The 2300-pages of verdict pointed towards insufficient evidence and possible tampering of video and audio proof and anti- social elements for the razing of the structure.

The public looked at the verdict in utter shock and moreover with irony as the events that led to December 6 1992, unfolded right in front of their eyes. They knew without doubt who did it, why they did it and what did it cost as a nation. Among them who could undoubtedly say that the demolition was meticulously planned is Justice Manmohan Singh Liberhan who headed the Liberhan Ayodhya Commission of Inquiry for 17 years.

The Liberhan Commission, set up in 1992 to probe the Babri Masjid Demolition, had in its report submitted in 2009, pointed to the involvement of senior RSS and BJP leaders, including L K Advani, Murali Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti and the involvement of the then Uttar Pradesh government. “They either actively or passively supported the demolition,” it said.

“I found it was a civil conspiracy, I still believe in it. From all the evidence produced before me, it was clear that the Babri Masjid demolition was meticulously planned,” Justice Libheran said to The Indian Express.

Justice Liberan also said that BJP leader Uma Bharti categorically took the responsibility of the demolition.

The Liberhan Commission said the mobilisation of “kar sevaks” was neither “spontaneous or voluntary” but “orchestrated and planned”. The report named over 60 people – including senior BJP leaders Advani, Joshi, Bharti and A B Vajpayee, RSS and VHP leaders, bureaucrats – as “culpable” for “leading the country to the brink of communal discord.

“It was the leadership of the BJP, a national political party, which came forward to mobilising the people on the Ayodhya temple issue, along with Mathura and Kashi. It challenged constitutional secularism by calling it pseudo-secularism,” the report said.

The Commission added that on December 6 1992 – the day Babri Masjid was demolished, Advani and Joshi were present at the spot, and they made a ‘feeble request’ to the kar sevaks to stop the demolition and come down from the dome.

The Commission also criticised the then Congress’s Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao’s led government at the center.

Justice Liberhan said that given the evidence and the witnesses that were presented before him, anybody could have concluded that the demolition was a premeditated action.

The 82-year-old former Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh and Madras High Courts said the demolition could have been prevented with administrative planning and action. He had made this point in his report, saying that no preventive steps were taken to avert the demolition, or prevent the spread of communal hatred.

However, Justice Liberhan refused to comment on the CBI court’s decision, he said that “I believe everyone does his job honestly. The court has the right to differ, there can be no dispute about its power or working.”

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CBI judge SK Yadav, who had directed all 32 accused to be present during the proceedings today, has arrived at the court. While BJP veterans have skipped the proceedings, Vinay Katiyar, Dharamdas, Vedanti, Lallu Singh, Champat Rai, and Pawan Pandey are among the accused who will be in the court today. While Advani, Joshi, and co-accused Nritya Gopal Das are above 80 years of age Bharti and another accused, Satish Pardhan, are in hospital.

Special CBI court judge Surendra Kumar Yadav had already issued directives to all the accused, including former Deputy PM LK Advani, BJP stalwarts Murli Manohar Joshi, form UP CM and ex-Governor of Rajasthan Kalyan Singh, former BJP lawmaker Vinay Katiyar and Uma Bharti along with 32 others.

The court tried those who were allegedly involved in the criminal conspiracy leading to the demolition of Babri mosque by frenzied kar sevaks in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992.

The court also completed all proceedings in the case by recording statements of all 32 accused. Lawyer KK Mishra, who is representing 25 out of the 32 accused in the case, including Advani, Joshi, Kalyan Singh, Uma Bharti, had also confirmed the date set by the court for delivering the verdict.

The Supreme Court had given the CBI court a one-month extension, instructing it to wind up the case by September 30. The earlier deadline for judgment had expired on August 31.

The charges of conspiracy are in addition to the existing charges against the accused of promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, for which they are also facing trial. The accused are also facing charges of having made assertions “prejudicial to national integration and injuring or defiling a place of worship”. The CBI had filed a chargesheet against 49 people in the case, of whom 17 died during trial. The court recorded statements of 351 prosecution witnesses.

On April 19, 2017, the Supreme Court had ordered the special judge to conduct day-to-day trial, concluding it in two years.

The SC had termed the Allahabad High Court’s February 12, 2001 verdict dropping conspiracy charges against Advani and others as “erroneous”.

Before the 2017 verdict of the apex court, there were two sets of cases relating to the demolition, going on in Lucknow and Rae Bareli.

The first case referred to kar sevaks who were proceeded against in a Lucknow court, while the second set of cases relating to eight VIPs was being heard in a Rae Bareli court.

In April 2017, the Supreme Court transferred the Rae Bareli case to the Special CBI court in Lucknow.

While Advani and Joshi attended court proceeding and recorded statements through video conference, the rest of the accused appeared in Lucknow to record their statements.

Almost all the accused pleaded not guilty and termed it as a conspiracy hatched by their political rivals to frame them in a conspiracy case.

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The special CBI court is expected to deliver the much-awaited judgment in the Babri Masjid demolition case on September 30 in which senior leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stand as the accused.

Former BJP presdients L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh and former Union Minister Uma Bharti are amongst the prime accused in the case. The special judge Surendra Kumar Yadav has directed all the accused persons to remain present in the court on the day of the judgment.

It may be recalled that the criminal case aganist BJP, RSS, VHP and Bajranj Dal leaders and Karsevakas involved in the demolition of the mosque on December 6, 1992 was pending before the Special CBI court even as the Supreme Court settled the title dispute of the land at Ayodhya.

The Supreme Court on August 19 directed the CBI Special Judge to conclude the proceedings and deliver the judgment latest by September 30.
The BJP leaders facing trial for the demolition of Babri Masjid at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh have been charged for various offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which included promoting enmity between religious groups (section 153A), making statements affecting national integration (section 153B) or which are likely to cause public mischief (section 505).

The Supreme Court on April 19, 2017 had directed the sessions court to complete the trial and deliver its judgment within a period of two years. However, the trial could not be extended. The top court, thus, granted the last extension till September 30. The court had transferred the trial pending in the Court of the Special Judicial Magistrate at Rae Bareilly to the Court of Additional Sessions Judge (Ayodhya Matters) at Lucknow to be heard together.

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Of course, this was a day of unity and celebration for Modi and Sangh Parivar leaders who consolidated their power even before the construction of the Ram Temple. It wouldn’t be surprising if politicians say in future that the struggle for the construction of the Ram temple is bigger than the freedom struggle. Indians have already initiated the recasting of the significance of many historical events.

It is also not surprising to see Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and other senior leaders, supported and greeted Ramashila Puja. Priyanka Gandhi went a little further and said that Ram Bhoomi Pooja is an opportunity for national unity.

Even as we hold high with pride the concept of a secular India, the fact remains that we have never followed in the footsteps of European countries like France that forbade religions from interfering in power or kept them out of politics.

Religion has been involved in politics since the time of Gandhiji. There have been many exchanges between religion and politics in the history of independent India. Our rulers have never tried to implement secularism in its actual sense. They have not been able to bring a unified civil code in a country where there is a unified criminal law because the shadow of religion has always been in Indian politics.

It is this political environment, with only the outer label of secularism and the over-influence of religion, that became the fertile ground for the growth of the Sangh Parivar. Neither our leaders nor the rulers thought that attending religious ceremonies would tarnish their secular image. They have always shrugged off religion, believing that religious support is conducive to bargaining in power politics. It was the mixing of religious support in politics that paved the way for the Sangh Parivar’s triumphant march.

It is this strange Indian secularism that is reflected today in the words of the ruling party leaders and various non-BJP leaders alike during the Ramshila establishment. Everyone has the same voice. India’s secular proclamations were always a mere ritual in the shadow of religion, until the great leader of the opposition was able to say that the glory of Rama, the central character in an epic book written centuries ago, would bolster our nationalism, even when churches were closed for fear of the corona.

A country moves on the path of true secularism only when it is liberated from religion and led by modern-minded leaders who do not follow religious way of life. In a country where the Prime Minister lays the foundation stone to build a shrine to a religion and the ceremony is glorified by the opposition leaders and the media, there is no real secularism or modernity.

It is an unfortunate fact that such a ceremony would get so much newsworthiness only in a country that has abandoned the path of progress towards modernity and embraced the call of decline into the obsolescence of the past.

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RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were among those who attended the event at the site where a large number of devout Hindus believe Lord Ram was born.

The guest list, including religious leaders, who was part of the movement that started in the 1980s, was restricted to 175 in view of the COVID-19 crisis. The seating arrangements were made in accordance with covid protocols.

As a priest chanted Sanskrit ‘shlokas’ and the ground-breaking ceremony got under way under a giant marquee decorated in shades of reds and yellows, Modi and the other dignitaries, all in masks, maintained social distancing and sat a safe distance away from each other.

The Prime Minister laid down a silver brick to mark the foundation ceremony of Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speech said that the wait of centuries has ended. The construction of the Ram temple, he said, is an instrument to unite the country. The Ram temple construction will lift the economy of the entire region, he said. The prime minister unveiled a plaque and released a commemorative postal stamp.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi through Twitter said Lord Ram is a manifestation of the best human qualities.

In a tweet, Rahul Gandhi wrote in Hindi, he said, “Lord Ram is the manifestation of the best human qualities. They are the core of humanity in the depths of our mind.”

“Ram is love. It can never appear in disgust; Ram is compassion. It can never appear cruel; Ram is justice. It can never appear in injustice,” Rahul Gandhi wrote on Twitter.

मर्यादा पुरुषोत्तम भगवान राम सर्वोत्तम मानवीय गुणों का स्वरूप हैं। वे हमारे मन की गहराइयों में बसी मानवता की मूल भावना हैं।

राम प्रेम हैं
वे कभी घृणा में प्रकट नहीं हो सकते

राम करुणा हैं
वे कभी क्रूरता में प्रकट नहीं हो सकते

राम न्याय हैं
वे कभी अन्याय में प्रकट नहीं हो सकते।

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 5, 2020

Ahead of the ceremony, Ayodhya has been decked up and painted in yellow- an auspicious colour of knowledge and learning. In the eve of the ceremony, all local temples started a continuous Akhand Ramayan recitation with temples and homes being lit as in Diwali. The same will continue August 5 night.

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An assistant priest namely Prem Kumar Tiwari has tested positive for COVID-19 on August 4. Earlier another assistant priest, Pradeep Das, had tested positive for the coronavirus. The chief priest, Satyendra Das, has been sent to quarantine after the first case was detected.

The result of Prem Kumar Tiwari testing positive means that all people who came in contact with him are being identified. Meanwhile, playing down the situation, the district officials said the government was taking all precautions to keep the situation in control.

Terming the situation worrisome, Satyendra Das said “Prem Kumar Tiwari is part of the team that conducts the daily rituals here at the site. We all stay in the same area in the mandir. I also have some other conditions and I’m not a young man”.

Atleast 16 security personnel posted at the Ram Lalla temple had also tested positive, following which all of them have been asked to isolate at home. Due to the COVID-19 situation at the Ram temple and the Home Minister Amit Shah and other prominent personalities being infected with coronavirus has led to demands to postpone the Bhoomi Pujan, which is expected to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lay the foundation stone for the construction of Ram temple.

As per the latest news, today from 2pm onwards, the entire area near the Ram Mandir area will be shut for the public in order to prevent unnecessary crowds.

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She writes, “It would be a mistake to see the Ayodhya ceremony as a mere diversionary tactic in the midst of a pandemic and a sinking economy. For the architects of the Hindu Rashtra, it is a day to blow the conch shells and rejoice. The fact that this will happen on August 5 that marks the anniversary of the abolition of Article 370, that they have viewed as an abomination, is a matter of celebration and not a cause of concern for them.”

Ms. Naqvi quotes V D Savarkar, “It was the “Prince of Ayodhya” who established the Hindu nation. “The day when the Horse of Victory returned to Ayodhya unchallenged and unchallengeable… that day was the real birth-day of our Hindu people,”

Savarkar would say that a Hindu was someone for whom India was both the pitrabhumi (land of ancestors) and punya bhumi (holy land), by which definition Muslims and Christians were excluded, says the senior journalist in her articles.

Ayodhya lies in the region once known for a cultural effervescence often described as Ganga-Jumni tehzeeb, that sounds like an outdated cliché today. For one, more rivers run through the region besides the Ganga and Yamuna. There is the Saryu along which Ayodhya stands and the Gomti that cuts through Lucknow. Faizabad, the town to which Ayodhya is attached, was the first capital of the Nawabs of Awadh, who patronised music, the arts, the dance form of kathak, and made donations to many temples. Ayodhya’s pre-eminent temple to date has been the Hanumangarhi, whose construction was supported with several revenue land grants by the nawabs.

Recalling her first trip to Ayodhya in November 1992, weeks before the Babri mosque was brought down, Ms. Naqvi says it was in the backdrop of the Ram janmabhoomi movement, that she began her reporting career travelling across India searching for the survival or death of syncretic traditions and a composite culture.

The Awadh region, she says, has birthed many cultures and contesting memories, from a nawab who would compose a dance drama called Radha Kanhaiyya ka Kissa, to the great singer of thumris and ghazals named Akhtari Bai Faizabadi, whom we know as Begum Akhtar.

Now the metaphorical Prince of Ayodhya returns and a grand symbol of the recast Hindu nation shall dominate the skyline.

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While she will be in Ayodhya, she said that she will visit the site only after the event was over.

Bharti’s announcement comes a day after Home Minister Amit Shah announced that he had tested positive for coronavirus.

The ground- breaking ceremony aka bhumi pujan for the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya is only a few days away. Security arrangements and preparations for the foundations stone-laying ceremony which happens on August 5, are in full swing.

Many have expressed fears of overcrowding of the event and possibility of spread in covid-19 infections, despite the temple trust’s decision to cap the limit of invitees to 170-180.

Earlier 15 policemen and an assistant priest, who were involved in the preparation of the event, had tested positive for coronavirus.

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Pradeep Das, the assistant to the chief priest said he had tested positive for COVID-19.

The 16 policemen who tested positive were engaged in security duties at the Ram Janmabhoomi complex.
Last week, Yogi Adiyanath had visited the place to see the preparations and the priest infected with coronavirus were present with him.

Following the event, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust has decided to get the entire Ram Janmabhoomi campus sanitised on a daily basis. The trust said that the programme will be however held as planned, maintaining all the covid safety protocols.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend the ceremony along with 50VIPs. Diwali-like preparations were in full swing for the ceremony, including a helipad for the PM, three kilometers from the Ram Janmabhoomi site.

Around 200 people will be present for the ceremony at the complex which interestingly is a stark contrast to the covid safety protocols which strictly allow only 50 people in a public ceremony.

Giant CCTV screens have been erected across Ayodhya so the devotees can watch the programme.

The Trust- set up on the directions of the Supreme Court to facilitate the construction of the temple- finalised a date of opening earlier this month. Due to the pandemic lockdown, the opening was delayed.

Currently Ayodhya has 375 active cases of coronavirus, Uttar Pradesh has 29,997 cases.

Meanwhile images of Lord Ram and 3D portraits of the grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya will be beamed across the giant billboards in the iconic Times Square in New York on August 5, to celebrate the ground breaking ceremony.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made the declaration setting up a trust for the construction of Rama temple in February this year. The Prime Minister’s Office is yet to confirm if the Prime Minister would  be present for the foundation stone laying ceremony. The trust has planned to assemble 50 dignitaries to celebrate the foundation laying ceremony.

When adversity strikes people are usually thought to act more sensibly.  But then it can be expected from people who have at least a bit of sense as a basic trait and are known to act with a sense of  discernment. But then it would be expecting too much from a party that was established to build a ‘Ramrajya’ and had grown suckling on the blood of communalism for which it had prepared the ground and sown the seeds of division.

Isn’t it strange that the government is ready to pour down crores of rupees on Ram Temple when a vast majority of the people are left in dire straits as a result of COVID-19 and the lockdown in its wake? 
But then earlier the Gujarat Government spent Rs.3,000 crores to set up a statue for Sardar Patel. That can be termed as foolhardiness in a state where the majority of the population are living below the poverty line.  It is the same foolhardiness at work in establishing a Rama temple at the time when the nation, nay humanity, is faced with the worst in its recent history.

The Supreme Court order giving permission for the establishment of a Rama Temple negated history and did not abide well for a secular nation such as India. Some of the recent decisions emanating from the Supreme Court had thrown to the winds the values of a democratic and secular nation.  One can’t even imagine such decisions being pronounced by apex courts in the developed western world that holds up ideals of secularism and democratic principles as supreme.

The BJP government is trying to revive Treta Yuga on the banks of Sarayu river. The project includes even a five star hotel.

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