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

Dont get misled in the name of religion...plsssss !!!!!

One of my friends had sent out a mass mail over the last weekend......some stuff which I did not agree to fully & hence wrote back with my comments. Later, I felt, I should put up the whole mail exchange here for everyone to view & comment :

Hi,

Christianity ….One Christ, One Bible Religion…
But the Latin Catholic will not enter Syrian Catholic Church. These two will not enter Marthoma Church. These three will not enter Pentecost Church. These four will not enter Salvation Army Church. These five will no enter Seventh Day Adventist Church. These six will not enter Orthodox Church. These seven will not enter Jacobite church. Like this there are 146 castes in Kerala alone for Christianity, each will never share their churches for fellow Christians! Not very nice..! One Christ, One Bible, One Jehova???

Now Muslims..! One Allah, One Quran, One Nebi....! Great unity?
Among Muslims, Shia and Sunni kill each other in all the Muslim countries. The religious riots in most Muslim countries is always between these two  sects. The Shia will not go to Sunni Mosque. These two will not go to Ahamadiya Mosque.These three will not go to Sufi Mosque. These four will not go to Mujahiddin mosque. Like this it appears there are 13 castes in Muslims.  Killing / bombing/conquering/ massacring/. .. each other !The American attack on Iraq was fully supported by all the Muslim countries surrounding Iraq !
One Allah, One Quran, One Nebi....????

Hindus -
They have 1,280 Religious Books, 10,000 Commentaries, more than one lakh sub-commentaries for these foundation books, innumerable presentations of one God, variety of Aacharyas, thousands of Rishies,  hundreds of languages. Still they all go to All other TEMPLES and they are peaceful and tolerant and seek unity with others by inviting them to worship with them whatever God they wish to pray for!
Hindus never quarreled one another for the last ten thousand years in the name of religion.

My reply :

Hi Mani,
Very well drafted, but not totally correct.
While I am a devout Hindu & take enormous pride at being one, I cannot over look the fact that we Hindus have also fought amongst ourselves in the name of religion.
The Vaishnavas worship Vishnu as the Supreme God; Shaivites worship Shiva as the supreme God; Shaktas worship Shakti or Mother Goddess & Smartas believe in the oneness of five deities, Panchadeva. There have been many clashes between the Vaishnavas & the Shaivites for supremacy.
Another bad impression has been categorising the society into four classes.
Brahmans - teachers, priests etc
Kshatriyas - warriors, kings & nobles etc
Vaishyas - merchants, businessmen, farmers etc
Shudras - labourers, servants, etc.
This classification has been so badly misunderstood & implemented that, the basic fabric of the society has been disrupted over generations & continues to do so, especially in the rural remotes of the country.

We then have the Arya Samaj, which does not believe in Idol worship. Sati Pratha - bride burning, has been another black spot in our culture.
We then have a Hindu calender, which has at least 5-6 deviations across regions.
Incidentally, even the word Hindu, in origin is a Persian word in use from the time of Moghul Empire, referring to any tradition that is native to India as opposed to Islam. The word actually is derived from the Sanskrit word Sindhu ( Indus River).
So while, we emerge from the Sanatan Dharma & follow the teachings of Advaita Vedanta, we need to put the right practices in place & correct ourselves as well.

I would like to believe that each religion, whether Christianity or Islam, has good fundamental teachings, but, its the followers who mould it to their selfish motives & make it look so unacceptable. The Bible or the Quran in their original form do not preach these differences.
I would remain a devout Hindu & pride myself for the same till my last breath, but I would also respect the base of each religion.

I just thought of putting down my personal thoughts in this as a response to your mail. Do give me your opinions !!!!

Loads of Luv,
Biprashish

Ayodhya - Time to take a Decisive & not a Divisive Stand !!!

While the whole country braces itself with mixed emotions, for one of the landmark verdicts in the recent times, The Supreme Court today afternoon, has deferred the Ayodhya verdict now till 28th Sept'10. This verdict on Ayodhya would have to tackle one of the most communally sensitive & razor edged issue - what came first, Ram Temple or Babri Masjid ???

With the Commonwealth Games fiasco keeping the administration at the Centre clueless, sleepless & taut at least for the next three weeks, its probably wise to keep the Ayodhya issue aside in the back burner. However, I am not so sure, what can be achieved by delaying the verdict by just 5 days........
As it is, there is very little chance of any proper & intelligent decision on the subject.

Let us just quickly look at the subject in question :
History says that in 1527, Babar defeated the King of Chittorgarh, Rana Sangram Singh & established the Mughal rule in the region. His general, Mir Baqi came to Ayodhya & in his endeavour to spread Islam, demolished a very popular temple of the Hindus & built a huge mosque. He named it as Babri Masjid after his emperor Babar.
Over centuries, India has been ravaged & looted by various invaders. These invaders, later, have found this land to be rich & bountiful & beautiful....enough to get lured into staying back & settling down, to gradually become one of the sons of the soil!!!!! The Moghuls were no different. They too plundered this land & carried away unfathomable quantities of riches. In their attempt to establish their religious beliefs, they decimated & demolished thousands of temples & built mosques in their place. In this case, for the Hindus, the temple which was representative of  being the Ram Janmabhoomi, is obviously a sensitive issue. There have been several attempts at both ends to establish control on the disputed land, leading to nation wide riots, chaos & political upheaval.
However, in my humble opinion, going back & forth in history is not seemingly solving the issue. While the Hindus have their legitimate right & claim to the shrine,  the Muslims also have their right to reclaim the demolished mosque. A democratic set up calls for equal status.
I am not so sure, even after five days, if the Supreme Court would decide on either side......guess, the Govt at the Centre will ensure that the verdict is delayed as long as possible, allowing time to suppress the public sentiments. Also under the garb of Secularism, they would like to protect the so called minority vote bank!!!!! This however, is a timid & weak option. An option, where, either party can take a tough stand & there is precious little one can do.

Instead of playing the cat & mouse or the blame game, I would expect someone in authority to stand and deliver.
To keep sentiments of both the communities under control, I can think of a very simple solution.
Consider this :
Let the Supreme Court, declare the disputed site as a National Monument & Heritage site. The Central Govt is then directed to bear the expenses to build a temple & a mosque outside the perimeter of the disputed land & allow followers of both communities equal access & protection. For the Hindus, Ram Janmabhoomi is a symbol plus flag bearer of the belief & sentiments for the Values that Lord Sree Ram represented through generations. So a temple signifying that in all aspects should be acceptable. For the Muslims, a mosque built is a huge step towards providing a balming effect towards the demolition of the Babri Masjid. 
Both the communities need to move forward and accept this as a major step towards National & Communal harmony. The Leaders of both the communities need to make strong & decisive impressions on their followers at large to achieve a long term success. Such a stand, in my mind, would certainly have mass appeal & approval.
There would be obvious detractors from both sides, who have narrow individualistic & selfish demands, but we as a Nation need to overbear them & make a decisive & not a divisive statement.

As a Nation, we need to move on & look at more developmental activities which deserve immediate attention. So as a conscientious Indian, I implore with folded hands, Can someone from within the Power Bearers of the Country today come forward & Walk the Talk......once & for all.

I would be happy to start a discussion / debate on this with the objective of reaching a positive conclusion.

Jai Hind !!!!!