Michael Vaz
It is worth walking down memory lane and recollect how on that fateful day of December 6, 1992 hundreds of thousands of Karsevaks resolutely swayed under the Hindutva wave triggered by the saffron brigade stormed onto the 16th century Babri Masjid monument and razed it to the ground in no time. A quarter of a century has passed since then but the flames of dissension fuelled by the hardliners have not subsided; rather only aggravated over the years.
A number of leaders were booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for forming unlawful assembly, rioting, making inciting statements, promoting enmity between groups on religious grounds, making statements prejudicial to national interest, defiling places of worship and outraging religious sentiments. Some of these highly revered men have already breathed their last over the years as the court cases have been languishing and it is worth stating that since 2013 there have been 185 adjournments giving ample indication how the matter can be prolonged by the people in authority.
However one cannot escape the long arms of justice and it is worth noting that on Tuesday the CBI court instituted under the order of the apex court has framed charges of criminal conspiracy against the 12 accused including LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Union Minister Uma Bharti, dealing a severe blow to them. Moreover under the order of the Supreme Court the hearing will proceed on day to day basis with an intention of bringing the case to its logical conclusion within two years.
We still remember what the atmosphere was like when the leaders of the saffron front thought no end of themselves and were hell bent in building the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya. They had a plan that once the Babri Masjid is demolished it would pave way for the construction of the temple. But that was not to be.
Today the BJP has become all powerful in India and has set the yardstick for marching the country ahead but there are hardened elements within, obsessed with religious bigotry for whom nothing matters more than the Ram Mandir issue. We hail the judiciary, the third pillar of our secular democracy and stand reassured that justice would be done in the case.
