Ayodhya 2010 : Advantage Hindus

On 30th September, 2010; in more ways than one history was written for the Hindus in India. Predictably, the historic temple city of Ayodhya heaved a sigh of relief over the verdict from Allahabad High Court on the six-decades old title dispute with local residents rejoicing.
Sweet-maker Avdesh Kumar lit candles in front of his house near Hanuman Garhi temple with his two children even as a large number of enthusiastic Hindus applied restrain after the Janmabhoomi Nyas (trust) head Nritya Gopal Das said: “Hindus should not be over-joyous".
"... there's no question of half joy or quarter victory. We want the entire land.” The message was clear. The Hindus are again going assertive and would not spare an inch of the land, where Lord Rama was born.
Later, police officials did not allow citizens in Ayodhya near the disputed structure and in vulnerable pockets like Hanuman Garhi to lit candles or so in orde to keep things calm and under control.
But the sweet-maker wasn't interested: “I am happy, my family is happy. We will have Ram temple here. The dispute should end and there should be normalcy so that we can continue to earn our living.”
A large number of VHP leaders and senior members of the VHP-affiliated Digambar Akhara, Karsevak puram and Nyas leaders welcomed the verdict, raising slogans of 'Jai Shri Ram' and ‘Ram lalla hum ayenge …. Mandir wahin banayenge’. Ram Janmabhoomi trust members said the concept of 33 per cent land allocation for the Sunni Central Wakf board out of the 2.77 acres land was “not acceptable”. “This will only open yet another window of confrontation,” one of them said. The Janmabhoomi Nyas president said: “It's a big victory for Hindus that the Sunni Wakf Board’s claim over the land has been rejected by the court. But we have to fight another battle in the Supreme Court. No land should be given to the Muslims”.
However, there is another section among Hindu leaders such as Acharya Satyender Das, chief priest of the Ram Janmabhoomi mandir, who said: “The High Court ruling has come after years of litigation. The dispute should end here. The general demand of Hindus has been that the Ram idol should be placed where he was born and that theory has been accepted”.
He said any further confrontation or litigation would only keep the issue alive which was not good for peace and tranquility. “All parties including Muslims and Hindu leadership should respect the order of the court,” he said.
Muslims in Ayodhya and Faizabad, too, favoured an early end to the dispute. But a section of them felt the verdict was a “big setback” and did not rule out moving the Supreme Court. Mohammad Shafiq, in-charge of Iqbal Dargah near the Faizabad-Ayodhya road said “I don’t understand the logic of 33 per cent land distribution."
“There appears to be a Congress hand behind all this ~ sab ko khush karne ka koshish Congress ki policy hai (appease all parties is an old practice of Congress party)”.
“Muslims feel somewhat let down by today’s judgement,” said one resident of Kazian Mohalla. “All these wars in court or out of court are not good for common people. We suffer the most but the government is happy making security arrangements only,” said a tailor, Kareem Ibrahim.

Congress could be loser: Muslims
The verdict could have significant political fallout with politically
hyper sensitive Muslims already saying that the development could
result in “erosion” in Congress support base among the “aggrieved
minorities”
Perhaps it will also give a set back to Rahul Gandhi's efforts to revive
party's prospects in UP.
“I am happy about the general peace and amity. But Muslims are
saddened. We firmly believed it was a Masjid as namaaz used to be
performed. Now Congress will have to pay a price for this,” said Mohammad
Zameer, Naib Imam of Farizabad-based Sunni community’s major Tatshah
Masjid.
He maintained the division of the disputed land reflects “a typical
Congress stamp” though it is a judicial order. “The attempt to delay
the judgement by way of special leave petition was also seen as
Congress hand. This party has always betrayed Muslims whenever we had
shown faith in it,” he said.
Several of those who had gathered in the city’s spacious Mosque to
conduct the Friday prayer seemed to have endorsed the sentiments of
the Imam.
In fact, an angry Congress member from Fatehganj Block displaying his
Congress party card said he would “surrender it” in the evening.
Irshad Ahmed, a footwear businessman, said the ultimate message of the
verdict was that “jo Musalman ko milna chahiye thee, nahi mili”.
Agreeing with him, 56-year-old Rais Khan said “yeh faisla sey bahut hi
mayusi hae. Yeh faisla, faisla nahi tha…. Panchayati thi (This verdict
has left us aggrieved. The order was like a panchayati order)”.
Significantly, though the verdict was a judicial order where in
probably even Congress party has been caught unawares; the general
impression among the Muslims in Faizabad and Ayodhya is that the
appease all formula typically reflected a Congress style of
functioning.
“Actually, what happens, when you try to appease all. You end up
everyone unhappy. No doubt the case would go to the Supreme Court. But
meanwhile, Congress will again have to rethink about their faith in
Congress. Shilanayas was their work and even Babri demolition took
place during Congress rule in Centre,” lamented 80-year-old Anwar
Ahmed.