The below from today's ToI. The title of the article is somewhat misleading. It makes it sound as though the BJP move was an unsound one. Personally I thought it made good sense. Should have been endorsed long back. And the BJP should have attempted to make it happen. But then again, when you make deals with the Devil, sooner or later you would have to pay for it dearly.
I capitalized the paragraph that defines Hinduttwa while it ought to be a symbol of shame: cm BJP's new Ayodhya formula backfires IANS[ THURSDAY, MAY 29, 2003 03:08:45 PM ] NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party's proposal to build a temple in Ayodhya and have a mosque erected alongside has proved a non-starter with its Hindu affiliates and Muslims rejecting it. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which is at the forefront of the aggressive campaign to build a temple at the site of the razed 16th century Babri mosque in the Uttar Pradesh town, outright dismissed any suggestion of a mosque in or around the disputed land. "It is absurd. Having a temple and a mosque standing alongside will only breed more enmity instead of bringing about a lasting understanding between Hindus and Muslims," VHP leader Giriraj Kishore said a day after BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu made the proposal at a rally in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh. Naidu had said the BJP wanted a temple at the disputed site, but a mosque should be constructed next to it as a solution to the dragging legal and religious temple-mosque battle. "We are completely opposed to the BJP's suggestion," said Kishore, insisting there was no question of building a mosque anywhere in the sprawling complex of 67 acres, including the 2.77 acres on which the Babri mosque once stood before it was broken down on December 6, 1992. "THEIR (MUSLIMS') PRAYERS WILL CLASH WITH OURS AND THAT WILL ONLY BE THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG. IF THEY WANT TO BUILD A MOSQUE, THEY CAN DO IT OUTSIDE AYODHYA. NO FORCE IN THE WORLD CAN GET A TEMPLE AND A MOSQUE BUILT ALONGSIDE IN AYODHYA," KISHORE ASSERTED. Muslim leaders also brushed aside the BJP proposal as "useless" and nothing new. Former diplomat Syed Shahabuddin said it was the "game" of Hindu radicals and the BJP since 1986 to get Muslims to surrender the mosque site and make way for a temple there. "The court case on the title suit is proceeding very fast now, on a day-to-day basis, and a verdict may be in within a year," Shahabuddin said. "If we waited a decade, why can't Naidu wait another year? We are prepared to abide by whatever the court rules." The former MP, who heads the All-India Muslim Majlis-Mushawarat, pointed out that the Supreme Court had ruled that depending on the verdict of the title suit, the disputed land should be given to the victorious party and the other party should be allowed to build its structure close by. Kasim Rasool Illyas of the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board, a powerful conglomerate of Muslim groups, said the BJP was floating the formula to escape from a court verdict that could go in favour of the Muslims. "If we had to accept this kind of a solution, we could have accepted it long back. Our basic issue is the ownership of the Babri mosque site. "There is overwhelming evidence that the disputed site belonged to the Muslims. If that is the case, we are not authorised to turn over our holy land to anybody. It is not our personal property," said Illyas. "If they want to resolve the dispute now, after demolishing the Babri mosque, then why don't they let us rebuild the mosque at the same spot and build a temple next to it?" _______________________________________________ Assam mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/listinfo/assam
