Ayodhya again!

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>vaidika1008 (AT) hotmail (DOT) com >[bJP News]: Ayodhya again! >Tue, 12

Dec 2000 11:00:49 -0500 > >Title: Ayodhya again! >Author: Saisuresh Sivaswamy

>Publication: Rediff >Dec. 12, 2000 > > Ayodhya, to most Indians, is a

divine city thanks to its > association with the legend. And given the force of

> belief, it is immaterial whether this was the actual > geographical entity

that Ram presided over, just as it is > irrelevant whether Jesus Christ really

performed those > miracles attributed to him or if Prophet Mohamed was all that

legend tells us > he was. Belief, often, transcends everything, and where such

belief is not > maleficent, it really shouldn't be of concern to anyone. > >

Given this, how does one reconcile to the uproar in the newspapers with the >

situation on the ground? To put it differently, is what is written in the >

mainstream media reflective of the opinion of the people who access the news >

sources? Granting that the media's role is not merely to inform but educate as

> well, and given the fact that the English media has educated its readership

of > the facts of the Ayodhya case for the last eight years at least, there

ought to > have been a groundswell of opinion against building a Ram temple at

the > disputed site. > > Is there such a pervasive sentiment? > > The answer to

that is obvious. What is not obvious, however, to those who > control the

destinies of men and nation, is that there is a tremendous price > being paid,

by the State, by the people, the longer the issue is allowed to > fester. A

solution is the need of the house, not one imposed by external > agencies like

the courts, but one worked out by the disputants. > > The prime minister, to

his credit, has taken the first step towards this, but > instead of debating

his suggestion as mature individuals, the Opposition has > resorted to

paralysing Parliament with its lung power. Surely, that cannot be > the tactic

of those who have a counter-proposal that will go down well with > the masses?

If Messrs Sonia Gandhi, Mulayam Singh et al have an alternative, > lasting

solution, that will also find acceptance among the people, why don't > they

simply come out with it? The media, given its hues, will surely propagate > it

in a positive light, so they can't be afraid of their views being blacked out?

> > If they still choose to stick to their obstructionist ways, could it be

because > they know that they have no workable solution to a problem that has

bled the > nation for 10 years now? > > So the prime minister had a political

agenda in articulating his views on what > should be done at the disputed site,

so he has his eyes on the assembly election > in Uttar Pradesh and this was his

way of reassuring his party's votebank that > the BJP has not strayed from its

original agenda. Even then, it does not detract > from the fact that this was

the first serious attempt at initiating a discussion on > a problem that has

vexed most Indians. Hereto all that we have had has been > suggestions like

erecting a public urinal on the site of the mosque and the like. > > Even a

kindergarten kid will not believe that the demolition of the mosque > was a

spontaneous reaction on the part of the frenzied mobs that had gathered >

there. If you place petrol next to a fire, you don't have to be Einstein to

know > the outcome. The demolition may not have been premeditated, but what

else > could have happened that December day in 1992? Of course it was a sorry

> day, a terrible day, but just as the nation has moved on, the disputants too

need > to move on from there and not be stuck in some kind of time-warp. > >

Those parties that are bristling at the prime minister's suggestion forget that

> the temple issue could never have strengthened the BJP the way it did, had the

> BJP been engaged, contained when it initially raised its mandir demand, rather

> than opposing it. The shriller the Opposition to the BJP's demand, the >

stronger it grew -- which is borne out by the fact that in the election to the

UP > assembly soon after the masjid was pulled down, the BJP could not cross

the > half-way mark. > > The same mistake is being repeated now. Once the

electorate is divided into > those who oppose the Ram temple coming up in

Ayodhya and who want the > masjid to come up there instead, it is clear who's

got the numbers. The present > scenario will impact first in the next round of

assembly elections, especially in > UP, and if the formula works again it will

be tried out for sure on a national > level, ahead of time. > > Whatever the

legality of the two claims to the Babri Masjid site, the reality is > that what

was pulled down will remain in the rubble -- that statement bearing > no

relation to the fact that I am a Hindu by birth. Given that, it is up to those

> leading the charge for reconstruction of the mosque, and equating its >

non-compliance to the Muslim community's doom, to figure out how to get > out

of the corner they have painted themselves into. > > As a dispassionate

observer, it seems to me that the prime minister has thrown > them a lifeline.

It is interesting that Vajpayee has not made any reference to > the other two

disputed structures in Mathura and Varanasi which had also > adorned the Sangh

Parivar's shortlist on disputed sites that need to be > reclaimed. > > Perhaps

that is the door left open for a compromise between the hardliners in > both

communities. Whether they like it or not, the Muslim community, or at > least

the people who have anointed themselves its spokespersons are facing the >

greater challenge. What the prime minister has told them tacitly is to give up

> their claims to a site on which stood a decrepit, not-in-use mosque, a site >

which some Hindus claim was the birthplace of what the legends say was a >

remarkable man. Yes, the PM has taken sides in a partisan dispute over a >

conqueror vs native legacy -- and if you took a comprehensive poll in the >

nation you will be surprised at what its findings are. > > Given the strength

of emotion there is little choice for the Muslim > communities' leaders. They

have been presented an honourable exit, courtesy > the prime minister, or they

can continue to lead their people into mindless > conflict, a conflict which

they can never win and a conflict which will bleed > their own country into

endless civil strife.

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