September 30
Ayodhya came alive with chants of “Jai Shri Ram” as the High Court ruled that the disputed site where Ram Lalla’s idol stoods would belong to the Lord and a temple could come up there.

The verdict was celebrated as Diwali with residents coming out of their homes to light candles in almost every nook and corner of the city. “It’s Lord Rama’s victory,” everyone proclaimed.

The plan to hold a victory procession was abandoned after the saints, led by the president of Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas, Nityagopal Das, asked people to exercise restraint.

The plan was also thwarted as the state government had installed 60 CCTV cameras at sensitive locations, especially the route connecting the heart of the city to the makeshift Ram Temple at the Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site. Shops of Muslims remained shut as security forces garrisoned the town.

The celebrations shifted from the streets to the Karsewakpuram-based VHP headquarters where prominent sadhus raised slogans.

It was after their energies ran out that a formal reaction from the Hindu samaj came.

“There can be nothing more joyous than the court’s admission that the place where the Ram Lalla idol is installed is the Ram Janmabhoomi where the temple must come up.

“We are happy that historical facts have been accepted. But we see no reason in Ram Lalla’s land being given to Muslims. That part is debatable and will only be resolved by the Supreme Court,” declared Nityagopal Das, articulating the views of saints, among them radicals like Mahant Suresh Das of the Digambar Akhara, Kendriya Mantri of VHP Purushottam Das and VHP member Margdarshak Samiti Kaushal Kishore Das.

All hardliners were of the considered view that with today’s verdict, only the first milestone had been conquered.

As Nityagopal Das put it: “The battle remains to be won. This order is only the foundation for the future. When the disputed site has been accepted as the janmasthan of Lord Rama, why should Muslims get any share of it?”

Soon, a meeting of Ram Janmabhoomi central committee will be called to discuss the future legal strategy, on which local BJP MLA Lallu Singh chose to keep silent. “We are happy that a temple will come up. The rest will follow,” he said at Karsewakpuram.

Outside in city’s alleyways, people were in a jubilant mood, with most saying there was no reason for discord now. “This is a win-all situation. We would prefer that a temple and a mosque coexist at the site,” said Avadesh Kumar, residing next to the headquarters of the Nirmohi Akhara, which, along with the Sunni Wakf Board and Ram Lalla Virajman has won one-third claim to the land. But the radicals have other plans.