No scope for "negotiations"

GIVEN THE HORRIFYING demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992, and its traumatic impact on the national psyche and the blow it caused to India's cherished image as an upholder of a plurality of cultures and faiths, any talk of a ``solution'' to the Ayodhya tangle marks a dangerous insensitivity. In this context, the Prime Minister's remarks on Ayodhya, in which he has referred to `negotiations' being held by ``different people at different levels'', reflect a sinister design, for all the appearance of a pragmatic and reasonable option. Although the identity and credentials of those involved in the exercise, not to mention the basis on which it is proceeding, have been left deliberately vague, the very circumstances attending the Ayodhya imbroglio - their entire gamut spanning both the pre-demolition and post-demolition phases - do not admit of negotiation as a fair and acceptable option. Add to it the Sangh Parivar's provocatively aggressive campaign and relentless preparation for construction of the Ram temple and the BJP's calculated prevarication on the issue - its stated position at a given point of time being determined by the exigencies of coalition politics - the negotiations route stands totally discredited. Not long ago, Mr. Vajpayee himself had called the Ramjanmabhoomi campaign an expression of the ``national sentiment'' and provocatively endorsed the `temple at the disputed site' pitch; that he subsequently retracted, more for the record and due to the practical need to sustain his coalition regime, is a different matter. Evidently, there can be no scope for negotiation in an atmosphere of shrill hostility and coercion as is perceived on the part of the Ram temple protagonists and, worse, when artifacts for the proposed temple are vigorously being got ready.

In fact, whatever little relevance the dialogue route might have had for settling the vexed Ayodhya dispute was lost the moment the Babri Masjid was pulled down on December 6, 1992, a catastrophic event that brought about a fundamental change in the situation. The fait accompli executed by the Hindutva fanatics that fateful day which reduced the mosque to rubble, completely ruled out any scope for a so- called ``solution'' to what had been forcibly rendered a non-existent dispute. No less significant is the fact that the Supreme Court, while discountenancing the `pre-existence' proposition, upheld the substantive portion of the 1993 Ayodhya Land Acquisition Act and thereby enjoined on the Centre to maintain the status quo on the disputed site as it existed in the aftermath of the Masjid demolition. To give credence therefore to the `pre-existence' theory (whether or not a temple pre-existed the mosque that has since been razed to the ground) as the basis for a solution will be to extend an unmerited concession to the Sangh Parivar's nationally disastrous revanchist campaign. After all, no democratic polity rooted in secular and pluralist principles can close its eyes to the dangerous consequences of letting rabid communal elements get away with their attempts to avenge what they regarded as historical `wrongs'.

Normatively speaking, any endeavour to address the Ayodhya issue must recognise as the sole bottomline the rightful claim of the Muslim community for reparation in the context of the terrible injustice done to it in the destruction of the Babri Masjid. Ideally, this should mean restoration of status quo ante. As of now, a political consensus seems to be emerging in favour of accepting the judicial verdict (which is awaited) as the final word. In the immediate context, what is expected of the Centre is not a deceptive show of sweet reasonableness, as reflected in Mr. Vajpayee's talk of `negotiations', but decisive and deterrent action, at the minimum, to halt the provocative and incendiary campaign of the VHP and, more importantly, to stop forthwith the various works (connected with the construction of Ram temple) now apace in different places. With the temple protagonists all set to kickstart a phased campaign in the runup to their D-Day, the Vajpayee regime has to act fast.

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