The rulers of the day need to be sensitive and involved in managing the identities of sacred spaces and the ongoing dialogues about the past in diverse societies, suggests Colonel Nikhil Apte (retd).
Muslim groups observed 'day of sorrow' while Hindu outfits celebrated 'shaurya divas' on the 23rd anniversary of Babri mosque demolition on Sunday, which passed off peacefully amid tight security in Ayodhya, as well as in other parts of the country.
Dismissing criticism of former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao over the Ayodhya issue, two top officials who worked closely with him said on Monday that he tried his best to prevent demolition of Babri mosque and to ensure rule of law.
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 is conducting the trial of accused persons, including BJP leaders L K Advani, M M Joshi, Uma Bharti and others.
Had it not been for Pankaj Tripathi, who must have worked hard to get those Vajpayee intonations and mannerisms so perfectly well, Ravi Jadhav's flattering portrait of Vajpayee would have been more vacuous than what we get to see, observes Prasanna Zore.
'The outrage that followed the destruction of the Babri Masjid was an inability to see the event for what it was: The rectification of a grave historical wrong, the restitution of a hurt of a people and the countering of moral injustice,' argues Vivek Gumaste.
It is thanks to the policy of liberalisation conceived by Manmohan Singh and enforced by P V Narasimha that the Indian economy has now become the world's 5th largest economy by nominal GDP, asserts Dr Sudhir Bisht.
Authorities in Nuh district Sunday razed some illegal structures including a hotel from where stones were allegedly pelted on a religious procession last week, even as a mahapanchayat was held in support of four men arrested over arson at a mosque and the death of its junior imam.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) began working on a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi premises in Varanasi on Friday to determine whether the 17th-century mosque was constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple.
'If the blatant criminal act of destroying a place of worship is to be rewarded by giving the whole land to those who committed that act, then it raises lots of questions.'
Singh, who was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh when the 16th-century structure was razed on December 6 in 1992, was first taken in judicial custody by the court after he appeared before it in response to the summons in the demolition case.
'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.'
Thackeray said he has to undergo a surgery on June 1 and after recovering from it, he would again address a public meeting.
Congress MLA from Nuh Aftab Ahmed on Thursday demanded strict action against those village panchayats in Haryana that have allegedly 'banned' entry of Muslim traders into their villages.
At present the people are allowed to worship once in a year only, he submitted before the court.
The new Ram Lalla idol was consecrated at the Ayodhya temple on Monday, an event led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and watched by lakhs of people on television at their homes and in temples across the country.
But the deputy prime minister's lawyer denied the allegation saying the accused seem to have been 'tutored'.
On the eve of Babri mosque demolition anniversary, Uttar Pradesh government on Friday enhanced the security of Hashim Ansari, the oldest litigant in the case, by providing him a Y category security cover.
What stood out in his 15-year journey as a member of the political executive at the Centre was his glowing record as India's most successful and effective finance minister. Both as prime minister and finance minister, he understood the importance of gradualism, except when the economy or the polity was in a crisis.
'In this assembly election, Muslims here will vote for one who works, but also one who safeguards their identity.' 'Their existence is more important they feel, than a faulty light meter. So yes, a Muslim representative will make a difference.'
Uneasy calm prevailed in Ayodhya, which on Saturday looked like a fortress, with deployment of more than 10,000 cops on the 22nd anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Mosque.
The apex court said the faith of Hindus that Lord Ram was born at the site was undisputed, and he is symbolically the owner of the land.
Jitendra Singh Visen, president of Vishwa Vaidik Sanatan Sangh, however, refused to divulge the reason behind the decision.
'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
A lawyer has filed an intervention application in the Supreme Court seeking impleadment in the Gyanvapi mosque case, stating that a mosque constructed on temple land cannot be a mosque.
Watch Commando 3 only if you want to to lose your sanity, warns Prasanna D Zore.
Adityanath spent hours reviewing the arrangements for the ceremony at the Ram Janmabhoomi, where the temple will be constructed following the go-ahead last year by the Supreme Court.
Modi has proven to be a past master in the art of political survival. This means that learning to navigate the choppy waters of coalition government will be an art he will not take long to master, argues Shyam Parekh.
It will be in Modi's interest to reinvent his party, read the writing on the wall that voters wrote, and move ahead. He has little choice now. The country is watching, asserts Ramesh Menon.
The 61-year-old saffron clad BJP leader is the 19th accused to depose before the court in the over 27-year-old case. 13 other alleged accused, including former deputy prime minister LK Advani and senior BJP leaders MM Joshi and Kalyan Singh are yet to be examined at this stage.
Sharjeel Usmani, the son of Assistant Professor Tariq Usmani of the AMU's Department of Geography, was picked by the Uttar Pradesh's anti-terrorist squad (ATS) sleuths from his uncle's house in Azamgarh on Wednesday and was subsequently produced in a court in Aligarh which remanded him in judicial custody, they said.
Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray will visit Ayodhya on Saturday amid a clamour among Hindu outfits for bringing an ordinance to build Ram Temple.
On the eve of 22nd anniversary of Babri mosque demolition, the temple town has turned into a fortress with nearly 10,000 security personnel deployed amid calls by Muslim outfits to mark the day by hoisting black flags even as Hindu bodies seek to commemorate it.
'We see that a BJP MP abuses a Muslim MP in the Parliament. People are saying that he should not have said all this in the Parliament, they are saying that his tongue was bad. This is the representative of the people for whom you voted'
Around 15 other temporary structures were also demolished as part of the drive, police said.
Chidambaram came down hard on the Jahangirpuri demolitions and those in Madhya Pradesh's Khargone earlier, saying the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders' justification of the bulldozer-enabled demolitions 'flies in the face of the law'.
Police escorted the rally all the way, at one point standing in a row to prevent the rallyists from entering a side road where stood a huge mosque. Across the road, an old Muslim woman asked her Hindu neighbour what the rally was all about. The latter shrugged her ignorance, looking on in bewilderment at the young men with their saffron flags, all of them wearing Bajrang Dal T-shirts.
'Aurangzeb supported construction of the Kumarswamy math and the reconstruction of the Kedar temple and supported the Jangambadi math in Banaras.'
