It has been quite some time that thoughts were bubbling inside but the happening India has given a ‘food for thought’.
Allahabad High court’s Lucknow bench is all set to give its verdict in much awaited Ramlalla case and by the time you read this, verdict would already have been given or deferred. As I still yearn to go to Ayodhya to see how disputes site still holds nerve of pilgrims and tourists as this satellite town boasts of a centre of disputed attraction. Verdict and its associated security has marred my prospects nevertheless there are zillions of implications that hover over the issue.
Babri Masjid demolition and its after fallout has been a major agenda for the electoral process in India. As we take strides, it is indeed imperative to know that the process of liberhan commission (along with its controversial extensions), Advani’s Rath Yatra that saw rise of BJP as a prominent opposition in Lok Sabha which registered an astronomic rise in seats from 2 to 89 in 1991 general elections, Stoppage of rath by Lalu at samastipur which made him a champion of Bihari secularism, colourful growth of Indian saffrionism, growth of organisations like Vishwa Hindu Parishad , Bajrang Dal (Unknowingly Lord RAMA has become the brand ambassador for them), and many more has been unseen but historical implications of the movement. Many ‘so-called’ secular forces – Rajiv Gandhi & Narsimha Rao had a major role as they nudged the state of affairs.
Not only Hindus, this undoubtedly gave a thrust to Muslim Politics, political overtones turned as we saw a shift form Minority politics to Babri Rajneeti. Deoband Samaj, Wakf Board, and Muslim lam bards could finally locate themselves on the political radar. However, it failed to register a presence in Volatile Indian politics as we don’t have a dedicated Muslim Party except IUML which thrives more due to history than its politics. Muslims could never buy the the Babri Masjid Logic & always insisted on its minority woes which saw them sandwiching between the political propagandas.
Six elections since 1991 has been fought on Ram Mandir construction issue as BJP and other Hindu outfits try to capitalize the Hindu votes, though with Fractional success. Rise of BJP was indeed a great experience for the adult franchise as it saw death of Political monopoly for a while and voters had choices that strengthened the democracy.
No doubt, ayodhya spotted itself on the map & economy of this satellite town boomed for a decade. I remember, sadhus coming to my village who used to seek donations in name of Yagnya at Ayodhya to pray for Ram Mandir. Faith Unbounded…
What if verdict is in favour of Nirmohi Akhara that is seeking construction of Ram Mandir! What about existence of Bajrang Dal & VHP, will so called ‘saffron-terror’ and Moral Policing improve its brand image, will muslims seek an Indian refusal, what about resurge of BJP,how about Nepal moving to being a Hindu-Rashtra,, terror in Kashmir…will Secularism re-define its boundaries in India, what about those Yagnya-sadhus apart from the communal tension unleashed ?? What if it is for Babri Masjid, umpteen questions are still there to be answered.
20 years down the line, we have matured and changed indefinitely. Whatsoever, verdict is so critical as the timing of verdict after Friday’ s zumma namaj in itself emphasizes faith in system of India’s living …and comes with a zillions of doubts still to be clarified.
11 comments:
Very Well written post. Genuine analysis and a very rare to see impartial opinion.
Indeed this verdict will change the course of politics in India by a mammoth scale. Also, One will be forced to re-examine the nature of secularism in India--is it impartiality or being pro-Muslim.
I am keen to see hw much faith our majority and minority has in India judiciary. If they resort to violence, It shows the extent of hypocrisy in the country.
As far as Pro hindu or pro Muslim organisation go, I believe they will have to look for issues that they can further harp on.And I pray the congress doesnt use this as another tool for minority appeasement and its Hindu-Jain-sikh-despising attitude.
LET US SEE HOW MUCH SECULARISM HAS GOTTEN INTO THE MASSES OF INDIA FROM THE ECHELONS OF IDEALIST UTOPIAN BOURGEOIS AND FROM THE FOOTNOTES OF OUT CONSTITUTION.
Its a test of India.
Nice...an unbiased,in depth analysis of this critical issue;right from the tip to toe. Your observations and findings are really worth complementing. The phrase that I liked the most "Saffron-Terror" and yeah the start itself "AYYO!dhya" :D .
nice indeed!!
I hope the verdict is on neither side.. coz that will fuel the anger even more and this matter will never get over..
moreover people will start questioning the judiciary system if they give verdict in favor of one side..
Indian politics has better issues to combat today but it wastes its time only to win the elections by such drama.
Lets keep our fingers crossed and have faith in the "indian" judicial system.
nice post:captivating heading and a very true analysis of the till date situation of a critical topic like this.
No matter what the final verdict is...one thing is bound to happen,both the sides will have to pay the price.A decision in favor of any one side will lead to violent upheaval by the other.
All that we can hope for now is a fair decision by the judiciary.
Very unbiased post. I, particularly, liked the fact that you raised questions and left them unanswered. As a society, we need to find the answers to those questions.
There is a fundamental flaw in our approach (blame it on political parties only). If the verdict is for Hindus, majority is going to tag it unbiased and 'supremacy of judicial system'. However, if the verdict is for Muslims, it will be tagged as 'minority appeasement'. It is true that it will be the case vice versa but I remember a Nehru quote, "Majority communalism is the most dangerous one as it can be passed off as nationalism". The disgusting level to which our political system has fallen to has set this tone of religious interpretation of facts. A devout Hindu will be termed as "hard liner" while a liberal is called "pseudo secular".
How we emerge from this rot in a complete and non-superficial sense will be a challenge for our society and in the next phase of Indian politics.
@shrey:Worst part is that secularism has become more of a political propagada rather a social objective.
In that case,greasing the palms of minorities is of no use untill you divide the on secular grounds to achieve the ulterior motives.
@feral : "Saffron-terror" is something that has recently been taken out of Chidambaram's closet .Something to watch out ...
@jay @ Chaitali :Hope that the verdict is more of a judgement and not the appeasement.
@Vivek: critical analysis.
Putting questions open and particularly ayodhya's implications is a test of time.As far as the majority-minority tussle is concerned, worst part is that we can't achieve something better until we see it as a social concern as John Adams puts it up : “That the desires of the majority of the people are often for injustice and inhumanity against the minority, is demonstrated by every page of the history of the whole world”.
Its a challenge, that needs to be tackled with...
i see two points in this issue:
1) was there a temple before babar
2) whom the disputed land belongs to now
it's funny how a purely academic matter that first point is has come under judicial matters.
If any party in the case takes offence in the verdict, it'll only strengthen my notion that our nation is not standing on the principle of 'satyameva jayate'. By denying to acknowledge the truth of the history sickularists have become responsible for immaturity of our society. Can anyone say: don't insult hitler, it'll hurt Germans? greatness of Germans lies in the fact that they respect truth. Forgive - but never forget - history.
my opinion on second point is: if land in ayodhya is given to hindu parties then sites of every other muslim architecture in India can be demanded for. so court should not set this precedent.
@Amitabh: You're correct bang on political analysis. Nice post!
Nicely written Amitabh !!
As pointed out, the political implications of the verdict are going to be huge. Hence, the anxiety among political parties.
If our sickular media displays some restraint, i am sure post verdict situation will be peaceful to a large extent. But sadly, those idiots are already out there enacting a real life Peepli Live at Ayodhya(or in media's langauge 'Ground Zero')
Lets see how supreme court responds to the deferment plea..
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