Vajpayee's Ayodhya U-Turn.

[Imran_Rehman]

The Indian Prime Minister’s statement at an election rally in Himachal Pardesh on Thursday ( 20th February 2003 ) seemed to lay bare his inner convictions. Mr. Atal Behari Vahjpayee said that his government supported the construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya where the Babri Mashjid once stood. The statement comes at a time when the Indian Superemce Court has deferred its judgment on the controversial issue till March 6. The secular opposition is right in accusing Mr. Vajpayee of trying to influence the court’s decision by making the statement at a time when the Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists have stormed Delhi to hear the judgment. The Babri Mashid dispute came to a head in December 1992 with the siege, descration and demolition of the 16th century mosque by Hindu extremists. The outrageous act resulted in the worst communal riots in India since partition, leaving over 3,000 Muslims dead in its wake. Elements within Mr. Vajhpayee’s ruling Bharatiya Janata party have since made no bones about their support for the agenda pursued by Hindu extremist outfits such as the VHP, RSS and the Bajrang Dal which seek to construct a Ram temple at the disputed site. So far, they have been restrained by the Supreme Court under an interim stay order.

It seems that the BJP is now bent on repeating Narendra Modi’s infamous Gujrant experiment that won the party huge political gains in the recent state elections. Himacheal Pardesh goes to polls next week and can prove to be litmus test for the BJP’s new strategy. If successful, it could be repeated in more Indian states up for election in the months to come. That the sinister scheme comes worth a price tag of a couple of thousand mainly Muslim lives seems to be of little concern to the BJHP hardliners who have take to stoking the tires of communal hatred with aim of securing electoral victories. Mr. Vajpayee’s was log believed to be the voice of moderation and sanity within the BJP fold, but in recent months he as come in a different light, possibly with nudges from hardliners such as L.K. Advani and Narenddra Modi. The latest statement by the poet prime minister – who in 1992 declared December 6, the day the Babri Masjid was pulled down, “a sad day in Indian history” – is clearly a sign that the hawks are winning the day within the BJP. This should be cause enough for the disparate and divided secular forces to come together under a common banner if India is to retain a semblance of its secular, democratic credentials.