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Is that a New Dawn at Ayodhya?

30th Sept 2010 was one of the most anxious days in the recent past. The much awaited verdict on the disputed land at Ayodhya was supposed to be delivered at 3:30 PM. The sheer anxiety around the potential communal conflicts and riots resulting as a result of the verdict saw most of the cities closed, schools given off, offices closing early, streets almost empty and citizens camping in their safe homes before 3:30 PM. Thankfully, all this proved to be unnecessary. Not only the verdict received peaceful reactions from all corners of the society, the verdict itself paved the way for much cordial and amicable solution to the issue - a birth of a new Dawn at Ayodhya.

The Anxiety


The issue that started as a local conflict of ownership of the land between Hindus and Muslims more than 150 yrs finally turned into a national issue in early 90's when BJP's made it a political manifesto to win over the Hindu hearts and come back to power at Delhi after decades of dominance by the Congress. While the historical Rath Yatra by Advani was a major booster for his career, helped BJP come back as a National Party to recon with, it also manifested into falling of the Babri Masjid in Dec 1992, followed by one of the worst communal riots in the country killing close to 2000 lives. The 1993 Mumbai serial blasts were supposed to be a revenge of the same.


With this background the Allahabad High Court was to deliver the historical verdict on whom the disputed land belonged to apart from answering a few related questions like whether the place under dispute was really the birth place of Ram, did a temple exist earlier, was the Babri masjid constructed after demolishing the erstwhile temple, etc. While the Ayodhya is no longer a lucrative political manifesto for BJP since it has lived its life as a political issue in the minds of people, the aftermath of it - the massive communal riots - are not forgotten. No wonder this was the most anxiously awaited verdict, not from the perspective of what the verdict would be, but more for the possible communal conflict it could potentially create.


The Verdict


Here is the summary of the verdict.


For me, following points are important.



  • The disputed Land equally divided into the three parts - one each for Muslims, Hindus and Nirmohi Akhara.

  • Established that the central dome was really the place of birth for Ram

  • That a Ram temple existed before Babri Masjid was constructed

  • Paves the was for construction of Ram Mandir

The merit of the verdict lies in the way it balances both sides. While it paves the way for the Ram temple, reaffirms it to be the birth place of Ram at the same time gives equal ownership of the disputed place to Muslims. The very respectful and dignified response from people all the country from all religions is a testimony to this fact. There are extremists from both sides that may not be completely happy with it, but that's OK. These are the people who have made their careers and living out of this issue. It will be in their interest not to let this die out.


The Dawn


The calm and matured reaction given by one and all is an indication of the fact that India has moved on. The first thought in the minds of a common Indian (Hindu or Muslim) was that of a sense of relief rather than the verdict itself. Given that the verdict has something for everyone is a bonus. We all have moved on. We love religions. We respect and worship our Gods. But we no more want it at the cost of our own lives. The dreaded memories of 92 riots haunt us even today. We do not want a repeat of the same at any cost. This division of land has offered to unit us, keeping all the memories of 92 behind. It has paved the way for Ram Temple and offered equal share of the land to Muslims. Can we join hands to build a temple of Ram Lalla as well as a Masjid side by side? Can we turn around the place that currently reminds one of the worst hindu-muslim conflicts in the history into a monument of secular peace and harmony for centuries to come? Time has come to tell the world that India has really moved on. That the youth of this new India does not carry the legacy of 1947, 1971, 1992 and even 2002. That no political party can use our religious sentiments to their benefits. All that is behind us. What we want is the birth of a new Dawn.


With no untoward incident being reported from any part of the country even a day after the verdict, I am sure the Ram Lalla himself will be much more satisfied to see the new found calm, maturity and resilience in his own erstwhile Kar-sevaks.


Jai Shree Ram
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Bharat Bandh Brings India to a halt

The Nation-wide "Bandh" called by the opposition, primarily lead by the BJP, in protest to the recent fuel price hike brought the entire nation to almost a grinding halt. BJP has already declared this Bandh as a huge success. Is it really?
The Intent
The Bandh was called in protest to the recent fuel prices declared by the Govt across the board. With inflation at around 13.9%, the fuel price hike is expected to push it northwards, thereby burning the common man even further. The objective of the band was to protest against the fuel price hike in particular, and the uncontrolled "Mahengai" in general, which the Govt has consistently failed to tame down. Clearly, the stated intent of the Band was very noble.
The Response
The bandh got consistent response from almost all parts of the country. All major cities were shut down. All schools remained closed. No shops opened their shutters (except Pharmacy). Most of the private companies declared off (including mine). With no autos, taxis and private vehicles on the move, the streets of Mumbai were almost empty.
It appears that the Bandh got an overwhelming response. But whether all of these above who theoretically contributed to it, willingly did so or not is a question. BJP and friends (and foes) might claim victory at the end of today, however if one has to judge the success of the bandh based on whether it met its original intent, it doesn't seem to. The fuel prices stay where they were.
The Bandh Effect
  • All taxis, autos, shops, construction work, small time taprees, et al, remained closed for most of the day. Apart from inconvenience to citizens, not sure if it had any indirect fatal effect under emergency situations.
  • Several buses, trains, public properties were burnt/damaged. In Pune alone, more than 25 buses were damaged. Who's paying for this?
  • Sporadic instances of violence happened across the country. There was lathi charge at many places at all major cities.
  • Huge police force was deployed across the board. Any guess how much did it cost to the nation?
  • Cumulative loss is estimated to be Rs. 13,000 crores.
  • BJP (NDA at large), re-established itself as a powerful opposition, a force still to reckon with. It made its national presence felt and demonstrated its abilities to move its alliances as well as rivals like Left towards a common goal, against UPA. Congress has a lessor or two from this bandh. It better not take it for granted.
  • Working class took a day off, possibly watched a movie at home along with family and in-between watching the spicy stories on AajTak.
  • The Bandh had no effect on the Finance Minister's math. Pranab Da declared categorically that the prices will not be rolled back.
  • Last but not the least, the daily wages worker, who earns his daily meal the same day, had to miss his day's produce. The very poor for whom this bandh was intended for, ironically remained the only one who had nothing to gain, but to lose his/her meal.
In conclusion, the intent of the Bandh was noble. However, the question remains whether a nation level bandh of this scale is the right solution to protest? We lost some part of the GDP - resulting into a step back from the ambitious double digit GDP growth rate. We had our public property damaged, many suffered on account of the violence. The BJP had its presence felt. However, the poor had yet another poorer day, while the fuel prices remained as it were 24 hrs back.
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