The Supreme Court of India on Saturday, while announcing its verdict on a disputed land where Hindu hard-liners demolished a 16th century mosque in 1992, ruled in favour of the Hindus and said that a temple will be constructed on the Ayodhya land.
The court noted that the demolition of 460-year-old Babri Mosque in 1992 was a violation of law and ordered that five-acre alternative land in a suitable, prominent place be provided to Muslims for a mosque. The land for the mosque will be acquired by the government, the court ruled, according to Scroll.in, in a historic judgement aimed at ending a bitter and decades-old legal and sectarian battle.
The court decision is likely to have a significant impact on fraught relations between India’s Hindus and Muslims, who constitute 14% of its 1.3 billion people.
According to The Hindu, the top court ordered the government to formulate a scheme within three months under the Ayodhya Act 1993 and set up a trust. Till the trust is formed, the ownership of the site will rest with the Centre.
In a unanimous decision, the Shia petition was dismissed, reported The Hindu.
“There is adequate material in ASI report to conclude the following: Babri Masjid not constructed on vacant land. There was a structure underlying the disputed structure. The underlying structure was not an Islamic structure,” said the Supreme Court, according to Scroll.in.
“But the ASI report does not say if the structure was demolished for the mosque. It has left unanswered this critical point: whether temple was demolished for mosque.”
“This court must accept faith and accept belief of worshippers,” India’s Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi’s was quoted as saying. “Court should preserve balance.”
A Hindu pilgrim touches in obeisance an image of Hindu deities Rama, Sita and Lakshman in Ayodhya, India on Saturday. ─ AP
The verdict is a huge victory for Hindu nationalists under Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had promised to build the temple in 2014 elections that brought him to power.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi objected to the timing of the verdict, which coincides with the inauguration of the Kartarpur Corridor today, and said Pakistan would issue its response after going over the judgement in detail.
“Could it [verdict] not have waited a few days? I am deeply saddened at the insensitivity shown at such a joyous occasion,” he said while talking to DawnNewsTV. “You should have taken part in this happy occasion and not attempted to divert attention. The dispute is a sensitive issue and should not have been made part of this happy day.”
