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Relief As Ayodhya Drama Comes To A Close
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A Hindu fundamentalist chants "Hail Lord Ram" in Ayodhya
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By Zafarul-Islam Khan, IOL South Asia Correspondent
NEW DELHI, March 15 (IslamOnline) – India was relieved Friday as extremist Hindus finished their standoff with the authorities by "donating" two carved columns to an official receiver. They claim that by accepting the columns the State has accepted the temple case and it is now responsible for building the grand temple at the site of the Babri Mosque they demolished in December 1992.
Two months ago, the extremists, led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council - VHP) announced that they would start temple construction on March 15 inside the "disputed land" comprised of over 67 acres. It was taken over by the Indian government at the orders of the Supreme Court to safeguard it until a final verdict was issued.
The extremists claim that only the actual plot on which the "disputed structure" (i.e., the mosque) stood is disputed and that the adjoining land is not "disputed" and hence should be handed over to the extremists to start building their temple.
The small town of Ayodhya has over a thousand temples and there are about five temples which claim that they are built on the very site of the mythical Hindu god Rama's birthplace.
Since there is a clear 1993 Supreme Court verdict in this respect, the government could not hand over the land to the extremists. Within the Indian constitutional setup, the government cannot go against a court verdict until and unless it is reversed by the court itself or by a new law passed by Parliament.
As a via media the government tried to get Muslim consent. But, thanks to grassroots pressure on the Muslim leadership, the Muslim leadership refused.
Meanwhile a number of petitions were filed in the Supreme Court to restrain the government.
On March 15, a kilometer away from the disputed site, temple trust head, Pramhans, and VHP president, Ashok Singhal, led about a 1000 persons in the ceremony which barely lasted for an hour. A central government official accepted two carved pillars. He was hurriedly dispatched for the purpose from Delhi since the local government authority was not acceptable to the extremists. The two carved pillars will be kept in official custody and will be returned to the temple builders once the case is finally settled.
All this was possible only as a result of stiff security measures taken by the government. About 40,000 supporters of the Temple movement were arrested all over the county. Prohibitory orders were clamped at some places like Mumbai where alone 10,000 persons were arrested. Temple supporters in Ayodhya were sent back while those coming to the town from various parts of the country were not allowed to proceed. Trains and buses were diverted from Ayodhya. All business was closed and local residents stayed indoors or left the town fearing clashes between the temple extremists and the security forces.
Barring some small incidents the event passed off peacefully. This could happen only because the extremists are cautious not to topple the central government led by their own political party. The BJP is implementing many other long-term extremist plans, especially in culture and education, and hence they are eager to prolong its life.
Meanwhile in Delhi, opposition parties objected to the participation of a government official in a religious ceremony. Describing the official participation as "a very important development," they accusing the Vajpayee government of pandering to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's agenda. Opposition parties said that such things should not happen in a secular State.
VHP leader Pravin Togadia said that the movement for the construction of the temple would continue and the current program would go on till June 2. During this time, Ram sewaks (temple volunteers) would continue to flock Ayodhya. The VHP plans to continue a countrywide campaign to press for an act of Parliament to legalize the temple since the extremists are wary that the final court verdict may not favor them.
The temple issue may have died down for the time being but one is sure that it will be bang on the extremist agenda once Parliament or state legislative assembly elections are announced. Bereft of any real issue or plank, the temple issue is the last the extremists have to polarize the voters on communal lines.
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