Verdict on Ram Janambhoomi- Conviction of Hindus now legally recognized

As a sequel to the matter posted by me two days back and as a knee jerk reaction to the verdict pronounced by the three judge bench of the Allahbad High Court on the Ayodhya Title Suit of the place popularly referred to as Ram Janambhoomi by the Hindus and Babri Masjid by the Muslims i am elated but not euphoric about the judgment rendered today. Before i venture to opine on the judgment per se, i would reproduce the gist of what has been held by the three judges in thier independent orders-

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID
Justice S U 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 Dharam Veer 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."

From a reading of the observations made by the learned judges above the following conclusions are clearly established most of it by unanimity and therefore could be considered incontrovertible i.e

1 That the place where the idols have been placed of Lord Ram below the main dome which was demolished in 1992 was the actual birthplace of Lord Ram .
2 That the idols placed at the present location within the precincts of the complex should not be disturbed
3 That the mosque was built under the directions of the Mughal Emperor Babur on the ruins of a temple which Justice S U Khan ruling that it was not by destroying an existing temple but on the ruins of an ancient dilaptated Hindu Temple.
4 That the title suit of the Sunni Wakf Board claiming the ownership of the entire land is barred by limitation and hence dismissed.
5 That the idols of Ram Lalla were placed for worship below the dome which then existed on December 23rd, 1949.
6 That the report of the Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI) submitted in April 2003 should be accepted almost in toto, which is the basis for concluding that a Hindu Temple existed at the disputed(I hope no longer) site.

While it could be just reading of a judgment for a lot of the present generation some of whom could not care less, it a moral, physiological and emotional victory for the thousands who led the movement for reclaiming the complex under a sincere and honest belief that their Lord Ram was born at that very site, and for those of us who supported the movement in full during those historic days of the 90's. For the families of the Kar Sevaks who died for the cause, this could be a consolation and bring some succor to their lives which had been saddened by the death of the near and dear ones. To me personally with the streak of RSS ideology inbuilt and inculcated over the years, it is a sense of personal achievement which I am proud of and not apologetic about.

On the down side of the Judgment although i may be accused as a Hindu of being too avaricious, it is perplexing to note that the land has been ordered to be divided into three parts by a majority view with Justice Sharma dissenting by ordering that the entire land should be given to the Hindus, when the title suit of the Sunni Wakf Board claiming the title to the entire property has been dismissed. It is like stating that your title claim to the property is null and void but you can occupy one portion of it. To this extent the judgment appears to have political leanings to it with a flavour of judicial brinkmanship. The Question which could be posed by the parties to the suit in the coming days is that whether the Court has exceeded its jurisdiction by dividing the property which was not even canvassed in the plaint of the respective parties nor buttressed in their arguments over the last 50 years. Interestingly one third of the land has been ordered to given to Lord Ram Lalla thereby further lending credibility and acceptance to the proposition that the almighty can be regarded as an “artificial jurisdic person “ who can sue and is capable of being sued. As most of the temples are managed by trusts in the name of the Lord, the same would probably be followed in this case as well.


I have watched most of the talk shows after the judgment and an array of speakers kept referring to the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 as a barbaric act. I wonder that whether the same act could be referred to in the same manner even after this judgment which has in its own way also established the fact that the Babri Masjid was constructed on top of the ruins of a Hindu Temple by using some parts of the debris of the temple was against the tenets of Islam as held by Justice D V Sharma. That being the case were not the Kar Sevaks who undertook the demolition of the masjid only seeking to correct a historic wrong now recognized and upheld by this judgment. Why and how could that be then termed as a dastardly act?

In one of the talk shows titled Ayodhya Verdict aired on NDTV and anchored by the pseudo secular Barkha Dutt where a host of legal and social luminaries made thier viewpoint, the anchor was taking objection to the word Grand(emphasis supplied) Temple being proposed by the BJP and the Hindu organisations and kept suggesting that this meant that these organisations were already taking an aggressive posture. This only strengthens my earlier view that this particular anchor gets so obsessed with her rhetoric that she makes an issue out of a non issue. Yes the fact is that if and when a temple is built it would be a Grand temple truly symbolic of the struggle which went into achieving it and there is no necessity of making it a simple symbolic structure as was suggested by some of the participants in the debate. As Ravishankar Prasad Senior Advocate and Spokesman of the BJP aptly mentioned when being interviewed by Ms Dutt "India has to look at a mindset beyond Barkha Dutt and not be influenced by her intelligent orchesrty of a debate".

As mentioned in my previous blog it was echoed by most of the speakers in various talk shows that “India must move on “ and take this verdict in its stride as the country has more important and emergent issues to address.

On a lighter vein the popular joke doing the rounds is that “Hindus have agreed to allow the mosque to be built at the portion of the disputed site allotted to the Sunni Wakf Board with a pre condition that it has to be built under the supervision of Mr Suresh Kalmadi, so that it would not last long.

Jai Shri Ram

Ashok Raghavan

Judgement on Ram Janambhoomi Dispute-Decision at last

It has been quite some time since i wrote something on my blog as i was professionally pre occupied. The desire to start writing again was triggered by the programme on NDTV 24/7 anchored by the well known face of NDTV Barkha Dutt as part of "We the People" on the subject "Ayodhya- Is reconciliation possible ?" which was aired on 26-9-10. As usual Barkha Dutt in her inimitable style managed to meander the conversation towards the pseudo secular view she oftens demonstrates by posing questions in a manner so as to solicit answers which were structured to once again show the whole world how the Sangh Parivar diabolically planned and executed the demolition of the Babri Masjid on 6th December 1992 at Ayodhya. It has become a fashion for the elite to proclaim thier secular credentials in talk shows just to show the world how broad minded they are.


The topic revolved around the discussion "Is Reconciliation Possible ?". The word reconciliation when reduced to common parlance means softening of a hard stand, meeting the other view halfway, learning to live with the circumstances and environment, lending a conciliatory hand etc. The various connotations of this term may not be appropriate when it comes to solving the Ram Janambhoomi Babri Masjid Dispute as in this case the reconcilation in not just about what has to be done in future to appease both communities but about trying to convince the Hindus that this was not the birthplace of Lord Ram the mytholigical Hindu God, which is a matter of faith of the Hindus and therefore outside the realms of judiciary.

Reconciliation therefore is required in the minds of the Hindus that Lord Ram was not born in the existing place and in the minds of the Muslims that they need to give up thier right on the disputed land purely to appease the majority community, which we all know is next to impossible. History has it that a British Judge Lord Chamers who was adjudicating the same matter about 140 years ago had abandoned the idea of reconciling the two parties to the dispute by simply stating that it was impossible for him to decide on a matter which supposedly took place centuries ago.

During the programme "We the People" cited above one of the speakers was observed making a passionate plea that if the Hindus apologise for the diabolical act of demolising the Masjid on 6th December 1992, the Muslims could consider giving up thier rights over the disputed land. This propostion is not only outrageous but is divisive in nature as remarks such as these would only increase the divide further with the Hindus demanding that the Muslims apologise for the act of Babur( or Aurangzeb as per a new theory) who ordered the destruction of the temple at the disputed site and erected a mosque on the same.

In my opinion, it will be in the interest of all concerned to let the Court deliver the judgement and deal with the turbulences emanating as a consequence instead of making attempts to postpone the same by filing frivolous petitions before the Court. In other words the time has come for the Government to " bite the bullet and not take evasive action". As we all know " time is the best healer and the passions arising in the aftermath of the judgement would be doused by passage of time because we all have to live with the truth that " we have one life and that it has to carry on" unmindful of our personal beliefs and convictions.

The delay in rendering the judgement is a legal endurance test being foisted on all concerned with the Supreme Court allowing a petition of a person who was not even a party to the title suit to be heard and even adjudicated. The Government would be foolish to even attempt to delay and bury the judgement by getting it entangled in a legal maze from which it would be difficult for the parties to disentangle themselves thereby giving a decent burial to this issue.

The fresh eruption of violence in Kashmir is a classic case of what delay could cause and how skirting your feet over an issue could have unprecedented ramifications. Kashmir in only one part of the Country and Ayodhya could become an infectious and contentious issue for the rest of the Country, if not handled properly.

I am glad that the three judge bench of the Supreme Court has unanimously rejected a frivolous petition seeking to delay the Allahbad High Court judgement which is now to be pronounced on 30th September. Justice delayed is Justice denied and i hope in this case that inspite of a delay of about 60 years justice is not denied. The Supreme Court has probably taken this stand as in thier opinion and rightly so " Executive incompetency to handle the consequences of a judicial judgement cannot be a reason for withholding the judgement itself".

Awaiting the verdict with guarded anxiety.

Regards

Ashok Raghavan

The Election Results - An Analysis and my views

Yes, the Indian Voters who have bothered to go out and vote have finally decided and rightfully so that they want a stable Government at the Centre to steer the country over the next five years especially in the troubled times being faced by the Economy. The Congress Party has emerged as the single largest and the UPA as the single largest pre poll alliance with almost commanding a majority of its own. What to the results mean and how do they translate can be summed up as follows-

1 The Congress Party has regained lost ground especially and significantly in the State of UP where they were totally annihilated in the previous elections.

2 The BJP has lost some of its sheen, is down but certainly not out.

3 The Regional Parties such as the RJD, HVP, AIADMK, PMK, MDMK, TDP,TRS,SAD etc have been completely marginalised and will have no significant role to play at the moment in National Politics. The SP and the BSP do have a reasonable presence in terms of seats but have become insignificant players as the stability of the Government does not depend on their support or otherwise.

4 The Left and their communist idealogy has taken a severe beating and the loss in West Bengal which was considered their impregnable fortress are ominous signs that their influence in the voters minds of West Bengal and Kerala is waning which is in my opinion the best thing to have happened to this Country. The Bluff of the Communists as being the torch bearers of the working class has been called as they have exposed themselves by opposing progressive economic policies. Communism has been on the decline the world over especially in progressive economies and we all should work towards ensuring its extinction in India.

5 The popular notion gaining ground that the Hindutva leaning of the BJP has eroded its vote base is fallacious as the BJP has done reasonably well and in fact increased its vote share in a few states where it is in Power and even in Coastal Karnataka (inspite of the Ram Sena playing havoc with its extremist views) the party has swept all the seats. This is an indication that you need not be apologetic about your idealogy if you want to retain or increase your vote base. Another case to point is the victory of Varun Gandhi by almost a margin of One Lakh Votes inspite of his so called hate speech where the Hindus seem to have voted for him with a vengeance. The talk doing the rounds that projecting Narendra Modi as a future PM was a monumental blunder is only a campaign to dent the popularity and larger than life image of Modi who has repeatedly proved the polsters and their opinion and exit polls wrong. Its is only the aggressive economic policies and rightist leaning of Modi which could resurrect the image of the BJP and the party in my opinion needs to cultivate many more Modi's across the country to get its cadres rejuvenated.

6 The Congress may have won this time but projecting their victory as that of Rahul Gandhi's is what will cost it dear in the years to come as there are many more meritorious and deserving youngsters in the Congress who are forced to play second fiddle only because they do have the Gandhi tag attached to them and the frustration arising out of the subservience expected from the highly educated lot to the Gandhi Family may boil and spill over at some point of time.

7 An analysis of the Election results would show that the UPA won because of better alliance management skills whereas the NDA lost because of its rift with the BJD in Orissa and the shifting of the Trinamool to the UPA fold.

8 A demoralising aspect of the demographic profile of the present Lok Sabha shows that the average age of the MP is 62 which demonstrates the fact that youngsters are not coming to the fore and taking to politics as a full time vocation. The Union Cabinet predominantly consists of old Congress bigwigs and loyalists with an average age of 66 and a few youngsters have been accomodated as Ministers of State with a few first time MP's like Shashi Tharoor finding a place.

9 Last but not the least the silver lining in the dark economic clouds for the business community and the Service Sector is the exit of Mr P Chidambaram from the Finance Ministry and i fervently hope and pray that his shadow would not loom large over Sri Pranab Mukherjee's dimunitive frame thereby paving the way for the removal of taxes such as FBT and reduction in rates of Service Tax.

For me personally the Election Results are a dampener as my cherished desire of seeing a BJP led Government would have to wait probably for five more years but the optimistic streak in me believes that this election was only the semi final and the final in the year 2014 would have a Government led by the likes of Narendra Modi or the man himself steering the country forward. I live with that hope like thousands of other Indians some of them openly and others discretely.

Waiting for the Results of the Great Indian Election

In a few days time i.e precisely on the 16th of May we should know the results of the Five Phase long drawn out election which will decide who will rule the Worlds Largest Democracy in all probability for the next five years. All avid political researchers and pundits have also preferred to remain silent on the outcome as nobody appears sure of the outcome which many conclude is " too close to call ". The number of Regional Parties and thier Satraps who are expected to decide the fate of whether the NDA or UPA would form the Govt or they themselves would be able to cobble a majority under a consensus Prime Minister is anybody's guess.

Being a person with a strong nationalist mind and with a tinge of the RSS Blood , i live with the fervent hope that the NDA will form the next Government with L K Advani as the PM at the moment to give way to somebody like Narendra Modi in future.


The most disappointing part of this Election has been the poor election turnout inspite of a prolonged and persuasive publicity campaign where many celebrities were used to appeal to the masses to cast thier valuable vote. The poor turnout has been blamed on the heat and the wedding season in certain parts of the Country whereas the main reason is obviously Voter Apathy to certain extent and indifference to a larger Extent with the escapist common refrain" what do we gain from voting and what will anybody do after coming to power".

As far as the election campaign is concerned it appears that the Congress is back to its sycophant best by projecting Rahul Gandhi as a Future Prime Minister and also making him the star Campaigner which in my opinion could be the biggest contibuting factor to the Congress defeat. The inexperienced remarks of the Fourth Generation Gandhi with an appearance which borders on underlying arrogance could well be the Achiles Heal of the Congress. It was appalling to see veteran Congress Leaders like Pranab Mukherjee, C K Jaffer Sharief, A K Antony etc literally bending their head in obescience to Rahul Gandhi just because he carries that famous surname although not with any calibre to back it.

The Flip Flops of the so called principal leaders of the Left Front over supporting the Congress under the pseudo Secular Ideology is bemusing and add credence to the fact that the Left Front is as opportunistic as others went it comes to knocking on the doors of Power.

The Creation of the Third Front and the Fourth Front has opened huge windows of opportunity for political bargaining and all of us are waiting to see this drama unfold in the next few days with plum posts in the Cabinet being bartered for support. The Blame for this situation is obviously with the voting public who seem to lack the maturity to decide to let the Country to be run by a Single Party Rule so as to ensure stability. Thanks to them the Mulayams, Mayawati's, the Nitish Kumars, the Jayalalitha's etc have become more powerful than what they deserve to be. It will not be a surprise if the Prime Minister emerges from a party with a handful of MP's after the elections.

Last but not the least i fervently hope and pray that Mr P Chidambaram faces defeat at the polls which i feel he deserves for the damage his policies have done to the Indian Economy and the business morale in the Country. After all he deserves credit for bringing in Service Tax on Rentals of Immovable Property while exempting the services rendered by Lawyers and Doctors who in his opinion it appears do not render any service. Mr PC should also be credited for his single minded Devotion to ensure that Fringe Benefits Tax is payable even on genuine business expenditure by applying the logic that it is a benefit enjoyed by the Employees

Terrorist Attack on Cricketers in Pakistan-My Perspective

The question being asked and vastly debated in the various news channels right from the time the news on the terrorist attack on Sri Lankan Cricketers in the heart of Lahore took place is whether " Pakistan is on the brink". To my mind which is backed by history and statistics the Islamic State of Pakistan has never been stable right form the time of Partition till date and has always been living on the edge and therefore the present incident only amplifies this sad but bitter truth. Pakistan is in an identical state to put it in simple terms as that of a man who has been been bitten by his pet who he nurtured with great care in his own home but unfortunately does not have the ready made rabies vaccine to be administered on its political and fanatical leaders to come out of the sting. The leaders of Pakistan for several decades now have been diverting the minds of their subjects to far less but sentimental and populist issues like " India Bashing" and "American Appeasement" without actually getting into the thrust areas of economic development and the country now appears to be paying a price for this.

If we recall the popular saying that certain people like to live and die by the sword it is very apt to most of the citizens of Pakistan who have to pray today for a 'disaster free day'. I am sure that there will be a silver lining emerging somewhere out of the latest incident in the form of the people of Pakistan genuinely feeling that they will be economically if not politically isolated if they allow the Jihadis to rule their mindsets by rhetoric based on falsehood and religious fanaticism.

They say that Cricket is a religion in the sub continent and the dastardly act which occured on Tuesday the 3rd of March only proves once again that Terrorists do not have or respect any religion including Cricket if it is considered one in this part of the world.

If one saw the Interview of Imran Khan the Pakistani Cricketing great turned politician on NDTV on Wednesday night , his face turned red with embarassment when he was reminded about his comment before Sri Lanka embarked on the tour to Pakistan that Terrorists would not harm cricketers and therefore they should feel safe in touring Pakistan. Further Shahid Afridi's comment that his beautiful country is being hemmed in from all sides only demonstrates the sign of despair emerging even among the affluent and elite in Pakistan.

As far as Sri Lanka is concerned while our heart goes out to their cricketers who went to Pakistan ready to ride the Tiger in the form of a threat perception from terrorists , it is lesson to be learnt that do not venture to fight the tiger in the neighbouring country until you have first tamed your own tiger which we all know is over from far but far from over.

In conclusion it is about time for the citizens of Pakistan to rise above partisan politics and religious fanaticism and concentrate on economic development being a nation endowed with substantial and rich natural resources.

Valentines Day - My Views

The Ram Sena referred to as the Hindu Taliban by certain news channels have stirred a hornets nest by the attack on the Mangalore Pub thereby earning the tag of being the moral police of the Country more so a particular region at present. The Pink Chadi campaign and Pub Bharo Campaign launched by the so called independent free thinkers of this country is only going to make matters worse and lead the next generation into further degeneration as they will now be provoked into drinking to prove a point when instgated by the friends to join the campaign which they may not have otherwise done with vigour.

Mr Mutalik with his extremist views on the subject which also has a substantial following has created a cultural divide and has probably played into the hands of the new genaration free thinkers by alienating them further from a normal Indian culture of working the whole week and probably going to a pub or lounge bar to have a few drinks to relax annd enjoy music.

While Mutaliks views may not be exactly appreciated i am witness to the fact that the pub Culture has also created an increasing trend of girls and ladies smoking and this is more to make a fashion statement than for enjoying the taste of tobacco. The so called ban on public smoking has not yielded any results and will become ineffective due to practical problems of monitoring the same. It is this trend which has to be arrested rather than trying to force the new genaration to desist from going to pubs.

Coming to the valentine day celebrations i am also of the firm view that this concept which is become more of a marketing tool for the Hotels, Restaurants and Greeting card companies was alien to our culture even a few years back and has become popular only becoz of the effects of globalisation. In my opinion to express the love for someone on a particular day is ridculous as love comes from within and it can be seen without even one having the need to express it. Love for someone manifests itself in so many ways like feeling good in each others company, eye contact, longing to see each other on the slighest pretext, waiting for an opportunity to talk to and/or meet each other and is it presposterous to even suggest that this manifestation has to find its expression only on Valentines Day. To put it simple if you love someone , you need not wait for valentines day to express love and this can be expressed in so many other ways and on other occasions and therefore my appeal to all is not to fall for this occassion which is a creation of the marketing agencies but enjoy the day by going to parties or get togethers to enjoy the music, fun and frolic but not becoz it is Valentines Day. After all many of us i am sure have been or had been in love without even knowing what Valentines Day was all about till a few years back.

Ram Sena you do not have to do anything. Just sit back and do more important things and these marketing gimmicks will start falling apart on thier own once people start seeing through it.

My Views on Slum Dog Millionaire

I am indeed surprised about the hype and hoopla surrounding the film "Slum Dog Millionaire". The Indian audience should be intelligent enough to understand our country has been projected in a shameful manner in the early part of the film where our poverty and the crimes associated therewith have been projected beyond actual reality. The Scene where a child is blinded and used for beggary, the scene where Hindus are shown as intolerant and perpetrators of communal violence, the scene where child prostitution is indicated to exist in the Country are only a clever design by certain forces to project our country as worse than a third world country. It is ironical that the Oscars and Golden Globe Awards are American based and the Americans are the ones who have started sophisticated communal violence by the invasion of Iraq and killing of hundreds of Muslims citing the existence of chemical weapons which could never be proved.

Please be honest and think whether the film would have recieved all the adulation and awards if it had been directed by an Indian Director. The Answer is an "Emphatic No" as there is much more than what meets the eye in this film getting the Golden Globe Awards and in all probability the Oscars. The views of Mr Amitabh Bachchan who is the greatest Indian Actor should be appreciated and endorsed by every self respecting Indian.

My views above are without prejudice to the quality of acting displayed by the Lead Actors and cinematography which are of the highest standards.