Ayodhya verdict today after 60 years

New Delhi/Lucknow : After a 60-year-wait and loss of over 2000 lives in the worst communal riots of independent India in 1992 following the demolition of the Babri mosque, the Allahabad High Court on Thursday would deliver a verdict on whether the disputed Ayodhya land would go to the Hindus or Muslims.

The Lucknow bench of the court in Uttar Pradesh would say if a temple of Lord Rama existed before 1538 when the mosque was built allegedly after razing the Hindu place of worship, a parcel of 2.7 acre land.

Hindu groups say the disputed land is the birthplace of Lord Rama (Ram Janmabhoomi).

The court will also rule on whether the idols of Ram, Sita and Laxman and and other objects of worship were placed in the structure on the night of Dec 22-23, 1949, or whether they had been there before as claimed by the Hindus.

The court would say on whether the demolished structure was a mosque as claimed by the Muslim organisations and if so whether it was built by Mughal emperor Babar.

The court would say if the Muslims had prayed there since a long time or not.

The verdict is likely to be delivered at 3.30 pm on Thursday.

The three-member Lucknow bench of the High Court comprising of Justices S U Khan, Sudhir Agarwal and Dharam Veer Sharma is scheduled to pronounce their judgement at 3-30 pm.

The two contending sides are the Sunni Waqf Board representing the Muslims and Akhiil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha representing the Hindus.

Stating that chances of trouble after the verdict were not much, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Wednesday, ?India has moved on, especially the people who were born after 1992 [when the Babri Masjid at the disputed site was demolished] have a different view. I don?t foresee any problem with the judgement.?

Indeed, leaving behind the tortuous history of the past and the ghosts of 1992, India seemed more united and composed in 2010.

However, ?adequate? security preparedness to tackle any situation has been put in placed even as peace appeals were made by all leaders.

?I hope peace and communal harmony will be maintained. The central government has made adequate security arrangements,? Chidambaram said.

He added that 1.90 lakh policemen from all formations are in Uttar Pradesh, which should be ?more than enough to maintain law and order?.

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court is scheduled to pass its judgement to settle the Ramjanambhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit

Chidambaram has urged the people to understand that the High Court ruling was an end to the legal process at the level and any party not satisfied with it, could approach other higher authorities.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in a peace appeal thorugh newspaper advertisements, said, ?We must remember the fact that the judgment, at this stage, is one step in the judicial process. The determination of the issues need not necessarily end with this judgment, unless it is accepted by all parties.?

?There should be no attempt whatsoever made by any section of the people to provoke any other section or to indulge in any expression of emotion that would hurt the feelings of other people,? he added.

Congress chief and ruling United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi, appealing for peace, said, ?Accept whatever it is, as per our great tradition of having a liberal outlook.?

?We all know that the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court will be giving its judgement on a sensitive issue. Along with this, we know that almost the entire country has expressed its willingness to accept the judgement by imposing faith in the impartiality of the judiciary,? Gandhi added.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also appealed for peace and pledged to follow the legal route on the issue.

Meanwhile, the Centre has kept in readiness para military forces in 16 places for quick deployment, including by IL-76 and AN-32 transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force.

These locations, close to airports and from where security forces will be airborne in ten minutes in case of exigencies, include Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, Bagdogra and Delhi.

Cities like Hyderabad and Delhi have also been identified as restricted sites.

The identified areas include four places in Uttar Pradesh, where there is a potential for ‘evoking of sharp reactions’ following the verdict.

The Home Ministry has issued an advisory to states and Union Territories to keep the forces on high alert as the judgement could trigger “sharp reactions.”

Over 2,000 people were killed in the riots that followed the demolition of the Babri Masjid by Hindu kar sevaks (religious volunteers) on December 6, 1992, who claimed the Masjid was built after demolishing a Ram temple in 1528.