Lucknow, October 01: After 60 years of uncertainty, a judgement has finally been delivered on Ayodhya title suit. With the Allahabad High Court on Thursday, September 30, ruling in favour of all the three litigants by allotting 1/3rd of the land to each, different parties reacted differently.
Here is a sampling of some prominent responses:
“The judgment has paved the way for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.. The judgment is not a win or loss for anybody. We invite everybody, including Muslims, to help build the temple… The verdict should not be seen as anybody’s victory or defeat.”
–Mohan Bhagwat, RSS Chief
” HC’s formula of one-third land is not acceptable to the Waqf Board and it will appeal against it in the apex court… The judgement is not only partly disappointing but also against the settled principles of law and evidence adduced by the Muslim side… Talks can happen if a proposal comes.”
–Jafaryab Jilani, Sunni Waqf Board
Let’s bury this 60-year-old corpse here and now. For me, this is a closed chapter. Hindus should now be allowed to build the Ram temple in Ayodhya. I will appeal to the Muslim leadership to end the dispute and not pursue the matter in Supreme Court. If it is challenged in court, it will take another 60 years for the judgment. I am already 90 years old. Do you think I will be able to hear the verdict from my grave? Muslims should not despair over the judgment. The court, after all, has recognised their right and given one portion of the disputed land to Muslims… Muslims should celebrate the judgment since the High Court has upheld their contention. But they should do it inside the four walls of their house, not in public places”
— Hashim Ansari, the lone surviving petitioner from the 1961 Ayodhya title suit case
We will appeal against the three-way division of the land, even though we get possession of the sanctum sanctorum
— H.S. Jain, Counsel for Hindu Mahasabha
AIMPLB is aggrieved by the verdict of the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court and the Muslims parties in the case will file appeal against this judgement in the Supreme Court in due course. The decision to declare that the place, where the idol of Ram is installed, is the birth place of Lord Ram is without any basis in the documentary and other evidence. The dismissal of the suit of the Sunni Central Wakf Board of Uttar Pradesh is meaningless as it was with time limit. There is no basis to hold that Babri Masjid was built against the tenets of Islam and thus could not have character of a mosque.
–Mohd Abdul Rahim Quraishi, Assistant General Secretary, AIMPLB
In so far as the judgement upholds the right of the Hindus to construct a temple at the Garbh-Grih, it is a significant step forward towards the construction of a grand temple at the birth place of Lord Rama.
The expert opinion of the Archaeological Survey of India and other expert agencies engaged by it had clearly opined that there were remains of a Hindu religious structure where the disputed structure stood.
The Bharatiya Janata Party believes that this verdict opens a New Chapter for National Integration and a new era for inter-community relations.
The BJP is gratified that the nation has received the verdict with maturity.
— L.K. Advani, BJP, Official Statement
“We cannot say this is the final judgment; either parties can appeal to the Supreme Court. We appeal to all to maintain communal harmony and beware of forces that try to spread communal strife.
If anyone tries to spoil the peace in Uttar Pradesh, the state government will take strict action.”
–Kumari Mayawati, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh
“Congress has held that the controversy should either be solved through talks or the verdict of the court should be accepted. The court has given the verdict. We should all welcome the judgement.”
–Janardhan Dwivedi, Congress General Secretary
The judgment will work as a catalyst to maintain peace and unity in the country. I believe that this judgement should not be taken as victory or defeat of any litigant.
This judgment is not a matter of victory for any caste, group or party. This judgment has given a respect to belief and self esteem of the people of India, and it should be linked to self esteem of the country.
I firmly believe that this judgement has paved the way for building of a grand temple by constitutional and legal ways and will also maintain unity of the country. I urge all the people of the country to accept the judgment and maintain peace
–Narendra Modi, Gujarat Chief Minister
“Because nobody is a clear victor at this juncture, both parties have to be reconciled with the fact that they have to live together. There could an out-of-court settlement, it is my gut feeling. Let us see if people are sincere about bringing any amicable solution, there remains a chance.”
–Satyavrat Chaturvedi, Congress Leader
“The party maintains that in our constitutional secular democratic system the judicial process which includes recourse to the Supreme Court should be the only way to resolve the issue.”
–Communist Party of India (Marxist)
“There are several versions which are coming. Lawyers are giving some versions. Let the judgement come in full text. Then we will be in a position to say (anything about the judgement).”
–M. Veerapa Moily, Law and Justice Minister
“Since everyone party to the case have committed themselves to accepting the judicial verdict, the issue should not be taken to the street either in joy or in disappointment. If anyone feels aggrieved, legal operations are open for appeal. Everyone should think in terms of harmony.”
–D. Raja, CPI National Secretary
The judgement was a positive development.
–Prakash Javedekar, BJP Spokesperson
“This is the happiest moment of my life as the High Court has put its seal of approval on a matter of faith which was a fact for us that Ram Lalla was born at that particular site..,” Bharti told reporters at her residence soon after the court verdict…. Now, Advaniji and VHP should initiate a dialogue with Muslims to arrive at a consensus on building a grand Ram Temple at the birthplace of Lord Ram.”
–Uma Bharti, Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister
“The rule of the law has to be accepted. We can work out something so that the temple and mosque can coexist in the interest of the nation.”
–Kamal Farooqui, member, Muslim Personal Law Board
“We welcome the verdict, but will challenge the decision to give one third land to the Sunni Central Waqf Board in the apex court.”
–Nritya Gopal Das, Sri Ram Janmbhoomi Trust Chairman
I welcome this judgement wholeheartedly. It will promote secularism in the country and harmony among all religious communities. Neither of the parties to the suits should challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court as they have been held joint owners of the disputed site.
In my opinion, all parties to the disputes should accept the judgement and no one should file an appeal in the Supreme court … The most beautiful part of the judgement is that it has provided a legal basis for holding that the parties are joint owners of the land. It would pave way for constructing a temple and a mosque.
–Shanti Bhushan, former Law Minister and senior advocate
The judgment does not fail to astonish. It is, in many senses, quite an astonishing judgment. It is essentially and effectively in favour of the Hindu groups. There is an act of generosity that the Muslim community has been included. As far as the title suit is concerned, one question that the people of India will ask is that in 1992, was there a Masjid that was destroyed there, or not. If the answer to that question, which we all saw with our own eyes, is that a masjid was destroyed, then the legal question as to whom the site belonged to should have been fairly and squarely answered. Because it is clear from the rulings in the 1940s that it was the Sunni Waqf Board which is the owner, and the question of dismissing the suit that had been instituted by the Sunni Waqf Board is, to say the least, a little strange. If we are sitting with some kind of Panchayati justice and trying to find a compromise solution then certainly there is no difficulty. But the problem over the past few years, the past decade, possibly a century, has been that the communities have not come to a conclusion that the property can be divided in any particular way. Therefore we will get back to the status quo ante where the Court is saying you divide the property and we are asking you to divide the property within three months. It can’t be an injunction that comes, in fact, from the court itself. The court has gone into a question which it is ill-equipped to answer. It is a question of theology and a question of history.
–Rajeev Dhawan, Senior Advocate and Constitutional Expert
Subject to examination of the judgement, it appears from the operative parts of the verdict of the three judges that two of them have broadly decided that the disputed property be divided into three equal parts. This seems to be a compromise kind of solution which is in line with the the intention of Parliament, reflected in the 1993 law relating to the acquisition of the disputed area. All in all, I feel that this is an appropriate verdict keeping in view the sentiments of all parties”
— Mukul Rohatgi, Senior advocate, former Solicitor General (during the NDA rule)
It is a “surprising” judgement which has been delivered in a “panchayat style”
— P P Rao, Senior lawyer
Judges have taken the view that the land was in joint worship and it became the joint property and therefore, they directed the partition of what is called the joint property.
–Harish Salve, Senior Advocate, Solicitor General (during the NDA rule)
We salute and welcome the judgement of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court. It has now been established that the place where Ram’s idol was existing was the birth place of the Lord. At least faith of one billion Hindus that Lord Ram was born here was also endorsed by the judiciary. At the same time, our saints have clarified that the 110X90 feet (formerly disputed area) and 67 acres acquired land both are part of the birth place of Lord Ram and we hope that a grand temple will be built in this total area. The court has accepted the site as the birth place of Lord Ram. It has permitted puja to be performed. The court has rejected the claim of the Sunni Wakf Board that the disputed place be declared a mosque. I don’t think anything more needs to be said on that. The Wakf Board does not have any locus standi over the land. The contentious issue of the 110×90 feet area of the site has been cleared and the organisation would speak further after going through the copy of the judgement thoroughly.
–Pravin Togadia, international general secretary, VHP
This is an opportunity for Muslims to forget the past and start (relations) afresh.
–Giriraj Kishore, Senior leader, VHP
The judgement is indeed a cause for great delight for the entire Hindu community. It is also a historic opportunity for the Hindus and the Muslims to come together and join hands in building a strong nation. At meeting of saints’ committee, held immediately after the pronouncement of the verdict, has welcomed the High Court judgement whereby it has been ruled that worship of Lord Ram at the Janmabhoomi would continue unhindered.
We hold the view that Hindus have every right to celebrate the occasion but this must be done in a sober and dignified manner.
Moreover, we would not like to look at the judgement in terms of victory or defeat of either party as this is not an occasion to belittle each other. I appeal to the Muslim community to come forward and join hands with the Hindus in building a grand Ram temple at Ayodhya.
This is a historic occasion which presents both the communities with a unique opportunity to come together and build a strong nation. The Centre should facilitate the construction of a temple by handing over the 70 acres of land around the disputed site in Ayodhya acquired by it in the 1990s as “the High Court has come out with its verdict on only 130X90 feet of land which is just big enough for building a sanctum sanctorum and not a grand temple befitting the glory of Ram.
We believe that while acquiring the 70 acres of land, the then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao must have had this fact in mind. We are confident that the current regime will do the needful in this regard. There are Hindus in all political parties and none of them would like to see their revered deity being worshipped in a decrepit make-shift structure
–Ashok Singhal, International president, VHP