Ayodhya Verdict: a flawed attempt for political compromise by the Judiciary

December 6 1992

 The day when I felt most ashamed of India and its Government.
 The day on which glorious Indian tradition-of tolerance and respect for all-was torn apart by few goons.

Now with the Ayodhya Verdict of the Allahabad High Court I am feeling ashamed again,this time of Indian Judiciary.
The verdict has been analysed in detail both in Print and in Cyberspace.So without going into the details let me make it clear why I am ashamed of this verdict.

Role of Belief and Religion in a Title suit
This was a title suit. What role religion and belief have in a title suit? The court was supposed to look at the legal documents available and come to a verdict. Instead the Court tried to over reach its authority and came up with an  'illegal' political compromise.

Condoning Masjid demolition
The ASI was able to excavate the site because of the criminal vandalism of Hindutva goons.What would have been the verdict if Babri Masjid was still there? Would the Judiciary give a verdict to partition it into 3 parts? By giving a portion to the criminals who demolished it are n't they condoning the demolition? The Hindutva brigade will surely try to get immunity in demolition case citing this verdict.

ASI Report 2003
Findings of ASI after excavating the Babri Masjid site did not prove that the Masjid was build demolishing a temple. It was due to political bias that a wrong conclusion was given in its report by ASI. Many archeologists and historians have challenged this. Here is an extract from the statement released by SAHMAT, an organisation in which many renowned Historians are members.

One decisive piece of evidence, which entirely negates the possibility of a temple, is that of animal bones. Bone fragments with cut marks are a sure sign of animals being eaten at the site, and, therefore, rule out a temple existing at the site at the time. The Report in its “Summary of Results” admits that “animal bones have been recovered from various levels of different periods” (Report, p.270). Any serious archaeological report would have tabulated the bones, by periods, levels and trenches, and identified the species of the animals (which in bulk seem to be of sheep and goats). There should, indeed, have been a chapter devoted to animal remains. But despite the statement in its “Summary”, there is no word about the animal bones in the main text. This astonishing omission is patently due to the ASI’s fear of the fatal implications held out by the animal bone evidence for the temple theory.

....The bias, partisanship and saffronised outlook of the ASI’s Report takes one’s breath away. In almost everything the lack of elementary archaeological controls is manifest. The one-page carbon-date report, without any description of material, strata and comments by the laboratory, is meaningless, and open to much misuse. There has been no thermoluminescence (TL) dating of the pottery; no carbon-dating of the animal or human bones. No care has been exercised in chronology....

...It cannot be overlooked that the occupant of the office of Director-General was changed almost simultaneously with the High Court’s direction to the ASI to begin the excavations in early March. The signal given thereby was obvious; and the present Report should come as no surprise. Politicians gloating over it are precisely those who have got it written.
Location of birth place of Lord Ram
     At least 2 Judges of the High Court seems to have accepted that most Hindus believe Lord Ram was born at a place which fell under the Central dome of the Masjid. What was the evidence to conclude that most Hindus beleived Ram was born at that exact place? The truth is there were many rival places in Ayodhya which had claims to be the birth place of Lord Ram. Only in the 1980s with the advent of strong Hindutva movement that the Mosque was deliberately made the birth place of Rama. 

Political Compromise versus Judicial Compromise

Many well meaning Indians,especially the young feel that as every one have got something we all should be satisfied with it and the Nation should move on. Many believe that the Secular 'fundamentalists' are needlessly creating problems. I disagree.
If it was a political compromise arrived at by religious leaders all of us including me would have been happy to accept it. But when a High Court go back to the period of Panchayath Court system to arrive at an extra-legal compromise in its verdict, it spells trouble for India's democracy and secularism.
Can we change history to justify the politics of present?

What happened in history, happened. It cannot be changed. But we can learn to understand what happened in its fuller context and strive to look at it on the basis of reliable evidence. We cannot change the past to justify the politics of the present. The verdict has annulled respect for history and seeks to replace history with religious faith. True reconciliation can only come when there is confidence that the law in this country bases itself not just on faith and belief, but on evidence
 Romilla Thapar, Historian

Let us hope that some time in future the Supreme Court will rectify this flawed attempt for political compromise by the Judiciary.

Links
http://sahmatnews.blogspot.com/2010/10/statement-on-ayodhya-verdict.html
http://www.sahmat.org/2982003.html  on ASI report
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2010/10/interview-with-justice-rajindar-sachar.html

http://communalism.blogspot.com/2010/10/interview-with-rajeev-dhavan-on-ayodhya.html
 http://communalism.blogspot.com/2010/10/in-name-of-faith-frontline-5-oct-2010.html

'Love Jihad'.Fact or fiction?

Whom do you think a communalist hates most?

Many may feel that an Islamic communalist will hate a Hindu/Christian communalist most while a Hindu communalist will hate a Muslim/Christian communalist most.

But this is not true.

Whom they hate most are the believers of their own religion who try to have strong friendship and social contacts with believers of other religion.

That's why Jinnah hated Maulana Azad most.
That's why a Hindutva activist killed Gandhiji.
That's why communalists of all hues and color hate inter-religious marriages,especially when the couple involved decides to stick on to their own religion.

Even if they do not stick on to their own religion,such marriages based on love increases the social contacts between families of different religions and should be encouraged if the conversion to the spouse's religion is with out compulsion.

"Love Jihad"

Recently we saw an increasing number of news reports about love used for forcible religious conversion in South India,mainly Kerala. It has been alleged that thousands of Hindu and a few Christian girls has been trapped in to love affairs with Islamist boys and later forced into marriages and conversion to Islam. A newspaper in Kerala coined the term 'Love Jihad' for this phenomenon.

If you search 'Love Jihad' on google you will see a large number of furious Hindutva websites trying their best to raise the anger in the Hindu mind.The statistics they quote are mind boggling. It ranges from 1000 to 5000 Hindu girls already converted to Islam by this 'Love jihad'.
Here is an excerpt from 'Hindu jagruti''s website.

"Trapping naive Non Muslim girls (Read as Hindu girls) in the web of love inorder to convert to Islam is the modus operandi of the said organisation. Already more than 4000 girls have been converted to Islam by this Jihadi Romeos.



Special branch of Police started investigation when marriages of such large scales are reported within last 6 months. As per the instructions to recruits of this organisation, they have to love a Hindu girl within the time frame of 2 weeks and brainwash them to get converted and marry within 6 months. Special instructions to breed atleast 4 kids have also been given. If the target won’t get trapped within first 2 weeks, they are instructed to leave them and move on to another girl."


Is this really true?

Most of the Hindutva websites reveal the source of their information as Police Special Branch reports. The Kerala High Court asked the Police to enquire about this.The DGP has presented a preliminary report in the Court on October 23.
The DGP's affidavit said that apart from the 2 cases before the court there is no proof that such incidents are taking place. At the same time the affidavit said "there are reasons to suspect ‘concentrated attempts’ to persuade girls to convert to Islam after they fall in love with Muslim boys but no organisation called ‘Love Jihad’ has been identified so far in the state". The affidavit said police had no evidence regarding the operation of love jihad and the source of money.

What is the truth behind this?
I am very well aware that Islamists recruit many youths from the campuses in Kerala for propagating hate in name of Islam.
I am also sure that some inter-religious 'love' marriages have taken place and most probably conversions too. Most of those marriages were genuine.
Was the conversion forced? Is it really an organised movement by 'Jihadi' organisations to increase the number of Muslims in India? Even if it is so has this taken place in such a large scale as being alleged?

The Police special branch report the Hindutva websites are quoting is about complaints registered in police stations regarding missing persons.Police themselves say that most of those compliants have already been withdrawn as the missing persons have returned to their families. Only a few are yet to be traced.The statistics are grossly exaggerated to create bigger effect.

Read here from 'The Hindu' a story of alleged 'love jihad' from Karnataka

The ‘Love Jehad’ that wasn’t

When Anitha (22) of Barimaru village in Bantwal taluk, went missing this June, the rumour mills fed by several Sangh Parivar organisations claimed that she was forcibly converted to Islam by a Pakistan-backed, professional ‘jehadist lover’.



On October 4, the head of the Gurupura Math, Rajashekharananda, held a protest meeting where he alleged that Anitha had fallen prey to a terrorist ploy. The event, which according to top police officers, threatened to create a communally sensitive situation, led to the hurried constitution of a special investigation team.


In less than two weeks the team cracked the case: Anitha was poisoned to death by Mohan Kumar, serial killer arrested on October 21, who allegedly confessed to having murdered her and robbed 17 other women by luring them with offers of marriage.

On October 15, the Hindu Janjagruthi Samiti held a protest outside the Deputy Commissioner’s Office alleging that over 3,000 Hindu girls from Dakshina Kannada and 30,000 from the rest of the State had gone missing since the “Love Jehad operation” was launched by the “terrorists” a year ago. These figures, posted on the Samiti’s website, are now being quoted by other Hindutva organisations as well.



However, official statistics given to The Hindu show that in the three years ended September 30 this year, 404 women went missing in the district. Of them, 332 women have since been traced by the police.


At Wednesday’s press conference, the police said that now only 57 women were missing in the district.


According to Superintendent of Police A.S. Rao, several of these 57 women are suspected to have committed suicide or eloped. “Among those who have eloped there are several who are not Hindus. There are also cases where Hindu women have eloped with Hindu men,” he said.

In another incident Siljaraj a woman of 23 years who eloped with her Muslim boy friend told the Karnataka High court that she had willingly converted to Islam and is waiting to get married under the provisions of the Special Marriages Act and asked for permission to go with her boy friend. But surprisingly the High Court asked her to return to her parent's home until the case is investigated.

Reacting to the order, senior advocate Ravi Varma Kumar said that it violated Article 21 (of life and personal liberty) and Article 25 (of freedom of religion) of the Indian Constitution. He cited Lata Singh vs. State of Uttar Pradesh, 2006, in which the Supreme Court upheld the right of a person who had reached the age of majority to marry of his or her own choice.
The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has said it would file a writ petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Karnataka High Court’s order.


I feel that more than this alleged 'love jihad' being a threat to Hindu society [ are Hindu girls so dumb???], it has become a fodder for the propaganda machine of the Sangh Parivar to propagate communal animosity and there by helping them in trying to reduce all social contacts between Hindus and believers of other religions.
Muslim and Christian priests have also issued warnings to youth to be cautious of such inter-religious social contacts.
As I said above Communalists of all colors are the same.They hate social and religious harmony because then their very existence is questioned.

The issue underlines the need for high vigilance against communalisation of our society.

Karnataka Government orders special Poojas ‘for safety of Women’

The molestation of Women by activists of a Hindutva group in Mangalore on January 24th Saturday, is an example of how fascism works in India.It is a serious attack on the democratic functioning of the Indian Polity. Fascists are bullies who aim at soft targets like women, children, artistes,schools, cinema halls etc.
There was another interesting news from Karnataka the next day.Read this Hindu report.
Temples asked to do Shanti Puja
BANGALORE: In a communique here on Sunday, Minister for Religious Endowment Malur S.N. Krishnaiah Shetty said the agama pandits had opined that the [solar]eclipse portends bad times for the State. As per their advice, category A and B temples belonging the department, both Shaiva and Vaishnava, have been asked to do “Grahana Shanti” by performing Mruthyunjaya Japa, Mruthyunjaya Havana, Udaka Shanti Patana and Nakshatra Havana on Monday. “This is for the safety of people of State,” he said, and invited devotees to participate in the pujas. — Staff Reporter
So the Karnataka Government is beefing up the safety of the people of the State by special poojas.Will that include safety of Women from rampaging Hindutva hooligans?