Ayodhya Verdict - peace & hope finally !!!!

Well, as almost every Indian, I also woke up today morning with apprehension......what would be the verdict???......What will the influence of the Centre on the Judiciary???....how will the Nation react???......

The morning drive to office was rather quick, the traffic was light & I realised that a lot of people have taken the easy route by staying back at home.....at office, one could see tense faces & the apprehension was palpable.....by around 2pm, the offices started wearing thin as one by one, people slipped away.....very few stayed back to work full day.... our office has TV facility & obviously we observed more coffe breaks than usual, just to sneak in to get a news update......the verdict kept agonisingly getting delayed, & finally after 4.30 pm, the Allahabad Court came out with the one of the biggest & arguably historic verdicts of recent times......after sixty long years....

The return drive back home was quicker than morning, as there was hardly any traffic.....guess almost everyone was glued to the TV screen, whereever possible.....
Obviously, I too reached home to click on the news channels on TV to watch & hear the various reactions.

The three judge special bench, Justice SU Khan, Justice Sudhir Agarwal & Justice DV Sharma pronounced the following verdict :

1) The disputed site in Ayodhya, where a makeshift temple was built after razing down the Babri Masjid in 1992 is the birth place of Lord Ram.
2) The disputed land would be split equally amongst three contesting parties, the Hindu Mahasabha, Nirmohi Akhara & Sunni Central Waqf Board.
3) The Central dome of the disputed structure, where the idols of Lord Ram are presently kept(Ram Lalla) in the makeshift temple, should be alloted to Hindus.
4) The Sita Rasoi & Ram Chabootara can be given to Nirmohi Akhara.
5) 90 days of status quo - None of the litigants would take any action on the land for the next three months.

Some salient quotes of the judges :
Justice SU Khan : "Disputed structure was constructed as mosque by or under orders of Babar. It is not proved by direct evidence that premises in dispute including constructed portion belong to Babar or the person who constructed the mosque. No temple was demolished for constructing the mosque, but it was constructed on the ruins of the temple or some of its material was used in the construction of the mosque."

Justice Sudhir Agarwal : " It is declared that the area covered by the central dome of the three domed structure, the disputed structure being the deity of Bhagwan Ram Janma Sthan and place of birth of Lord Rama as per faith and belief of the Hindus, belong to plaintiff- Bhagwan Sri Ram Virajman. and shall not be obstructed or interfered in any manner by the defendants, Rajendra Singh and others."

Justice DV Sharma : "The disputed site is the birth place of Lord Rama. Disputed building was constructed by Babar, the year is not certain, but it was built against the tenets of Islam. Thus it cannot have the character of a mosque. The disputed structure was constructed on the site of old structure after demolition of the same. The ASI has proved that the structure was a massive Hindu religious structure. The idols were placed in the middle dome of the disputed structure in the intervening night of 22/23 December 1949."

The judiciary had taken the courage to come out with a verdict that has something for everyone, especially both the representative communities. Unlike previous times, the country seems to have matured into accepting the verdict with poise & character. There were no news of any untoward incident or knee jerk reaction. Majority of the panel & speakers at various channels across the country, seemed happy with the verdict & felt that this is a good platform to build communal harmony & peace. The political parties for once did not attempt to score brownie points, though there were some muted & veiled suggestions.
The Hindus seem to be rejoicing at establishing the birth place of Lord Ram. There was a definite upbeat mood among the saffron ranks on the verdict. Their spokesperson was already urging the nation, especially the muslim community to now come forward & support the construction of a elaborate Ram Temple on the disputed site, which they feel will pave the way to a resurgent & harmonious India. The TV anchors were quick to jump on this scoop & kept prodding him for a receprocal response to building a mosque as well, which he kept on overhearing.
However, there was clear resentment from some factions of the Muslim community. They seem to want the whole land or nothing. This three way division - middle path did not seem acceptable. They strongly felt the need to appeal to Supreme Court for a review. Time ahead will tell us how well has been the acceptance of the verdict.

In a democratic set up, obviously, there would be difference in opinions & outlook. However, as a nation we need to come together, absorb the various sentiments & move ahead in time.

Like a billion Indians, I am looking forward to peace & amnesty ahead.

Jai Hind