New Delhi, India - DELHI has been in security jitters over the past couple of weeks. First, to provide security to foreign dignitaries and thousands of athletes attending the Commonwealth Games, and second, the Allahabad High Court delivered on September 30, the long awaited verdict on ownership of Babri Mosque site, which had the potential of causing a communal flare-up.
The central government was tense and took massive precautionary measures to quell any untoward incident that could have erupted due to the Court's decision. Indian leaders have been urging people to stay calm and not get agitated over the verdict.
Babri Mosque was built in 1528 at Ayodhya in Faizabad district of Uttar Pradesh by Mir Baqi, commander of the first Mughul Emperor Babar. It was named "Babri Mosque" after Emperor Babar. Ever since then, Hindus have claimed that the mosque was built after demolishing a temple in what was claimed to be the birthplace of Hindu deity Lord Rama.
In 1936, the mosque and the surrounding area were registered as Waqf property. In December 1949, Hindu extremists broke into the mosque and installed idols of Rama and Sita, following which the mosque was locked. Since then, Muslims could not offer prayers at the mosque, but Hindus continued to make offering to the deities from outside. Subsequently, Muslims and Hindus went to Court to determine the ownership of the property. It was a title suit -- the verdict of which came after 60 years.
What is amazing is that Hindu deities are treated in India as legal personalities. Order 32 of the Indian Civil Procedure Code recognises a "sitting deity" as an individual, because a sitting deity is a perpetual minor and can be represented in the Court of Law by an in-charge of the temple or through trustees. On the other hand, the Sunni Waqf Board's suit was declared "time-barred" and therefore "dismissed." Thus it was a one sided case.
The mosque-mandir debate slowly took a political shape in the 1980s and extremist Hindu parties -- BJP, RSS and VHP -- took over the issue.
In 1984, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) launched a mass movement to open the locks of the mosque and build the Ram temple. In 1989, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani organised the infamous Rath Yatra from the Somnath Temple in Gujarat to Babri mosque in Ayodhya. The purpose was to mobilise kar sevaks (Hindu extremists) to converge on Babri mosque for "prayers" (?). During the Rath Yatra communal violence broke out in different parts of India, and took more than 550 lives.
Babri mosque was demolished by the kar sevaks in December 1992, three years after the Rath Yatra. The communal violence that ensued after the destruction of the mosque took more than 2,000 lives, mostly Muslims. India's secular credentials were in tatters.
Prime Minister Narasimha Rao, who led the then Congress government, knew that the 16th century mosque would be attacked but did nothing to stop it. The Uttar Pradesh government led by BJP Chief Minister Kalyan Singh also did nothing to protect the mosque. As a matter of fact, he expressed jubilation when the structure was razed to the ground.
As is customary after such incidents, Narasimha Rao appointed retired High Court Judge M.S. Liberhan as chairman of a commission to investigate the demolition of the mosque. After a 17-year delay the Liberhan Commission Report was tabled in the Lok Shabha on November 8, 2009. The report held L.K. Advani, A.B. Vajpayee and several other BJP stalwarts culpable for the destruction of the mosque. There was meticulous planning by the Sangh Parivar -- VHP, RSS, BJP -- to demolish the mosque, stated the Report.
The Bench of three judges -- Justices S.U. Khan, Sudhir Agarwal and D.V. Sharma of Allahabad High Court -- in their 8,500-page verdict decided that the 2·77 acres of land of Babri mosque site would be divided into three parts. One part for the construction of Ram temple, one part to go to the Hindu sect “Nirmohi Akhara,” and the remaining part to the Sunni Waqf Board. In other words, two-third would go to Hindus and one-third to Muslims.
The judgment further states that the mosque was indeed built over the ruins of a Hindu temple, based on the excavations done by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI). There were no signs of a temple being destroyed, the verdict states. The ASI findings are strongly contested by Muslim organisations. The judges, however, could not pinpoint the spot where Lord Rama was born to Kaushalya, one of three wives of Raja Dasharath of Ayodhya.
The Court ruling has come under scathing criticism from the Muslim community and secular-minded Hindus of India. Writer-activist Arundhuti Roy described the judgment as a "political statement" not based on evidence or sound legal principles. She felt that it was "hypocrisy" to treat people who demolished the Babri Mosque with the same standards applied to the other set of litigants in the title suit. Accusations have been made to the effect that Hindu mythology and “beliefs of Hindus” guided the judges. The verdict is seen by many as a "political compromise" to appease the Hindus.
Nivedita Menon of Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi described the verdict as a "second demolition" of the Babri Mosque. By accepting the claim that Ram was born at the Babri site, the judges have done grave injustice to the original owners of the property. It has legitimised and justified the wanton destruction of a place of Muslim worship in secular India, she stated.
Politically, the Congress-led UPA government of Dr. Manmohan Singh is uneasy with the Court ruling. They fear that it will alienate their Muslim vote bank. The Sangh Parivar is buoyant, as the Hindus have got what they wanted. They will now wait for an opportune moment to start building the Ram temple. As a matter of fact, stonework for the temple has already been completed.
Since the 19th Commonwealth Games is in progress in Delhi political leaders have refrained from fanning public emotions over the Court verdict. The Manmohan Singh government is doubly careful not to let things get out of hands, particularly with Kashmir still in flames and the upcoming visit to India by US President Barack Obama in November 2010.
The debate has been there for four centuries and is far from over. Both the Sunni Waqf Board leaders and the Ram Mandir Committee are determined to go to the Supreme Court. Given the fact that Indian judicial system is notoriously slow it will be interesting to see who wins finally.
Mahmood Hasan, a former Ambassador and Secretary, is Policy Advisor, Center for Foreign Affairs Studies.