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Tribune Exclusive
Babri panel fears violence
Sends SOS to PM, pushes for out-of-court settlement
Man Mohan
Our Roving Editor

New Delhi, August 27
As the court will for the first time decide whether there was a mosque or a temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya, the All India Babri Masjid Action Committee on Friday sent an SOS to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ensure that there was “no violence” after the judgment, expected any time now.

Last month, the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court had reserved its judgment on the title suit of the controversial Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid issue. The judgment is expected before mid-September. One of the judges of the three-member Bench is retiring in September.

Committee chairman Javed Habeeb says in his letter that demolition of the 500-year-old Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992, was the “worst act of terrorism in independent India after the assassination of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi.” Unfortunately, he says, the culprits have not been convicted.

Asking the PM to “intervene” immediately and help in an out-of-court settlement, Habeeb urged that the UPA and Uttar Pradesh governments must ensure that the violence that erupted across the country post-demolition would “not be repeated by the fascist forces”.

“We are watching with concern that some hardcore Hindu organisations, on the eve of the court’s judgment, have started raising their pitch for construction of Lord Ram’s temple at the disputed site,” Habeeb told The Tribune. He has urged the Prime Minister to take firm steps against the people and organisations threatening “to build a Ram Mandir by force in case the court verdict goes against them”, as this would amount to challenging the law of the land.

For the Centre and UP governments, it is a highly volatile situation with every possibility of things going out of control, as the court — for the first time — will decide whether there was a mosque or a temple at the disputed site. The Centre is worried about the possibility of violence in many sensitive parts of the country after the verdict. Legal pundits are, however, claiming that the judgment would be such that the aggrieved party would have no option but to go for an appeal in the Supreme Court.

On Tuesday, Manmohan Singh chaired a high-powered meeting with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Defence Minister AK Antony and National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon to take stock of the situation. UP Chief Minister Mayawati has already demanded 400 companies from the Centre to deal with any possible law and order disruption. At political and religious levels, efforts are being made from both sides to reach an out-of-court settlement.

In his letter, Habeeb writes, “J&K and Ayodhya are the two most intricate and touchy problems facing the country that have caused deaths of thousands and destruction of property and the process continues.”

Habeeb has appealed to the PM that in the light of the observations made by the Supreme Court in 1994 for an out-of-court settlement, “You must make an effort to bring together BJP leader LK Advani and other national leaders to find an out-of-court settlement before the court verdict is out. Muslims suffered a lot after the demolition of Babri Masjid. This is similar to the case of military action in the Golden Temple and the massacre of Sikhs following Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination. I expect you to show the same moral courage in providing a healing touch to the Muslims as you had done by tendering an apology in Parliament to Sikh community and providing them compensation,” says Habeeb.