By Sarfaraz Mulla "Saif",
A long wait comes to an end. It took 60 years for the courts of Lucknow to pronounce the judgement regarding ownership of a land claimed by Hindus and Muslims. The judgement brings hope and some disappointment to vast majority of Indian Muslims. Left at loss by communal and pseudo-secular parties and indecisive leadership, Muslims as a community had pinned their hope in Indian Judiciary.
The verdict in itself is confusing to say the least and is being criticised for the manner it was pronounced. The judgement dismisses the claims of Sunni Wakf Board (read Muslims) and Nirmohi Akhara, the two plaintiffs that are known to have been using Masjid and its surrounding corridors for centuries.
Babri Masjid was built in 1528 and Muslims prayed at that same place for about 425 years, till Hindus staked claim in late 1940s. Considering the fact that this case in essence was a title suit, distinguished judges have played a trick of sorts by legitimising the claims of Hindu-Mahasabha members, who placed idols in the nights of 1949, while ignoring the claims of Muslims and Nirmohi Akhara by dismissing their petitions “Barred by time”. To add chaos-to-confusion, the disputed land is to be divided between all three plaintiffs -- two of them have owned or used it and the other that claims it to be a matter of “faith”.
The Sunni Wakf Board lawyer’s immediate response was this ruling will not go unchallenged in Supreme Court, however what is commendable though is in spite of the verdict not being entirely in favor of Muslims, or for that matter favors none, response till now has been “measured”..
Prior to understanding the possible reasons of cautious response, let’s revisit short history of this long tale.
India as a country has witnessed no mass movement post Independence of scale as large as Ram-Janmabhoomi that brought down Babri Masjid in the year 1992, by an unruly mob of kar-sevaks. Rath-Yatra was led by .L.K. Advani, then a Hindu hardliner and a Hindu-mascot. The Ram-Janmabhoomi movement was widely supported by all members of Sangh Parivar, that culminated in the demolition of a mosque that stood ground for more than 400 years as per historical records.
While the structure of Babri Masjid was being razed to the ground, Congress government at the Centre led by P.V. Narsimha Rao was unmoving. As per reports available, Centre relied on “promises” made by State Government, that itself was ruled by BJP with Kalyan Singh as its Chief Minister. In a recent programme on a leading news channel, a prominent journalist acknowledged that the day after demolition he called Central Home Minister S.B. Chavan at 7 am & the response was he was still “sleeping”. It is an undeniable fact that Central Government’s inaction & UP state government’s apathy was responsible for razing the structure to the ground.
Following are few of the possible reasons for a non-provocative, restrained and measured response by majority of Indians:
Fear factor: During & after the demolition of Babri Masjid, there were widespread communal riots in Muslim populated areas in especially in Northern India & Mumbai. Neither have the wounds of Godhra riots completely healed. Also, as it happens after almost every communal riots, as an act of clean-up, Muslim youths from urban-poor areas are rounded up in police lockers & are tortured immensely. Muslims, by all means do not want to relive the harrowing experiences of staying in refugee camps in their own country!
Deteriorating influence of Sangh Parivar: RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal, BJP & its saffron allies viz Shiv Sena wielded a greater influence at the pinnacle of mass-mobilization of kar-sevaks & visual incarnation of Lord Ram in the form television serial “Ramayan” provided enough reasons for the people at that time to relate to an emotive cause. However Sangh Parivar lost its clout once its political face BJP came to power in 1999 & could do nothing to build a promised Ram Temple at the proposed site during its 5 year tenure. BJP positioned itself as a “party with a difference”, nevertheless proved to be “party of several differences”, with its members & allies caught in scams, scandals & controversies. “India Shining” movement came as a cropper, an acknowledgement that BJP had lost its base among the masses.
There has been no-let up for other organizations of Sangh Parivar as there were demands to ban Bajrang Dal for its criminal activities & is lying low since then. Also, added to the fact that few of RSS’s own members are being investigated for terrorist activities such as bomb blasts in Masjids & Muslim dominated areas, is at the brink of itself being labeled as a terrorist organization have brought a sense of calm.
Post-liberalization era: Early 90’s saw a strategic shift in economic policies of the country. India in last two decades has witnessed a tremendous inflow of foreign capital & has risen to the occasion by trying to compete with China. As economies in the west are coming to a stand-still & an unprecedented recession since 1920’s, India with its more than a billion population, provides itself as an attractive destination. IT outsourcing has brought charm to its highly popular “talent-pool”. Brain-drain of early 1960’s & 70’s has worked in its favor as the tide is flowing in the reverse direction.
Generation Next: Generation next envisages of a developed India by 2020. A generation that is inspired by ignited minds as that of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Amir Khan & A.R. Rehman, religious identities are put in the back-burner. Indian youth identifies itself more with cool gadgets, buzzing motors & discotheques, there is very little time for idiosyncrasies for the sake of religion. The new generation is far less emotive & competes fiercely in the Globalized Flat World.
Sense of Maturity: To sum it up, Indians have witnessed far more “Communal riots, terrorist attacks, bomb blasts & to make matter worse corruption, judicial delays & government apathy”. Past generation carried with itself the burden of after-partition riots, a sense of lose & despair, however along the journey of resurgent India, there is a consistent effort to “let-go” its next generation of that burden. Sense of restraint was not only evident in the post-judgement speeches of RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat, Hindu-hardliner & controversy prone Narendra Singh Modi, sense of maturity was displayed by otherwise ever-anxious, exaggerating & hyperbolic Indian Media. As “Inclusive Development” & “Effective Governance” are the new mantra of assertive Central Government, a well-prepared nation in-terms of availability & deployment of paramilitary forces and the implementation of simple though effective measures such as appealing to the nation by none other than Prime Minister, banning of services like bulk SMS & restraining leaders from giving provocative speeches did certainly help.
Irrespective of the judgement being challenged in Supreme Court, its acceptance as it is or any other compromise, thanks for the prevailing sanity, it’s time for India to “Rejoice”.
