Shame! Shame! Shame!

Was the demolition of an already crumbling structure worth the lives of two thousand people who died a heinous death following the Babri Masjid incident? That is a question we must ask the Sangh Parivar, the BJP, the Bajrang Dal and all those mouthpieces and stalwarts of Hindu religion in our times. We must also ask what part of the religion were they holding up or promoting when they drove the nation to the brink of civil war in their efforts to build a structure of bricks and mortar?

Hinduism at its very deepest level promotes inner spirituality and oneness with God over any other physical manifestation of worship. So it certainly wasn’t religious fervor that drove them. Then it must be a greed for personal fame and gratification that lead them to do this. And now as a nation we must bear the shame of their actions.

It is with deep sadness that our nation must turn to respected leaders like AB Vajpayee and LK Advani. Being in the positions that they were, they had a moral obligation to safeguard the nation. They violated the deepest trust and their actions left a scar on the history of this country that will never go away.

Only time will tell if any legal action can be taken against them and if either of them will be alive to see through to the end of any trials that may ensue. But certainly such a public declaration of their guilt will serve as a warning to the nation that a blind trust in communal forces can never come to any good.
Ironically the most controversial parts of this report, while damning to individual leaders, are also a slight consolation to the nation. By saying that the demolition was a result of a planned conspiracy, executed systematically rather than just brute mob mentality, it rescues the common Indian from the brink of becoming a blind religious fanatic. It is our chance to see what we were almost capable of and take a vow to never repeat it again- whatever our faith might be.