Perhaps this is the first time in the annals of independent India that the judiciary has lost both its head and heart and come out with a lopsided judgment. It has condoned the acts of the thugs and hoodlums who brought down the Babri mosque by dwelling on faith. Is the judiciary expected to consider faith, belief and theology to decide on issues instead of facts, law and logic?
S.S. Saripelli,
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The disappointment of the Muslim community over the High Court verdict should be seen in a broader context. It is not just that Muslims are left with just one-third of the land they possessed for five centuries. Their pain has its roots in the way the Babri Masjid was demolished, and in how the state is still letting the perpetrators of the act roam scot-free. Muslims would be justified in feeling that all three organs of the state have let them down by legitimising the brazen defilement and then razing of an ancient place of worship.
Vishal Bondwal,
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The verdict will help maintain the status quo at the disputed site and, more important, help in maintaining peace. However, the court has accepted the faith and myth of the majority while completely ignoring the vandalism committed by the fundamentalists on December 6, 1992.
Shariqh Khaleel,
Bangalore
The Allahabad High Court verdict is based on the faith and belief of one community. Also, through this judgment, the actions of those who placed the Ram Lalla idol in the Babri Mosque and those who razed the structure have been legalised. Indians, irrespective of their religion and caste, wish that the communal forces do not repeat such acts in future anywhere and against any place of worship.
M. Iftekar Ali,
Warangal
All that the verdict has done is to let the Ayodhya land dispute linger as it is based on faith, not evidence. It is a case of both justice delayed and denied.
S. Jamal Ahmad,
Patna
The verdict is based on the principles of faith, goodness, morality and theology, not on the principles of justice, fact, logic, history and archaeology. It has favoured those who placed the idol overnight under the central dome of the mosque in 1949 and those who razed it in 1992. However, the judgment was not one of victory or loss. It was delivered in the interest of peace and communal harmony. If peace and harmony are to prevail at the cost of justice, so be it. The judgment should not be taken for granted by those whom the Court has partially favoured. They should not be emboldened to indulge in jingoism.
Tahsin, Mohammed,
Bangalore
I congratulate the judges of the Allahabad High Court on delivering a historic verdict. Those who demolished the Babri Masjid will now have a greater incentive to destroy the existing mosques in India. In fact, Indians don't need to go to court for settlement of property disputes. Just divide all disputed properties equally among the claimants. A lot of time will be saved, not to speak of the huge fees charged by lawyers.
Shakir Lakhani,
Karachi
What is the site of Ramjanmbhoomi-Babri Masjid if not a small piece of land where a deity is said to have been born and a king — one wonders how many men, women and children he killed to become the king — is said to have built a mosque?
A fight for a small piece of land, when the whole world belongs to god, does not make any sense at all. This world belongs to the Ultimate. We cannot secure for Him what is already His. Hope this good sense will prevail on all.
Mohd. Afzal,
Bhubaneswar
The judgment should not be seen as a victory or loss. We live in a secular country where there is a solution for every problem. We should not take the law into our hands; we should abide by it. If Muslims are not satisfied with the verdict, they should knock at the doors of the Supreme Court.
Md. Saquib Abrar,
Aligarh
What has been realised is that a structure was destroyed and not faith. Structures can be rebuilt and faith strengthened. The verdict is fantastic — one that projects India as a nation where religious faiths coexist.
What we also see is a realisation among political parties that the nation is more important.
H.H. Khan,
Coimbatore