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Singhal shows the
spot where they want to built the mandir
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There is a feeling that the sudden build-up is a
well-rehearsed drama in which the central government and the extremists
are hand-in-glove, faking a stand-off in order to force the government to
transfer the so-called 'undisputed' land to the Hindu extremists. This
show became serious in the backdrop of the Gujarat events where close to
one thousand people, mostly Muslims, have been killed usually by burning
them alive. And the underlying message was that same will be repeated all
over the country if the government did not acquiesce to the demands of the
extremists.
In this psychological build-up the government used the services of a top
Hindu religious leader, Shankaracharya of Kanchi, who came to Delhi all
the way from south India and held meetings with both Hindu extremists and
representatives of the AIMPLB, a Muslim organisation which has been
entrusted the issue of the Babri Mosque since the two Babri Action
committees were discredited in the wake of the mosque's demolition in
December 1992.
A proposal was made by the Shankaracharya, during a meeting he had on
March 5 with an 11-member AIMPLB delegation led by its General Secretary
Syed Nizamuddin. Speaking to MG, Board convenor, Dr Qasim Rasool Ilays,
said that the Board will take a decision in its meeting on March 10, after
taking into consideration all the issues. He said that both the Babri
Action committees are represented on AIMPLB committee on the Babri. He
added that we do not see any problem with the temple if we get our land
back on which we will build the Mosque. If a settlement is arrived at now
it will include the erection of a wall between the mosque site and the
rest of the land. If the court decides in favour of Muslims that wall will
remain intact and if the court verdict goes against Muslims that land will
be handed over to the Hindu side, he said. But Dr Ilyas told MG that the
Board's decision most probably will be in the negative.
The Shankaracharya said the Nyas (temple trust) chief Ramchandra Paramhans
had given a written undertaking on the compromise reached between the two
sides. This letter would be handed over to Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee, who would consult his NDA allies before coming to a decision on
the issue. Shankaracharya said that the letter written by Paramhans to the
Prime Minister also mentioned that the Temple trust had agreed to maintain
status quo at the disputed site. But VHP Vice President Giriraj Kishore
said the very next day that no such proposal had been made yet. "We
have not taken any decision. If the proposal comes, the dharmacharyas
(religious leaders) will decide on it, " he said. Kishore ruled out
any compromise on the three demands made by the VHP on March 4 that all
restrictions enforced in Ayodhya be lifted, shifting of carved stones to
the undisputed site be allowed and the undisputed land be handed over to
it before June 2 for the construction to begin. Regardless of the
government's stand, Kishore said, material for the construction would
begin to be moved to the so-called 'undisputed' land at 2.15 pm on March
15, and the construction would begin at the site before June 2, when the
108-day yagna (rites) ended.
The cat was out of the bag on March 8 when State Minster for Home Swamy
visited Ayodhya amid indications came from Delhi that the government will
do exactly as the VHP demands. Only semantics have changed: now it is the
Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas (trust) which will perform the puja.. (not the VHP)!
Needless to the say, the Nyas is another name and platform for the same
people. Nyas president, Ramchandra Pramhans, is a senior VHP leader. Now
the Nyas will get the so-called ‘undisputed’ land. By a sleight of
hand, Ashok Singhal, VHP president, will attend the puja in his
‘personal’ capacity! All this was decided in a family meeting of BJP,
RSS (the principal Hindu extremist outfit) and VHP leaders with Prime
Minister Vajpayee and Shankaracharya present.
Shankaracharya later announced that all parties have agreed to maintain
status quo and will wait for the court verdict! Now the extremists will
get free access to the so-called 'undisputed' part of the land where they
will start building their disputed temple while the Muslim side will wait
for the court verdict which may never come as the experience of the last
fifty years shows since the Babri Mosque was usurped in the night of
December 22-23, 1949.
The Muslim side has filed a petition in the Supreme Court yesterday to
stop the convergence of the karsewaks (temple volunteers) in Ayodhya. This
case will be heard on 13 March. Another petition has been filed in the
Supreme Court to take notice of contempt of court by the VHP president,
Ashok Singhal. This petition will come up for hearing on 15 March.
In another significant move, the Indian government on March 6 requested
the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court to expedite the Babri-Temple
case. Hitherto the case has been moving at a snail's pace. The
Mosque-Temple case itself has been dragging in various courts for the last
fifty years since idols were surreptitiously installed in the Babri Mosque
in 1949. The Indian government petition impressed upon the Court that
under the Acquisition Act of 1993, the Union of India was statutory
receiver with the obligation to maintain status quo till the disposal of
the suits. It was spending about Rs 300 million (US$ 6.5 million) annually
in this regard.
VHP vice president, Acharya Giriraj Kishore, was clear on March 6, on how
far his rabble-rousing outfit is ready to respect the court verdict:
"at no cost the Babri mosque will be allowed to be rebuilt at the
disputed site. For all practical purposes, it was a temple of Ram. It is
and it will remain so." Asked what would be the VHP's response if the
court ruled in favour of Muslims, he said: "the court verdict cannot
be against history. It was on the court's orders that the temple's locks
were opened and there are court orders that uninterrupted' 'puja' (Hindu
prayers) be allowed at the disputed site".
Delhi Jama Masjid Imam Ahmad Bukhari had understood the game when he said
four days ago: the entire exercise is a move to "trap" the
minority community. q
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