Ayodhya verdict: 'HC verdict not the end of Babri dispute'
Even as Ayodhya gears up for big day, locals confident of case going to apex court.
By Rukmini Shrinivasan, TNN |
AYODHYA: Just about everyone in Ayodhya knows how the Indian legal system works. Last Thursday, people had gathered at tea shops to talk about the Supreme Court’s unexpected intervention in shape of hearing a special leave petition seeking out-of-court settlement of the Ayodhya title suit. On Wednesday, fruit-sellers reminded each other that the losing party can appeal against the HC’s verdict in the SC.
Yet, the Allahabad HC’s ruling will mean different things to different players in the dispute — from a minor hiccup to the end of the road.
Although several Hindu leaders have said they will respect the court order, at the workshop where the proposed temple was being assembled until 2008, ready to be re-assembled on the disputed site, the air is not so much of optimism as of steely determination . ‘‘ Yes, let’s see what the court says, but a temple will be built,’’ says Anubhai Sompura (70), supervisor of the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas Karyashala . Sompura, a native of Ahmedabad, oversaw the construction of temples in Gujarat and Maharashtra until 1990 when he moved to Ayodhya to work for the VHP and the temple . ‘‘ I am not alone in saying this. The VHP fully supports this,’’ he adds.
Stones brought in from Rajasthan , and carved by hundreds of artisans from Gujarat and Rajasthan at the workshop from 1990 until work stopped owing to a lack of space (or, as is rumoured, lack of funds) in 2008, are piled up and shown to visitors by its security officer and VHP member Hanuman Yadav . ‘‘ When work stopped in 2008, the artisans, who earlier lived in the nearby Karsevakpuram, had to return home,’’ says Hanuman Yadav. Even so, Sompura says, pointing to a replica of the proposed temple, one floor of the planned two-storeyed temple is ready with its carved pillars.
Sentiments similar to those expressed by home minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday, about not letting the Ayodhya story derail the India story, are driving Ayodhya’s businessmen. ‘‘ The ruling will be just another twist in the story and the SC will be the next scene of action,’’ says A n m o l Mishra (55), proprietor of a chain of printing presses . ‘‘ This way, Ayodhya can avoid paralysis for a few more years,’’ he says with relief. But for others , the future is hard to think of. Mohammed Hashim Ansari (90) of the Babri Mosque Reconstruction Committee , a former tailor who is the last surviving litigant in one of the petitions, stops just short of saying what his tired body suggests.
‘‘ I don’t want to say just yet that I won’t appeal if the verdict doesn’t go in our favour; let’s wait until the verdict,’’ he says once his hearing aid picks up the question. ‘‘ But I will say that I want to see this story end in Lucknow because it has got completely politicised. I want to see the end of the Babri Masjid industry ,’’ says Ansari. Today, Ansari’s greatest wish is for both communities to live in peace. ‘‘ Jab sir hi nahi raha, toh kya sajda karenge (if our heads are severed, what’s the point of talking about bowing in prayer)? ’’ he asks.
Yet, the Allahabad HC’s ruling will mean different things to different players in the dispute — from a minor hiccup to the end of the road.
Although several Hindu leaders have said they will respect the court order, at the workshop where the proposed temple was being assembled until 2008, ready to be re-assembled on the disputed site, the air is not so much of optimism as of steely determination . ‘‘ Yes, let’s see what the court says, but a temple will be built,’’ says Anubhai Sompura (70), supervisor of the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas Karyashala . Sompura, a native of Ahmedabad, oversaw the construction of temples in Gujarat and Maharashtra until 1990 when he moved to Ayodhya to work for the VHP and the temple . ‘‘ I am not alone in saying this. The VHP fully supports this,’’ he adds.
Stones brought in from Rajasthan , and carved by hundreds of artisans from Gujarat and Rajasthan at the workshop from 1990 until work stopped owing to a lack of space (or, as is rumoured, lack of funds) in 2008, are piled up and shown to visitors by its security officer and VHP member Hanuman Yadav . ‘‘ When work stopped in 2008, the artisans, who earlier lived in the nearby Karsevakpuram, had to return home,’’ says Hanuman Yadav. Even so, Sompura says, pointing to a replica of the proposed temple, one floor of the planned two-storeyed temple is ready with its carved pillars.
Sentiments similar to those expressed by home minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday, about not letting the Ayodhya story derail the India story, are driving Ayodhya’s businessmen. ‘‘ The ruling will be just another twist in the story and the SC will be the next scene of action,’’ says A n m o l Mishra (55), proprietor of a chain of printing presses . ‘‘ This way, Ayodhya can avoid paralysis for a few more years,’’ he says with relief. But for others , the future is hard to think of. Mohammed Hashim Ansari (90) of the Babri Mosque Reconstruction Committee , a former tailor who is the last surviving litigant in one of the petitions, stops just short of saying what his tired body suggests.
‘‘ I don’t want to say just yet that I won’t appeal if the verdict doesn’t go in our favour; let’s wait until the verdict,’’ he says once his hearing aid picks up the question. ‘‘ But I will say that I want to see this story end in Lucknow because it has got completely politicised. I want to see the end of the Babri Masjid industry ,’’ says Ansari. Today, Ansari’s greatest wish is for both communities to live in peace. ‘‘ Jab sir hi nahi raha, toh kya sajda karenge (if our heads are severed, what’s the point of talking about bowing in prayer)? ’’ he asks.
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