THE GHOST OF AYODHYA IS BACK

The ghost of ayodhya is looming over the country once again. The Supreme Court has ordered the Allahabad High Court to delay a potentially explosive verdict on the Ayodhya -babri masjid demolition case by 30 September. The long pending Ayodhya case is about the ownership of the Ayodhya land to which Hindus and Muslims have been making rival claims over past 125 yrs.

The Babri Masjid (the 16th century mosque in U.P. state) was demolished on December 6, 1992, by karsevaks and right-wing extremists who claiming it as the Ram Janmabhoomi site. And this had triggered worst religious riots since partition in 1947, and some 2,000 people died.

Amidst the uncertainty over the verdict a faint ray of hope has been shown by the Supreme Court, when it gave a week’s time to the opposing parties to come up with a settlement through informal parley. I think this is an excellent time in front of our country and the concerned parties of this case to use it to think out of the box and out of their narrow personal or religious gains.

I know it would be very difficult for any one of the community to loose this case and how they show their disappointment could be potentially fatal for the communal harmony of this country. So to protect our country from plunging into a cycle of madness , I suggest we should look towards New York, Where at the place of ground zero the government is proposing to build an inter faith mosque. Although majority of the Americans are opposed of this project mainly because of it being mostly a mosque, but, we can still take a leaf out of their book and build something acceptable to both the community and the country at large.

It could be a hospital, school, a memorial or a park. By doing this we will present a picture to the whole world of a mature and healthy democratic India, which can handle its internal contradictions through meaningful dialog.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/SC-lifts-stay-Ayodhya-verdict-on-Sept-30/articleshow/6641574.cms