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Editor’s Note

After Ayodhya verdict, focus

should shift on development

The unanimous verdict by the 5-judge Constitu- ered in four civil suits, that the 2.77-acre land in Ayodhya
tion bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi of the be partitioned equally among the three parties — the
Supreme Court of India, is one of the most impor - Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.
tant and most anticipated judgments in India’s his- The bench said the existence of Sita Rasoi, Ram
tory, which has put an end to the more than a century Chabutra and Bhandar grih are the testimony of the
old dispute that had torn the social fabric of the nation. religious fact of the place. The apex court had on August
The judgment has cleared the way for the construction 6 commenced day-to-day proceedings in the case as
of a Ram Temple at the disputed site at Ayodhya and the mediation proceedings initiated to find the amica-
has directed the Centre to allot a 5-acre plot at a ble resolution had failed. The bench on October 16 had
“prominent site” to the Sunni Waqf Board for building reserved the judgment after a marathon hearing of
a mosque. 40 days.
Conflict over Ayodhya has been raging between In- Now when the historic judgment has arrived, we
dia’s Muslims and Hindus for more than 150 years. Mus- at Tehelka agree with all sane voices and the prime
lims say it is a historical place of worship, but Hindus say minister, Narendra Modi who has rightly said that the
the mosque, built by the Mughal emperor Babur, was on “Supreme Court verdict should not be seen as anybody’s
the site of an older temple honouring Ram’s birthplace. win or loss”. He tweeted “Whether it is devotion to Ram
The country was put on high security alert follow- or Rahim, now is time for everybody to strengthen
ing the verdict for fear of religious violence and rioting. devotion to India”.
Thousands of police and paramilitary troops were dis- Now that the lingering issue that polarized the coun-
patched to the state of Uttar Pradesh and around 500 try and frayed the tapestry of society has been resolved
people arrested in the days before. Protests and parties and decks cleared for the construction of a Ram Tem-
were also banned in Ayodhya. ple and land for building a mosque, the focus of the
The apex court has now directed that a trust should nation should shift to other important issues concerning
be formed within three months for the construction of development of the country, governance, better law and
the temple at the site many Hindus believe Lord Ram order, jobs and social and economic prosperity. Every
was born. The site was occupied by the 16th century stakeholder should pitch in to make goal of making
Babri mosque, built by Mughal Empire’s founder Babur, India a $5trillion economy by 2025, a reality. Moto
which was destroyed by Hindu kar sevaks on December should now be achieving the much-avowed “Ram
6, 1992. Fourteen appeals were filed in the apex court Rajya”.
against the 2010 Allahabad High Court judgment, deliv- chARAnjIt AhujA

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Volume 16, Issue no. 22, RELEASEd on 12 noVember, numbER oF pAgES IncLudIng covER 68
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