'It is not with feelings of devotion or piety that these people are gathering.' 'It is mostly with emotions of hatred.' 'Listen to their slogans and their rhetoric and this becomes immediately clear,' says Aakar Patel.
There was no material to substantiate claims of any larger conspiracy in the 2002 Gujarat riots and the idea behind alleging that the violence was state-sponsored is to keep the 'pot boiling' which showed 'sinister signs,' the special investigation team told the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
By pegging the exact area of the Babri Masjid site at 0.313 acres, and not the original 2.77 acres, the government hopes to be in line with the court ruling in the 1994 Ismail Faruqui case which mentions return of land to original claimants once the exact area needed for acquisition is determined, observes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'Though we will raise our voices repeatedly, though we will not keep silent, this is a clear threat to us. What happened to Gauri Lankesh could happen to any of us,' says friend, and fellow journalist and activist Shashidhar Hemmady.
'It is a ticking time bomb if the authorities don't come forward to help these hapless people.'
'How can someone who has never been associated with the movement and never had darshan of Ram Lalla mediate on the matter of temple construction? We have gone to jail for it, faced house arrest and have been fighting court cases. Sri Sri does not qualify to mediate on the matter.'
'I am more concerned about my future, my family's future. The fate of the Ram temple is neither going to affect my career, nor would I let it be affected'
While Ayodhya resembled a city under seige earlier during the day, the scene was no different elsewhere in the state with police and central forces keeping an eye over the security situation and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath personally monitoring it from a hi-tech control room in the state capital.
'Today, the situation in the country is bad.' 'The distance between Hindus and Muslims is increasing.' 'If an out-of-court settlement is reached, then a cordial atmosphere will prevail in the country.'
'The BJP's constitution promises allegiance to India's secularism and socialism.' 'This is the oath that it makes all its members sign,' observes Aakar Patel.
The Sangh has let it be known that a 'social' outfit called the Hindu Yuva Vahini, set up years ago by Yogi, did not have its approval.
The court also observed that late Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal wanted to save the structure because Ram idols were inside.
'When the Babri Masjid was demolished, we didn't take permission from anyone.'
The CBI court also ordered framing of charges against the accused in light of the Supreme Court order dated April 19, 2017.
The Supreme Court is likely to pronounce its verdict on Wednesday on a plea seeking restoration of conspiracy charges against senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti in the Babri Masjid demolition case.
A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and Deepak Gupta said the matter will be heard on November 19, as the court has not gone through the petition in detail.
Like Modi, Keshav Prasad Maurya worked at tea stalls. Dinesh Sharma, on the other hand, is a professor at Lucknow university.
Shekhar Dutt's resignation has sparked a debate on the parameters of removing a governor.
'What the long term repercussions of the Ayodhya judgment are will unfold in time.' 'And I hope the consequences are not going to be as damaging to us as they were to Pakistan,' says Aakar Patel.
The 1992 Babri Mosque demolition was an "act of planned sabotage" and not a by frenzied mob of Hindu outfits, a news portal claimed on Friday on the basis of a sting operation it had carried over a period of two years.
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.
'Muslims have been observing namaaz for so many years.' 'The BJP wants to divide Hindus and Muslims for political gains.' 'This is happening in Haryana even though Muslims are only present in one district of Haryana.'
If Advani's ideological leadership galvanised the party's cadres and core support, Vajpayee soaring oratory, common touch and easy charm won over the masses.
The Samajwadi Party government went overboard in deploying nearly 10,000 policemen to patrol the streets of Ayodhya to prevent the VHP from carrying out its 84-kosi parikrama, reports Sharat Pradhan
The rift between Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and his party colleague Azam Khan, who also happens to be a prominent minister in the state cabinet, appears to be widening.
'By transferring the case to the NIA without the Maharashtra government's consent clearly indicates they want to play mischief.'
Failure to take timely action against those accused of posting the video resulted in communal tension.
The SC asked special judge to control the proceedings in accordance with law so that inordinate delay that is beyond the time-frame is no longer breached.
Bearing in mind how full India's pitcher is with ethnic and communal complexities, only the greatest circumspection can hold this country together in a willing union.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf traces the trajectory of Lal Kishan Advani from the highs of the 1990s to the present, when he may have to watch the elections from the sidelines.
'The BJP is the most progressive force within Hinduism today.'
'Given the growing animus against the Mughals in the Sangh Parivar, only a brave person will be ready to bet that no harm will ever be done by Hindutva storm-troopers to the Taj,' says Amulya Ganguli.
Social activist Teesta Setalvad, who has been fighting for the victims of Gulberg Society, said they will study the judgement in depth and appeal in a higher court.
There are indications that the Modi dispensation was disinclined to bring the VHP into the temple-mosque frame.
'Education played the most significant role in entrenchment of Hindutva ideology in coastal Karnataka.' 'Teachers of most of the schools, junior colleges, degree colleges and universities are active agents of Hindutva propaganda.'
Sangh affiliates believe the government's apparent anti-poor message led to their loss
The seven-member committee consists of four members of Parliament and three leaders from Uttar Pradesh.
Justice V Gopala Gowda recused himself from the hearing without citing any reason and said, "let the matter be placed before the Chief Justice" for its allocation to some other bench.
Although conventional political wisdom would decree that the construction of a 'magnificent' Ram temple at his 'birth-place' would bring the BJP a big yield of votes in the prospective elections, its leaders know by now that the mandir must not exist in isolation in its game plan, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
Since the historic judgment of the apex court that paved the way for the construction of a Ram temple by a trust at the disputed site in Ayodhya, and ruled that an alternative five-acre plot must be found for a mosque in the Hindu holy town, a large number of devotees have been flocking to Ayodhya, several among them making their maiden visit to the city.
