attack has been re-inducted into the government as a ‘Home Minister’ again!! Politicians & police win again. Who cares about accountability? Civil society continues to only talk. All the anger that was displayed last year has fizzled out.

26/11 was again an attack on the ‘Idea of India’. Taj Mahal hotel & Oberoi hotel were the two hospitality icons of the financial capital that represented the healthy India. CST station on the other hand where maximum number of people died is the lifeline for the ‘common man’ who travels by train. The Nariman house & Leopold café saw many foreigners, mostly tourists loosing their lives. All these 4 places represented the secular, plural & diverse India.

These two events are significant not only because they were tragic in nature but also because they jolted the ‘idea of India’. The only silver lining was that while India got divided into Hindus & Muslims on the 6th December 92’, it was the appalling 26/11 attack that bridged the divide. But the battle to preserve the ‘idea’ continues.