My life & The Ayodhya Tragedy

-- The following incidents are real and NOT fictitious

It is five days to the Ayodhya Babri Masjid case still, my msg tone beeps at night 12. One of my local friend, who keeps on sending me some really cute messages, sends me a message, "Mandir toh RamJanmaBhoomi mein hi banega".. Another beep, "Hindu mein eka hoga, toh Taj Mahal tod kar Hanuman Mandir banayengey.." I call him up at that late hour, and ask him the reason, why he has been sending such messages. He told me that some local politician had been canvassing students to do such shit. I was wondering, if I was soon going to receive messages from Muslims too, taking the oaths to build mosque at the disputed place. Mind you, this is Barwaha, the place is still a full thousand kms away from Ayodhya.

Next day, my mum's worried about me and my brother. She says, "Bhopal mein mahaol bilkul achchha nahi hai" (conditions are not too good in Bhopal) My dad says, "Beta, ghar par hi rehna, yeh maarne kaatne waale hindu, muslim poochh kar nahi maarte." (Son, please stay at home, this rioters don't ask your caste before killing.")

So, I probe into why a normally reasonable guy like my friend, is so aggressive on this front. I have come up with two conclusions/beliefs, to which many more may be added:

The first issue which I have is with the disputed land being called as RamJanmaBhoomi (birth place of Shri Ram).
Confusion still remains as to whether, it really was the birth place of Lord Rama or not, one of the key statements of the dispute. In fact, it seems unbelievable, that any body can ever ascertain the birth place of Lord Rama. To be true, I find it ridiculous of Greeks to believe that Zeus ever existed, but then, my conscience reminds me that similar things should hold for Ramayana too. If I can't prove that Ramayana really did exist, how can I prove that it was the birth place of Lord Rama. Leave apart Ramayana, people can't even prove that Jesus Christ, who was just 2000 years back actually existed, how can you even attempt to prove something which goes as far back as 8-14k years back.

Ironically though, everyone, who has anything to gain from creating this divide, would tell you that it is the birthplace of Shri Ram, it simply is. This makes the land dearer to the Hindus, and helps them fetch more votes. If only, media had stopped calling it RamJanmaBhoomi and starts calling it "the disputed land", half the drama could have been stopped. If there has ever been an inflammatory word spoken in Indian history, it was labelling the disputed land, Ram Janma Bhoomi. There are people are willing to pay more charity to a ashram affiliated with the birth of Shri Ram, than to their own children. There are enough people, many of whom are some baba x-dev, who depend on Ram Janma Bhoomi, for their million dollar bank balances. And the effect just showed itself to me, when my friend said "Ram Janma Bhoomi" mein Ram ka mandir banega.

The second issue is what was there and what should be there.
Both the sects have developed affection for the place. Hindus regard it sacred, Muslims regard it sacred. None of them wants to lose it. Both the sects have faulted, and both have been wronged at some point or the other. Everybody knows that, yet no solution is achieved.

Despite many a meetings, no solution is achieved, In fact, it turns out that there is simply no scope of potential agreement, because "the leaders" don't want an agreement. None of them wants even charitable hospitals and schools to be build in stead.
The day, there is an agreement, VHP would lose it's charm of Hindu aggression, which has kept it alive for these many years. It has worked for years, to associate the words Jai Shri Ram, with Praveen Togadia and L K Advani, to pay it off politically. The Muslims Committee, has got this issue, as it's reason for survival. Since, our leaders would soon be unemployed, if they run out of issues, they don't want an agreement. The Congress too, prefers sitting idle, as messing up with either sects, can cause loss of vote bank. Bloody local college leaders are using Ayodhya to win college elections. How can one hope for a settlement?

Thus, to me it seems, for this problem, there simply isn't a solution. The day, there is a result, somebody will feel cheated, robbed of his religious beliefs. A lot of somebodies, unfortunately. And here we are. Securities on high alert, with peace requests pouring in from all sides. Parents worried about their children and vice versa. In all probabilities, another countrywide riot on cards. An uneasy mind thinks, the best way to keep peace on this front would have been to keep on postponing the results till eternity. Alas! Unlike plenty of other places, our judiciary has completed it's proceeding on this unsolvable one, and going to give results in two day's time from now.

I just pray that Lord Ram and Prophet Muhammad should themselves come, and look at the mess created in their names. I have plenty of Hindu, Muslim friends back there at home, and I worry for all of them. I have my family and relatives back there at home, and I am worried for all of them. No matter, who wins this battle of Ayodhya, India loses. I lose. Like plenty of my friends, I don't care, whether there is a Temple or Mosque in Ayodhya, all I want is my near and dear ones are safe. And my dad said, "Yeh kaatne waale, hindu, muslim nahi poochhte"


A bit of history:
The fight over the disputed land goes as far back as 1850, and wikipedia suggests that there was an interesting (rejected) verdict on some case, on the same issue in 1886,
"I found that Masjid built by Emperor Babur stands on the border of the town of Ayodhya…. It is most unfortunate that Masjid should have been built on land specially held sacred by the Hindus, but as that event occurred 358 years ago it is too late now to remedy the grievance. All that can be done is to maintain the parties in status quo. In such a case as the present one any innovation would cause more harm and derangement of order than benefit."
In 1992, against the orders of the Supreme Court of India, the demolitions of the Mosque was carried out by the VHP and (allegedly) the BJP.

(On a side note, the Mughals had plenty of other wrongdoings too. The Sikhs took to the Five Ks, to prevent the massacre of the Sikhs by the Mughals. They destroyed the Taxshila University, and what not.)
(Just wonder, if everybody starts avenging them. Or for that matter, England ruled us for 350 years, "let's revenge them" wouldn't be an interesting prospect.)