'People don't know about the immense pressures that come with this position -- every decision a judge takes affects real people and their lives.' 'This is not a job that one can take lightly.' A
It's intriguing that the prime minister now wants his American partner to help protect the Hindu minority in Bangladesh. That's conceding to the Americans a pre-eminence India has always contested, resented and feared, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Mani Shankar Aiyar says the Congress party and not then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was responsible for unlocking the Babri Masjid gates and claimed that the "Bharatiya Janata Party-planted" Arun Nehru was behind it.
Iqbal Ansari, one of the main plaintiffs who fought for the right of the community over the disputed land, says Muslims in Ayodhya won't be satisfied if the Sunni Waqf Board accepts the five acres in Dhannipur.
'He failed to foresee that the campaign of hatred need not be continuous; a sporadic, scattered campaign is enough.' 'What was important is to keep the pot boiling, not let it overflow like happened during the masjid-mandir days,' notes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
The court is conducting the trial of accused persons, including BJP leaders L K Advani, M M Joshi, Uma Bharti and others.
The Babri mosque demolition trial is presently at the stage of the recording of statements of 32 accused in the case under Section 313 of Code of Criminal Procedure during which they also get an opportunity to refute the prosecution evidence against them.
The Opposition's stand on the Ayodhya consecration is puzzling. Their only objection seems to be that the BJP has hijacked a religious event for political benefit. In saying this, the Opposition is either being naive or hypocritical, argues Jyoti Punwani.
The court also observed that late Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal wanted to save the structure because Ram idols were inside.
Here is the chronology of events in the Ayodhya Ram temple issue.
As the 240-seater prime minister attempts to moderate his image of hardline hero, he has made room for others to elbow in and that is what is happening. And that it what will continue to happen from inside the BJP, notes Aakar Patel.
'They are happy for the Hindu community as Ram Lalla is consecrated in Ayodhya.'
A 1,200-year-old Hindu temple in Pakistan's Lahore city will be restored after 'illegal occupants' were evicted from it following a lengthy court battle, the federal body overseeing minority worship places in the country said on Wednesday.
After a meeting of its working committee in New Delhi, the board adopted a resolution which stated that the recent judgment of the Supreme Court on the maintenance of Muslim divorcee women is "against the Islamic law (Shariah)".
The statement of the 86-year-old leader was recorded in the court of Special Judge S K Yadav through video conference.
From the kind of food to the art which will be displayed at the museum, historian Pushpesh Pant shares his vision.
The judge said the CBI's case became weaker or "forceless" in view of the fact that it did not probe and ruled out the Pakistan angle to the demolition to make the criminal conspiracy charge stand the judicial scrutiny.
Sources said that Shah was accompanied by a battery of government lawyers as he met Advani at the 92-year-old leader's residence in connection with the case.
Senior advocate Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for Uttar Pradesh, told the bench that they have complied with the top court's direction and extended the tenure of the special judge till he delivers the judgment in the Ayodhya demolition case.
The Babri Masjid Action Committee (BMAC) demanded the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Centre to move applications in the Allahabad High Court for daily hearing to expedite trial and judgement in the mosque demolition case.
Following is the chronology of events in the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case.
The EC on Saturday had issued a show-cause notice to Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast accused currently out on bail, over her remark made during an interview to a news channel.
Babri has in the past also worked with some players helping them understand how to handle pressure situations and get through bad performances and personal issues.
A generation has passed and the demolition appears to be a story of an era gone by, says Sharat Pradhan, who shares his experience as a witness in court in the Babri Masjid demolition case. On the 25th anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, we republish this 2011 special.
Gen Z may not know who these ladies are, but Uma Bharti and Sadhvi Rithambara played important roles in the Ram Mandir movement for the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allied organisations in the early 1990s.
Five members of a school management near Bantwal in Dakshina Kannada district have been booked.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on the tragic events of September 30 in the most populous state in the Indian Union, Uttar Pradesh.
Advani denied his involvement in the alleged conspiracy along with 'kar sevaks' to demolish the disputed structure in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. He pleaded he was completely innocent and was unnecessarily dragged in the case owing to political reasons.
'We are very close to become a theocratic State where Hinduism is the official religion of the government.'
'All this (temple's construction) will change the fate of Ayodhya. We all want our child to get better opportunities'
'Despite our being a part of a welfare state, benefits are not trickling down to the intended beneficiaries at the desired levels. People's aspirations about leading a dignified life are often met with challenges. One of them, primarily, being poverty'
The ruling came after the Apex court heard a petition in the Babri mosque demolition case opposing the dropping of criminal conspiracy charges against Bharatiya Janata Party veterans.
Polling is scheduled in all 13 seats of Punjab and four of Himachal Pradesh, 13 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight in Bihar, six in Odisha and three seats in Jharkhand besides Chandigarh.
'There is one way to defeat the intention behind this directive: To patronise Muslim establishments that have been forced to identify themselves.' 'This is one opportunity for the Congress to show that the 'mohabbat ki dukaan' its leader talks about does exist.' 'Can Akhilesh Yadav, who has asked the court to take note of this directive, order his party members to do this?' asks Jyoti Punwani.
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to extend the security of former special judge S K Yadav who had pronounced the verdict in the Babri Masjid demolition case and acquitted all 32 accused, including Bharatiya Janata Party veterans L K Advani, M M Joshi and Uma Bharti.
'During the nine years of BJP rule, not a single temple has been reconstructed.' 'They might have constructed the Ram temple as it is an emotional issue. But they are not much interested in issues like heritage.'
Violence broke out between activists of Shiv Sena and All India Babri Masjid Re-Building Committee, when an unidentified man pelted stones at the activists of AIBRC, who were demanding the reconstruction of the structure, a senior police official said.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra will hear the plea of Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee.
The commission had rejected the theory that it was a spontaneous act by karsevaks whereas the CBI court has ruled that there was no evidence that demolition was a conspiracy.
'He has emerged as a formidable leader who cannot be ignored anymore, who cannot be mocked.'