Nov 12 event in Ayodhya may see a million people as SC verdict nears
LUCKNOW/NEW DELHI: At least one million devotees are likely to descend on Ayodhya for a Hindu religious event next Tuesday around the same time the Supreme Court is expected to deliver its verdict on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute, sparking security concerns ahead of the culmination of one of India’s most communally sensitive court cases.
The district administration has deployed additional security forces, clamped prohibitory orders on large gatherings, and is keeping a close watch on social media posts. Top Hindu and Muslim leaders have appealed for calm, and in a meeting at the residence of Union minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Tuesday, urged all sections of society to respect the court’s verdict.
“Unity in diversity is our cultural commitment…now that we have had this meeting, I am sure the nation will accept the verdict with peace and harmony,” Naqvi told the attendees, who included Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) joint secretary Krishna Gopal, former BJP organising secretary Ram Lal, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind general secretary Mahmood Madani, former MP Shahid Siddiqui and All India Muslim Personal Law Board member Kamal Farooqui.
Both the BJP and the RSS have asked their leaders and cadre to maintain calm and refrain from either making inflammatory or emotive speeches in the wake of the verdict, which follows a 40-day hearing that concluded on October 16. The verdict is expected before CJI Ranjan Gogoi retires on November 17.
BJP and RSS have also been cautioned against large-scale celebrations. Senior BJP leader
Shahnawaz Hussain said the people who attended Tuesday’s meeting agreed that all efforts should be made to ensure no one tries to disrupt peace or vitiate the atmosphere.
A five-judge Constitution bench is considering petitions challenging the 2010 Allahabad high court judgment that divided the disputed 2.77 acre plot in Ayodhya between the Nirmohi Akhara, a religious denomination, the Sunni Central Waqf Board and representatives of Ram Lalla, the child deity. Arguments in the case ended on October 16 after 40 days of hearing.
The holy event of Kartik Purnima falls on Tuesday, when devotees will take a dip in the river Sarayu. Last year, the police said at least 800,000 people visited Ayodhya for the event. It usually takes around 24 hours for the crowds to disperse, but large numbers of devotees stay back for several days in the town, which is seen as holy because it is considered the birthplace of the Hindu warrior-god Ram.
NEW DELHI: Union minister for minority affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, met representatives of Muslim organisations and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Tuesday and leaders urged all sections of society to accept the Supreme Court’s verdict on the Ram JanmabhoomiBabri Masjid title suit, expected by next week.
The meeting lasted a little over two hours and was called by the minister as a confidencebuilding measure and to reach out to the Muslim community ahead of the verdict, and stave off any possibility of unrest after the apex Court’s decision on the decades-old case.Both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological parent, the RSS, have asked their leaders and cadre to maintain calm and refrain from making inflammatory or emotive speeches in the wake of the verdict. They have also been cautioned against large-scale celebrations, should the verdict be in their favour. According to several people who spoke to HT, senior RSS leaders Krishna Gopal (joint general secretary) and Ram Lal (joint general secretary of the outreach wing) assured the attendees at Tuesday’s meeting – members from the clergy, academia and civil society – that the Sangh was not against minorities and statements from “fringe elements” targeting Muslims should not be perceived to be the Sangh’s outlook.
A person privy to the discussions said Ram Lal pointed out that trust among communities was increasing and despite differences of faith and mindset; one must place the nation first.
“He said an entire community should not be blamed for acts of a single person from a particular community. Any incident that occurs at a particular place should not be extrapolated to the whole country. He also urged the minority community members to keep meeting members from the Sangh regularly,” said the person quoted above.
Krishna Gopal was also learnt to have said that there should not be any segregation in leadership based on religion: Hindus could be leaders for the Muslim community and vice versa. “He said India has a tradition of inclusivity and unity in diversity. Not a single top RSS leader has said a single word against the Muslim community,” the person quoted above said.
Several attendees also urged the government to ensure that incidents that spark communal outbursts be prevented.
“We said let this be the last such incident. Whatever is the court’s verdict in this case, will be accepted by all; but going ahead, let no other place of worship be sacrificed. We have wasted much of the 70 years of freedom on such issues, and we need to know focus on other problems,” said Kamal Farooqui of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board. Syed Farid Nizami of the Nizamuddin Dargah, who also attended the meeting, said, “We told the minister that we are bound by the court’s decision, but they should also make attempts to revive the Sufi tradition. Dargahs are the only places where you find people of all religions; this Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb needs to be protected.”