As always, the most thoughtful and thought-provoking post comes from Pratap Bhanu Mehta in the Indian Express:

None of this context can detract from the central culpability of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar in the destruction of the mosque. The destruction was a denouement of a movement that baited minorities and left death and destruction in its wake. The only question was whether the Liberhan Commission could translate culpability into a forensically legal framework. This remains to be seen. On the face of it there is very little surprising in the revelations in relation to the BJP. When it came to the BJP it was politically convenient for all of us to hold on to distinctions without a difference. What did the distinction between saying the movement and the frenzy was planned but the destruction was not amount to? Even Rao acknowledged that the BJP leaders were pleading with the kar sevaks to stop. But that was like trying to stop an already fired bullet in mid air. Even Vajpayee’s self-exoneration, personal decency and expressions of regret were always compromised by the fact that his government did not give the slightest evidence of pursuing the perpetrators of this enormous crime. The BJP tried to dissociate itself from the act, while continuing to nurture the actors. The surprise is not in the revelations. The surprise is in our feigning surprise. For if all this is true, the report actually indicts our democracy. We were the ones trying to hold on to the ceremonies of innocence, so that we could allow a space where Hindutva was politically acceptable, but no one had to own up to its consequences.

...If we are honest we have to acknowledge that just as many of the core participants may have felt a tinge of regret, there were also tens of thousands of others who, while not condoning the act, nevertheless felt a momentary catharsis when the Babri Masjid was destroyed.

More here: Mirror Unto Ourselves

 
POSTED BY Sundeep ON Nov 25, 2009 AT 16:55 IST
Comments :
Dec 06, 2009 01:43 AM
11
Babri masjid wasdemolished in India,and in bangladesh,muslims destroyed hundreds of temples.No muslims,even the great anwar says anything about that. Destroying hindu temples is halal to the muslims.Hypocrisy is at its best.
george
london, United Kingdom
Nov 27, 2009 05:16 PM
10
I thank Mr Maheswari for his lucid way of explaining the Karma theory,in a very short writeup.But,while closing on this,i strongly doubt his remarks,that Hindus will outlast others.If India had remained undivided,out of the total population of combined India,Pakistan and Bangladesh,the Hindus comprise only 60%,down from the 100% it was before the invasions.It is truly a sad situation.No one knows what the future holds for the Hindus.
S.S.Nagaraj
Bangalore, India
Nov 27, 2009 04:21 PM
9
Nagaraj .... may be because we believe in Karma so it is applied to us :-). Those who don't believe in Karma - it is not applied to. The mysterious ways of god(s) is hard to fathom - logic might be something (s)he doesn't entertain.

On the other hand the turmoil in the Muslim world might be a result of Karma, past and present, too :-)Given the problems in the Islamic world (except may be the UAE part of it) it hardly is the envy of anyone - nobody would want to trade places with them. Why may be even the oil might be there because of god's will of not letting that area have peace due to Karma :-)

Again, God's ways are mysterious - who are we mere mortals to ask for logic, especially a pseudo-secular?

May be age has nothing to do with Karma - as the reaction to action can happen in this birth (closer to the action or further from it) or after birth too. LKA after all is healthy and at 80+ :-) Shivaji's early departure might have something to do with too much fighting directly whereas Aurangazeb had his minions to fight for him most of the time. BTW, I thought Shivaji fought for the Marathi Manoos - isn't that what Shiv Sena and MNS want us to believe as the inheritors of his legacy.

I think the hindus will out last others - we have strong survival and adaption skills that can frustrate others, especially our "religious" adversaries.

There was a bit of tongue and cheek in my write up then and now. I hope the hindutva infection doesn't take away humor. Lighten up and unnecessarily smile (to borrow a term I recently heard) :-)
Arun Maheshwari
Bangalore, India
Nov 27, 2009 02:51 PM
8
S.S.NAGARAJ

You have comitted sacrilege...

" i would like to know from Mr Maheswari as to how this theory does not apply to the Muslims...."

Secularism means concept of karma being a 'sanatan dharma' concept cannot be applied to people of islam...dont you know that?

Though you ask from basis of logic while asking for the 'sanatan dharma' logic to be applied logically/ or secularly....Its SACRILEGE....
Ram
Deoband, India
Nov 27, 2009 02:33 PM
7
With my limited knowledge of Karma theory,i would like to know from Mr Maheswari as to how this theory does not apply to the Muslims.So many mosques have been built over the rubbles of Hindu temples and they are still sustaining and infact thriving.Aurangzeb,who razed to ground many temples, lived till he was 92 and he ruled for 70 long years,after eliminating his own brothers and imprisoning his father.On the other hand Shivaji Maharaj died at the young age of 57,despite the fact that but for him there would not have been any Hindus left.In my own opinion Hindus have not been pragmatic in recognising the Abrahamic religions for their aggressiveness and continue to live with their heads in the clouds.
S.S.Nagaraj
Bangalore, India
Nov 27, 2009 12:14 PM
6
The true Hindu (not necessarily the Hindutva infected one) can take solace in the Hindu karma at work. The BJP saw a steep rise in it's fortunes but it was short lived and the decline of it's fortunes appears even faster.

I think they will be fluttering aimlessly in the wind for another 10 years at least if not more (or permanently). They might keep winning some small battles here and there but they seem to have lost the plot (and the war). Most ardent BJP supporters and even active partyworkers I know are demoralized and tend to think the glory days are past, the party is not even able to be a decent opposition (they are looking quite silly) and their only hope is a long ardous process of re-invention of which they don't yet see any signs and possibly believe the parents of the BJP (and older relatives) will not allow the re-invention.

Karma at it's very best - the fall from grace has been sharp. LKA seems to have proved he can build from the rubble of someone else's house but not sustain and grow what got built? Shows the limits of what you can build when it is ONLY based on the rubble of an enemy and the ONLY agenda of a "victim's need for redressal of the past injustices (real or imagined)". May be we real Hindus are smart enough and realized playing victim for too long will hurt us too not necessarily and ONLY the other. Hopefully, the Islamists learn it too.

Only thing I am sad about is that no real opposition is not good for democracy because then you are back to counting on the goodness of the current people in government one can become no different than a benevolent dictatorship (elected of course) - problem is that they don't last or don't remain benevolent. Fortunately, for the moment strong regional parties and coilation politics will come with enough opposition that we are safe from transitoning to dictatorship.
Arun Maheshwari
Bangalore, India
Nov 26, 2009 06:06 PM
5
The fight over this disgaraceful structure has been going on for more than hundred years - long before anyone heard of BJP, RSS etc. Why did not the super-secular Nehru do anything in 1949 when the idols surfaced there?
Gopi Maliwal
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Nov 26, 2009 03:38 PM
4
SS Nagaraj...YOU SAID IT...

A journalistic writer should have some ethics too...

Pratap Bhanu Mehta was made a member of national knowledge commisstion, he then wrote a stinging article about BJP, its sorry state etc...

Then the OBC reservation issue caused him to resign from the comission as he was opposed to the reservation...

Then he wrote a piece saying BJP should let the congress stew in its own juice...

What intgrity do such carpetbaggers have to claim the moral right to speak about india's SOUL.
Ram
Deoband, India
Nov 26, 2009 10:12 AM
3
India's Soul,my foot, one can say.For a thousand years Hindus have suffered the Muslim tyrrany for long and now it is also from the the Christian deceit.If tolerating all the humiliations is what this Mehta calls the India's Soul,it deserves a total change to be aggressive towards the two intolerant religions of Islam and Christianity.Bringing down the Babri structure should just be the begining of the New Hindu,who would stand up to assert his rights in his own country.
S.S.Nagaraj
Bangalore, India
Nov 26, 2009 02:12 AM
2
It wasnt 'Babri Masjid' it was a disputed structure.

The reason BJP entered the Ram Mandir movement was congress's shilanyas in order to balance the 'shah bano supreme court verdict' sacrilege.

So the congress is allowed to piddle on the nations majority, the constituition, the supreme court but if BJP got into the movement - its communal.

The dirty structure had to go. Sanatan Dharma reclained its honor in Dec 1992.

What can supreme court or anybody do...the temple stays..
Ram
Deoband, India
Nov 25, 2009 08:51 PM
1
"The Ayodhya disaster was facilitated by a play of ambivalences, exploited by determined groups in the Sangh Parivar."

The task of hate groups is to convert ambivalences into certitudes.
Anwaar
Dallas, United States
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