Ayodhya

The Ayodhya verdict is slated to come out tomorrow, 24th September. Things are already tensed up as the verdict is awaited. I have faint memories of the Babri Masjid demolition in Decembe, 1992. And the understanding of the situation at the time was even fainter.

The controversy had simple origins. There was a mosque in Ayodhya, standing for at least a few centuries. However it was claimed that it was situated on the very site of an existing Ram temple. Some people wanted the temple to be built back at the very spot. Now these are controversies in which the matter of people's beliefs comes in. Facts get merged with mythology. And to be honest there is no clear cut response. There was a massive agitation. The BJP became a political force leading this. Rath Yatra, Kar Sewa were the terms which hit the headlines. The atmosphere was really tensed up. On December 6, 1992, the masjid was demolished in the agitation. Riots followed in the aftermath across the country. There were commissions of enquiry. But as is the usual case, no results

Since then the whole situation is stuck in a limbo, which somehow seems to be the ideal situation for this kind of controversy. Let time take over and the matter may get buried. I mean whats the point of raking up the matter again in trying to find a solution when solution is not going to be accepted by all parties. Court rulings cannot decide on matters of faith involving millions of people.

P.S. The Commonwealth Games fiasco has done one good thing. Most of the media focus is on the Games mess. Otherwise our 24X7 news channels would have been harping on the verdict, creating more unrest and uncertainty.