The%20verdict%20in%20the%20Babri%20Masjid%20demolition%20case%20may%20have%20been%20given%20by%20a%20special%20court%2C%20where%20it%20was%20pending%20for%2028%20long%20years.%20Yet%2C%20it%20is%20widely%20regarded%20as%20another%20feather%20in%20prime%20minister%20Narendra%20Modi%u2019s%20cap.

Whatever%20be%20the%20legal%20explanations%20for%20the%20verdicts%2C%20the%20common%20man%20on%20the%20street%20attributes%20everything%20to%20the%20blessings%20of%20the%20one%20man%20army%20called%20Narendra%20Modi.%20Recalling%20the%20reaction%20of%20people%20along%20the%20banks%20of%20the%20Saryu%20river%20in%20Ayodhya%20soon%20after%20the%20country%u2019s%20apex%20court%20ruled%20for%20construction%20of%20the%20much-awaited%20Ram%20temple%20at%20the%20birthplace%20of%20the%20most%20revered%20Hindu%20God%2C%20I%20remember%20how%20the%20common%20euphoric%20refrain%20was%2C%20%u201Cthis%20has%20happened%20only%20because%20of%20Modi%20ji%u201D.

So%20overwhelmed%20they%20seemed%20to%20be%20by%20the%20Modi%20magic%20that%20even%20after%20being%20told%20that%20the%20order%20had%20come%20from%20the%20highest%20court%20on%20the%20land%2C%20they%20would%20insist%2C%20%u201Cso%20what%20but%20don%u2019t%20forget%20that%20this%20could%20happen%20only%20after%20Modiji%20became%20prime%20minister.%u201D%26nbsp%3B

Sure%20enough%2C%20the%20reaction%20of%20people%20here%20today%20is%20much%20in%20sync%20with%20the%20feeling%20that%20was%20visible%20in%20November%202019%20when%20the%20temple%20verdict%20came.%20And%20there%20can%20be%20no%20doubt%20that%20today%u2019s%20judgement%20will%20further%20reinforce%20Modi%u2019s%20strength%20as%20an%20apostle%20of%20%u2018Hindu%20Hriday%20Samrat%u2019.%20Those%20who%20have%20believed%20in%20the%20theory%20of%20%u2018Hindu%20Rashtra%u2019%20are%20bound%20to%20view%20him%20as%20one%20with%20the%20potential%20to%20make%20them%20realize%26nbsp%3B%20their%20long%u2013cherished%20dream.

After%20all%2C%20the%20fate%20of%20those%20who%20were%20accused%20of%20pulling%20down%20the%2016th%20century%20Babri%20Masjid%20was%20hanging%20fire%20for%20nearly%20three%20decades%2C%26nbsp%3Bhas%20finally%20been%20decided%20in%20their%20favour.%20All%20the%20accusations%20leveled%20against%20the%20top%20BJP%20leaders%20like%20Lal%20Krishna%20Advani%2C%20Murli%20Manohar%20Joshi%2C%20Kalyan%20Singh%2C%20Uma%20Bharti%20%2C%20among%20others%20as%20well%20as%20powerful%20torch-bearers%20of%20the%20Vishwa%20Hindu%20Parishad%20led%20by%20Ashok%20Singhal%2C%20have%20been%20bunked%20by%20the%20court.%26nbsp%3B

%26nbsp%3BAll%20evidence%20gathered%20by%20the%20country%u2019s%20premier%20investigation%20agency%20%u2013%20CBI%20%u2013%20proved%20insufficient%20or%20weak%20to%20nail%20anyone.%20Top%20BJP%20leaders%20and%20their%20comrade-in-arms%20from%20the%20Vishwa%20Hindu%20Parishad%26nbsp%3B%20%28VHP%29%20and%20other%20Hindutva%20allies%20stand%20absolved%20of%20all%20charges%20of%20conspiring%20to%20bring%20down%20the%20mediaeval%20monument%20as%20the%20video%20and%20audio%20clips%20furnished%20by%20CBI%20as%20the%20most%20incriminating%20evidence%20against%20them%20were%20stated%20to%20either%20doctored%20or%20fabricated.%20At%20the%20end%20of%20the%20day%20%2C%20each%20of%20the%2032%20living%20accused%20persons%2C%20who%20were%20summoned%20to%20the%20court%20today%2C%20was%20given%20a%20clean-chit.%20And%2017%20other%20accused%20were%20dead%20and%20gone%20during%20the%20long%20pendency%20of%20the%20case.

And%20all%20that%20was%20despite%20the%20fact%20that%20even%20the%20apex%20court%2C%20while%20giving%20its%20verdict%20in%20favour%20of%20the%20Ram%20temple%20in%20November%202019%20had%20termed%20the%20demolition%20of%20the%20mosque%20as%20a%20%u201Ccalculated%20act%u201D.

A%20five-judge%20bench%20headed%20by%20then%20Chief%20Justice%20of%20India%20Ranjan%20Gogoi%26nbsp%3B%20has%20pointedly%20observed%2C%20%u201Cthe%20entire%20structure%20of%20the%20mosque%20was%20brought%20down%20in%20a%20calculated%20act%20of%20destroying%20a%20place%20of%20public%20worship.%u201D%20Gogoi%20went%20on%20to%20add%2C%20%u201CMuslims%20have%20been%20wrongly%20deprived%20of%20a%20mosque%20which%20had%20been%20constructed%20well%20over%20450%20years%20ago.%u201D

Significantly%2C%20even%20a%20commission%20of%20inquiry%20set%20up%20by%20the%20then%20PV%20Narasimha%20Rao%20government%20soon%20after%20the%20demolition%20on%20December%206%2C%201992%20stated%20in%20its%20findings%20that%20the%20%u201Cdemolition%20was%20orchestrated.%u201D%20The%20one-man%20inquiry%20commission%20under%20Justice%20MS%20Liberhan%2C%20who%20was%20then%20the%20sitting%20judge%20of%20the%20Andhra%20Pradesh%20High%20Court%20took%2017%20long%20years%20to%20submit%20its%20report.

But%20nothing%20seems%20to%20have%20had%20any%20bearing%20on%20the%20special%20court%20headed%20by%20Judge%20Surendra%20Kumar%20Yadav%2C%20who%20had%20been%20hearing%20the%20case%20for%20five%20years.%20Thanks%20to%20the%20Supreme%20Court%2C%20Yadav%20even%20got%20a%20very%20unusual%20full%20year%u2019s%20extension%20after%20he%20superannuated%20in%20September%202019.%20The%20idea%20was%20to%20maintain%20continuity%20in%20the%20case.%20Perhaps%20it%20was%20sheer%20coincidence%20that%20Justice%20Ranjan%20Gogoi%20too%20retired%20shortly%20after%20the%20temple%20verdict.

Yet%2C%20the%20judgement%20comes%20as%20utter%20shock%20and%20dismay%20for%20those%20who%20have%20been%20witness%20to%20the%20turn%20of%20events%20on%20the%20fateful%20day%20of%20December%206%2C%201992%20in%20Ayodhya.%20For%20them%20%2C%20including%20myself%2C%20the%20announcements%20made%20on%20the%20public%20address%20system%20from%20the%20spot%20where%20top%20BJP%20and%20VHP%20leaders%20were%20seated%2C%20were%20still%20echoing%20in%20the%20ears.

%u201CYe%20dhancha%20%28read%20Babri%20Masjid%29%20ab%20girne%20wala%20hai%3B%20aaplongon%20se%20anurodh%20hai%20ki%20gumbaz%20se%20neeche%20utar%20aayen%u201D%20%28this%20structure%20is%20about%20to%20fall%3B%20those%20atop%20the%20domes%20are%20requested%20to%20come%20down%29%2C%20was%20the%20call%20repeated%20a%20number%20of%20times%20and%20that%20too%20in%20different%20Indian%20languages%20to%20make%20it%20intelligible%20to%20karsewaks%20drawn%20from%20different%20corners%20of%20the%20country.%20Sure%20enough%2C%20such%20an%20announcement%20could%20not%20be%20construed%20as%20any%20effort%20by%20those%20leaders%20to%20protect%20the%20mosque%20%u2013%20as%20seemed%20to%20have%20been%20made%20out%20in%20today%u2019s%20judgement.%20It%20is%20more%20than%20obvious%20that%20such%20a%20call%20could%20come%20only%20from%20those%20who%20were%20aware%20that%20the%20demolition%20was%20to%20follow.

What%20also%20seems%20to%20have%20been%20impressed%20upon%20through%20the%20judgement%20was%20that%20the%20moque%20was%20razed%20by%20%u201Canti-social%20element%20%2C%20who%20crept%20in%20under%20the%20garb%20of%20karsewaks%20and%20climbed%20atop%20the%20domes%20before%20pulling%20it%20down.%20Now%20that%20could%20only%20be%20believed%20by%20those%20who%20were%20not%20present%20at%20the%20site%20on%20the%20fateful%20day.%20For%20those%20who%20were%20witness%20to%20the%20minute-to-minute%20flow%20of%20events%20%2C%20the%20structure%20was%20brought%20down%20by%20apparently%20trained%20persons%20who%20carried%20out%20their%20mission%20in%20an%20%u201Corchestrated%u201D%20manner.

Even%20I%20saw%20how%20a%20band%20of%20men%20got%20down%20to%20use%20sharp%20iron%20implements%20to%20dig%20into%20both%20sides%20of%20main%20supporting%26nbsp%3B%20walls%20of%20the%20mosque%20at%20the%20plinth%20level%20until%20they%20succeeded%20in%20narrowing%20down%20the%20nearly%20two-and-a-half%20feet%20thick%20walls%20to%20less%20than%20a%20foot.%26nbsp%3B%20After%20that%20they%20dug%20two%20holes%20through%20which%20thick%20ropes%20were%20hung%20and%20thousands%20of%20karsewaks%20hovering%20around%20were%20asked%20to%20pull%20te%20two%20ends%20of%20the%20rope%2C%20following%20which%20the%20narrowed%20and%20weakened%20walls%20naturally%20gave%20in%2C%20bringing%20down%20each%20dome%20with%20a%20thud.

Sure%20enough%20only%20a%20gullible%20and%20blind%20could%20be%20convinced%20that%20the%20task%20of%20demolition%20could%20have%20been%20carried%20out%20with%20such%20precision%20and%20planning%20by%20%u201Canti-social%20elements%u201D%20who%20got%20overpowered%20by%20their%20passion%20and%20fervour%20at%20the%20spur%20of%20the%20moment%20.

However%2C%20there%20is%20little%20that%20one%20can%20do%20when%20a%20court%20of%20law%20chooses%20to%20convince%20all%20and%20sundry%20that%20it%20was%20neither%20an%20act%20of%20commission%20not%20commission%20%u2013%20as%20any%20criminal%20is%20perceived%20to%20be.

%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23BabriMasjid%22%20data-user-id%3D%22uTypxMUT133Y%22%20href%3D%22/topic/babri-masjid%22%3E%23BabriMasjid%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23BabriVerdict%22%20data-user-id%3D%22hSgtAISJa5cm%22%20href%3D%22/topic/babri-verdict%22%3E%23BabriVerdict%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23Ayodhya%22%20data-user-id%3D%22NWBmyg0fd2YY%22%20href%3D%22/topic/ayodhya%22%3E%23Ayodhya%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23PMNarendraModi%22%20data-user-id%3D%2269isKsnm3i5I%22%20href%3D%22/topic/pm-narendra-modi%22%3E%23PMNarendraModi%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23NarendraModi%22%20data-user-id%3D%22jDp4x2dV65uK%22%20href%3D%22/topic/narendra-modi%22%3E%23NarendraModi%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23LKAdvani%22%20data-user-id%3D%225vE4Myw8Do8N%22%20href%3D%22/topic/lkadvani%22%3E%23LKAdvani%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23MurliManoharJoshi%22%20data-user-id%3D%22738bT0nczjwr%22%20href%3D%22/topic/murlimanoharjoshi%22%3E%23MurliManoharJoshi%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23UmaBharti%22%20data-user-id%3D%22AIrWYpi0DdXL%22%20href%3D%22/topic/uma-bharti%22%3E%23UmaBharti%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23RamMandir%22%20data-user-id%3D%22N9PTW0zePP7c%22%20href%3D%22/topic/ram-mandir%22%3E%23RamMandir%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23SupremeCourt%22%20data-user-id%3D%22TSwGQOu4UorZ%22%20href%3D%22/topic/supreme-court%22%3E%23SupremeCourt%3C/a%3E%26nbsp%3B