'Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has practically paralysed the planet. On Tuesday, India went into a 21-day country-wide lockdown, the world’s largest quarantine measure ever. Yet one activity seems remarkably unaffected: the political wheeling and dealing of the Bharatiya Janata Party...'
'Nritya Gopal Das and Champat Rai Bansal, chairman and general secretary of the trust set up to oversee construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, are both accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case. Both Mr. Das and Mr. Bansal were on the dais from where several leaders had addressed ‘kar sevaks’ before the mosque was demolished, as per the CBI charge sheet in the case. Eight prominent leaders, including former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, had also shared the dais...'
'Following a complaint from Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), the National Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) has reprimanded television news channel Aaj Tak for broadcasting communally divisive and inflammatory content during its coverage ahead of the Supreme Court’s delivery of the verdict on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case.
'Videos have surfaced from Sri Rama Vidyakendra High School in Karnataka with hundreds of children in white shirts and white pants and some others in white shirts and saffron dhotis running towards a poster of the BabriMasid reenacting the demolition, bringing down the Babri Masjid with anything they can get their hands on... As the narrator says, ““They start demolishing the structure with anything they can get their hands on. With enthusiasm, Hanuman bhaktas with Hanuman’s anger, they bring down Babri structure.
'The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed all 18 review petitions filed against its November 9 judgment to allot the disputed land in Ayodhya to the Hindu parties and clearing the path for the construction of a Ram temple...'
'Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday reiterated BJP-led Centre's commitment to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) across the country, adding that a grand Ram temple will be built in Ayodhya at the birthplace of 'Ramlala'. Singh was addressing an election rally in Jharkhand's Bokaro when he made the statement. Polls are ongoing in the state and the first phase has already concluded on Saturday. Speaking on the NRC, Singh said, "We will implement NRC across all states of the country. Every Indian has a right to know who the illegal immigrants are in their land.
'As it attempted to sort out a century-old Hindu-Muslim issue with its 1045-page judgment on the Ayodhya land dispute, the Supreme Court has inadvertently riled Sikhs. It has described their religion as a ‘cult’ and seems to have relied on the testimony of someone who Sikhs believe has “misinterpreted the purpose of Guru Nanak Dev’s visit to Ayodhya in 1510-1511”.
The Supreme Court judgment on Babri Mosque-Ram Janmbhumi dispute gave the verdict that the whole land where the mosque stood from 1528 to 6th December 1992 be given to the ‘Hindu Side’, Ram Janmbhoomi Nyas, set up by VHP. Just to recall it was demolished in broad day light by the RSS combine led by Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharati on that day. As per verdict Government should make a trust which should supervise the temple construction and Muslims, Sunni Waqf Board, should be given five acres of land in a prominent site in Ayodhya.
'The Supreme Court's judgment in the Babri Masjid title suit is dishonest and hypocritical. Why do I say so? On the one hand, the "unanimous" judgment of the Supreme Court asserts that it is deciding this case strictly in accordance with the law and on the basis of the evidence led by the parties. On the other, it is very obvious that the way in which the Supreme Court has applied the law and assessed the evidence, it has used the lens of religion and faith to determine the validity of one claim over the other...'
'Like many Indians, I was glued to the television set on Saturday, awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision about the site of the Babri Masjid, an important mosque and monument of faith for Indian Muslims demolished in 1992 by right-wing Hindu nationalists. The court delivered a huge victory for the nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, by awarding the land at the heart of the clash to a Hindu litigant over Muslim objections. I watched the verdict in Washington with a Muslim family from India who had migrated to the United States in 1993.
