Court Clears Advani in Babri Case

News, September 2003, www.aljazeerah.info

Nilofar Suhrawardy

Arab News

NEW DELHI, 20 September 2003 — India’s deputy prime minister was cleared by a court yesterday of charges that he incited Hindu mobs to attack and demolish an ancient mosque 11 years ago, an act that set off years of religious violence which has killed thousands of people.

However, a Cabinet minister submitted his resignation after the same court in Rae Bareli in the northern Uttar Pradesh state ordered that he and six other senior officials linked to the ruling Hindu fundamentalist party face trial.

Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, the No. 2 in the Bharatiya Janata Party and a possible future prime minister, was present in the northern city of Ayodhya on Dec. 6, 1992, when tens of thousands of Hindu fanatics razed the 16th century Babri Mosque with spades, crowbars and their bare hands.

The attack on the mosque led to nationwide riots in which 2,000 people, mostly Muslims, died. Last year, riots killed nearly 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, in western Gujarat state after a mob incinerated a train car carrying 60 Hindu activists from Ayodhya.

Murli Manohar Joshi, a top figure in the ruling BJP, immediately resigned as human resource minister after he was charged by the special court.

Joshi and former Sports Minister Uma Bharti, another leader ordered to stand trial, were shown on the front pages of India’s papers hugging each other in delight as the mosque was being destroyed.

Bharti now heads the BJP in central Madhya Pradesh state, where elections are to be held in November. Also facing trial are the BJP president in Uttar Pradesh, Vinay Katyar, and four leaders of the BJP-affiliated Vishwa Hindu Parishad or VHP — Ashok Singhal, Vishnu Hari Dalmiya, Giriraj Kishore and Sadhvi Ritambhara.

Judge V.K. Singh in his 130-page decision said he had “sufficient evidence” to file charges against seven but absolved Advani as the prosecutors could not provide proof of his direct involvement in the razing.

Advani, 75, is also home minister and is considered the BJP’s eventual successor to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who is 78.

When the BJP was in opposition Advani campaigned to “reconstruct” a temple at the site of the Babri Mosque, which Hindu activists say was built by Mogul Emperor Babur after destroying a shrine marking the birth of the Hindu warrior king Ram.

The charges filed against the seven include spreading communal frenzy, rioting and unlawful assembly, all of which could lead to imprisonment. The judge ordered the seven to appear before the court on Oct. 10.

BJP leaders cast doubt whether Joshi’s resignation would be accepted. “The party is of the opinion there is no reason for anyone to resign. The case involves political persecution, not moral turpitude,” said Venkaiah Naidu, the president of the BJP.

VHP’s Kishore also appeared unrepentant. “We don’t accept these charges as we believe that what we brought down was something which was imposed on India’s soil 400 years ago,” the Hindu leader told reporters.

“I do not take it as an accusation. I have simply washed the 450-year-old stain on the Ram temple.”

Katyar said: “I welcome the decision.” Katyar is a member of Parliament from Faizabad. Ayodhya falls in his constituency.

Questioning the decision, Katyar said, “I did not commit any crime by calling the disputed site Ram Janambhoomi (birthplace of Ram).”

Katyar added: “The ones who destroyed the ‘temple’ to construct the mosque (Babri Masjid) should be punished. “With more than three hundred thousand Hindus having undergone sacrifices for the Ram Mandir, it matters little if one more, a Katyar, faces punishment.”

The Central Bureau of Investigation, India’s equivalent of the FBI, had charged Advani with incitement and causing a breakdown of law and order. Advani had crisscrossed the country in a flower-decked chariot urging Hindus to back a campaign to build the Ram temple.

Advani expressed his relief at the court verdict, but said: “It would have been a feeling of elation if all my colleagues had also been exonerated, which has not happened.”

“We are pleased at charges having been dropped against Advani. We would have been happier had charges been dropped against all the others,” BJP General Secretary Pramod Mahajan said.

A Muslim leader said Advani should be tried. Zafaryab Jilani, a leader of the Babri Mosque Action Committee involved in the property case, said: “We welcome the decision of the court (to try the other officials). However, the discharged person should also be punished.” “People who had instigated the volunteers should not be allowed to go scot-free,” he said.

The main opposition Congress party said that the verdict showed the involvement of BJP leaders in tearing down the mosque.

“The charges had a base that these senior-most leaders of the BJP were involved in mobilizing the people and provoking the mobs that led to the demolition of the mosque,” Congress spokesman Anand Sharma said.

“The verdict clearly confirms that these people were responsible,” Sharma said, adding that the party would study the 130-page court decision before giving a more formal reaction. The Congress was in power when the mosque was razed and the government briefly jailed Advani.

BJP circles feel that Advani’s acquittal spells a political victory for the party on two counts. The opposition has now lost the ground to corner Advani on the issue in Parliament or during their forthcoming election campaign. “We do not expect the opposition to corner us,” Mahajan said.

The decision has also enhanced prospects of Advani being accepted by the BJP’s allies as the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) leader, a possible alternative to Vajpayee.

Since coming to power in 1998, the BJP has distanced itself from the temple-building agitation, stressing a consensus must be formed on what to do at the rubble of the Babri Mosque.

Earth, a planet hungry for peace

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03).

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03).

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