As per available weather and seismicity reports of Ayodhya, specific to December 6, 1992, there had neither been any natural calamity nor earthquake, minor, major or anything in between that could be singled out as a possible reason for total disappearance of the Babri Masjid which stood there for the preceding 463 years. But still, the religious structure ceased to exist after 5 pm on that fateful day and after 28 years it’s little necessary to retell who did it all, since the whole country is knowledgeable of the truth, thanks to the brave foot soldiers of the then print and electronic media who dared their lives to capture the day as it was. It’s exactly here the verdict pronounced by the Special CBI court on Babri Masjid demolition case will come as a huge disbelief and raise a barrage of questions. While it will be beyond the province of knowledge for ordinary citizens to make an ‘autopsy’ of the verdict which has given the stamp that “no one has been guilty,” there will be a procession of questions, all of which will contain one single word – Why?

The crux of the 2300-page verdict is that all the surviving 32 accused from the initial group of 49, in the eyes of law, are now not-guilty since no conspiracy on their part could be established due to lack of evidence (photos, videos and speeches of the accused submitted as evidence have all been rejected!). The entire blame for this extraordinary vandalism has been shifted to ‘anti-social elements’ who purportedly infiltrated the kar sevaks and the BJP and VHP heavyweights, very much present there have been given a blanket ‘clean chit’. It’s here the contradictions emerge and significantly, will clash directly with several observations made by none other than the highest court of the land, the Supreme Court. In 1994, the SC while hearing a petition that challenged the validity of acquisition of land in and around Ayodhya observed that demolition of the mosque was an “act of national shame” and there was an “elaborate planning” preceding the incident. If this one is too ‘antique’ to remember, two recent observations of the SC, both related to the Ayodhya dispute even if differently, are clear pointers to the conspiracy angle. In November 2019, the Constitution Bench while awarding landmark judgement on the title suit case called the demolition “calculated act” and “an egregious violation of the rule of law” and in 2017, it was termed “crimes which shake the secular fabric of the Constitution of India.”

It’s for the country and its hallowed institutions to decide whether it’s a travesty of justice or justice at its best. But, the questions the verdict has raised will be too hard to suppress.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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