Such headlines have been used many times in news and opinions published in different languages. Yet I used this title again. A CBI special court in Lucknow on Wednesday ruled in the Babri Masjid demolition case. Twenty-six years ago, 49 people, including some top BJP leaders, were charged with conspiracy, planning and incitement to destroy a mosque. 17 of them have already died. The court acquitted the remaining 32 people as the allegations were not proved. Among those released are leaders like Lalkrishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharati and Kalyan Singh.
As an organization, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad were also not directly or indirectly involved in it, the verdict said. The court did not consider the evidence given by the CBI to be sufficient to prove the crime. The court blamed spontaneous public outrage for the mosque's destruction. And those who have done this, they are anti-social. The accused were trying to stop them, the court thinks so.
The question may arise as to how the work of anti-socials can lead to 'spontaneous public outrage'. And why this public outrage suddenly arose is also a matter of research. In the days leading up to the demolition of the mosque, the RSS, the BJP and their affiliates created communal frenzy across India in a planned manner. It started in 1990 with Lal Krishna Advani's Ram Rath Yatra. Everybody knows the poisonous statements made by Advani, Uma Bharati and Ritambara Gang in the next two years. The last time a large number of tax collectors were assembled was in December 1992 with the clear aim of destroying the mosque in Ayodhya. Pictures of the smiling faces of these leaders and the distribution of sweets have surfaced in the media since the demolition of the mosque. But the wise judge did not take into account the fact that the speeches were "vague" and that the audio and video tapes "could not be investigated".
