Origin of Babri Masjid Dispute
We are aware that the Babri Masjid dispute began, according to an official affidavit when idols were surreptitiously and unlawfully placed in the Masjid on the night of 22 23 December, 1949. They could have been immediately removed. But the combined efforts of the then Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and the then Home Minister, Vallabh Bhai Patel, failed to persuade the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Govind Vallabh Pant, to have the idols removed by the District Magistrate who defied his orders. Even the historic fasts undertaken by Akshay Brahmachari with the support of eminent Gandhians for the restoration of the Masjid failed. All that the State Government did was to lock up the Masjid & declare it out of bounds for the Muslims, authorized private worship of the idols & thus converted it into a Hindu shrine, while criminal and civil litigation raged outside.

But after the Ram Janmabhoomi Movement began, the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was advised to have the doors of the Masjid unlocked on 1 February, 1986. This converted the Masjid into a de facto Mandir. The Muslims then launched a movement for the restoration of the Masjid but they never took the law in their hands. Subsequently, in 1989 the VHP which had prepared an architectural plan for the Mandir, was permitted to perform the Shila Nyas i.e. to lay its foundation in violation of court order.

In 1987, the Government consolidated the various civil suits and placed them before the Allahabad High Court for adjudication. By fits and starts, the title suit has been going on since then. After the Masjid was demolished in 1992, the Central Government acquired 70 acres of land around the disputed site. The Supreme Court considered the Reference on acquisition & okayed its legality in October 1994, revived the hearing of the title suit by the Allahabad High Court and also laid down a road map for the utilization of the acquired area in the light of the judicial verdict on title. The title suit has nearly come to an end & the verdict is awaited.

What is important is to note that the Muslim side has committed itself to accept the final verdict, whatever it be, but all Hindu organizations have taken the stand that they shall accept it only if it is in their favour! The Government has maintained total silence on its Constitutional duty & commitment to execute the judicial verdict, without fear or favour, nor has it prepared the required alternative plans for the utilization of the Acquired Area as it should have done. So much more important and relevant, than the Liberhan Report will be the final judicial verdict. If the Sangh Parivar refuses to accept it, the settlement will be further delayed & open another chapter of the conflict.

Political Possibilities
The Muslim community should, therefore, take the Liberhan Report in its stride and watch the political wrangling on its presentation to the Parliament along with the ATR by the Government. It is perfectly possible that increasingly conscious of the alienation & frustration in the Muslim Community and anxious, as always, to exploit Muslim votes in all elections, the Cental Government may not only accept the Report in toto but express its intention to implement its findings and recommendations. The Government may even initiate the prosecution of the indicted leaders. But that will be no more than another political gesture, another milestone on the long road to justice. We are all aware of the sluggish pace at which the criminal cases under FIR 198/92 arising out of the Demolition have moved, making little progress in 17 years! No purpose will be served by further prosecutions, if they move at the same pace and are undertaken as halfheartedly. After all the ruling party and the Government have to keep an eye on the mood of the people and they would not like to make martyrs or heroes of Advani and others in the eyes of the Hindu voters.

It goes without question that when the Report is placed in the public domain, it will become the subject of a slanging match between the Government and the Opposition i.e. the INC & the BJP. However, if the UPA does take effective action on the Report, it will consolidate the support it has received from the Muslims in General Election 2009. They have all but forgotten the role by the Congress played in 1949, 1986, 1989, 1992 & even immediately after the Demolition under the Presidents Rule, to construct a make- shift Mandir on the debris of the Masjid. On the other hand, if the UPA fails to act, Muslims may turn away towards other secular parties & even take up seriously the project of forming one or more Muslim-core parties in the country. Since, it is in their long term interest to build understanding and cooperation among all secular forces, the danger is that in the process they may divide the secular forces as well as the Community to the benefit of the BJP and its allies. On the other hand, tt is also possible that the post-election cleavages within the BJP may be further accentuated between those committed to the ideology of Hindutva and those who wish to reinvent the BJP as a liberal Hindu party.

While the Muslims should not display any emotions on the Liberhan Report before they actually see its findings & recommendations, they should also wait for the final judicial verdict on title. In the meantime, they should reserve their energy to the task of formulating the Muslim political strategy for the next General Election.
If the Report indeed holds Narasimha Rao responsible, Muslims should ask the INC to stop his glorification and seek its apologies. They may also ask the Manmohan Singh government to pursue diligently the criminal cases under FIR 198/92, as well as any additional charge-sheets based on the Liberhan Report,

Democracy is the Rule of Law and Social Justice. In their response to the Liberhan Report or the final judicial verdict on title, the Muslim should only press the Government to act in accordance with law, and they should assert their identity which is constantly under attack from all quarters, their recognition as a well- defined social group and as a well-attested Backward Class. They should keep their energies in reserve for really important battles which lie ahead over the execution of the final judicial verdict by the Government in accordance with the road map drawn by the Supreme Court, if it is in their favour, as well as over the publication and implementation of Justice Ranganath Mishra Commissions recommendation for at least 10% reservation for their government job and higher education.