Twenty-eight years after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, a special court of the Central Bureau of Investigation acquitted the 32 people accused in the case on Wednesday and dismissed any criminal conspiracy due to lack of conclusive evidence against them. Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Kalyan Singh and Uma Bharti were among those charged with criminal conspiracy and other charges.
The court in its verdict said that the demolition of the 16th century mosque on December 6, 1992 was a spontaneous and unplanned act, and that the people who demolished the mosque were “anti-national elements.” He said members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, an affiliate of the right-wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and politicians from the Bharatiya Janata Party were only trying to protect the structure.
Top BJP leaders, including Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath and Advani, who were at the forefront of the party’s temple campaign in the 1990s, praised the verdict, saying that ” it vindicated “the party’s long-standing commitment to construction. of a Ram temple in Ayodhya.
In November, the Supreme Court ruled that the disputed land in Ayodhya would be turned over to a government-run trust for the construction of a Ram temple. The high court had also said that the demolition of the Babri Masjid was illegal and ordered the government to acquire alternative land to build a mosque. The construction of the temple has begun.
The demolition of the Babri Masjid sparked large-scale community violence in 1992 for several months that left thousands of people dead, most of them Muslim. In the years to come, he divided relations between Hindus and Muslims, fueling tensions between the two communities and helped BJP establish a lasting footprint on the political landscape of India.
This is how the main newspapers in the country covered the ruling:
the Indian express headed with the headline, “Babri Masjid: No One Guilty.” The English newspaper published three highlights of the CBI special court ruling at the top of its front page. “Photos, videos, no evidence: no negatives, no forensic analysis,” reads the first climax.
The newspaper also focused on another statement made by the judge in his order, which has thus far been largely unreported. In his view, IWC special judge SK Yadav suggested that Pakistan may have played a role in the demolition of the Babri Masjid. “It could have been at Pak’s hand, terrorist intelligence on the site ignored,” the newspaper quoted Yadav as saying.
Apart of this, the Indian express conducted an analysis of Wednesday’s verdict and how it institutionalized the Ram temple movement. “Despite the Supreme Court calling the demolition an ‘egregious violation of the rule of law,’ Wednesday’s verdict lends an institutional shine to the temple movement,” he says.
The newspaper also explored two Supreme Court rulings in the past three years, both related to the Ayodhya dispute but on completely different matters, and how it “pointed out the conspiracy charge behind the demolition of Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992 . “
The Telegraph he stuck to his trademark tongue-in-cheek format and focused on how the verdict was anything but shocking. The newspaper with a sarcastic headline, which read: “If we are really surprised, this is what we are”, and juxtaposed an image of a donkey in the middle of the cover.
“The events leading up to December 6, 1992, and September 30, 2020, unfolded before our eyes,” reads a caption.
The newspaper does not beat around the bush in criticizing the Narendra Modi government. “We knew without a doubt who did it, why they did it, and how much it cost the nation while the blood was flowing,” he says. “Yet we legitimize and reward them, election after election, and now we bray with despair!”
“Advani, 31 other people acquitted in the Babri case,” says The Hinduheadline. The newspaper examines the key points of the sentence. A caption on the cover also focuses on Congress’s response to the verdict.
Hindustan Times headed with the headline, “Spontaneous act ‘: the 32 acquitted 28 years later”, and summarized the highlights of the sentence. The newspaper also focused on what the next steps would be in the case, noting that the CBI has said it will consult its legal department to decide if it wants to appeal the ruling.
The newspaper also covered various reactions to the ruling, calling it a “victory for justice and truth,” while Congress affirmed that the ruling contradicted the November 9 ruling of the Supreme Court that held that the demolition was a “clear illegality and flagrant violation” of the rule of law.
Daily Hindi Love Ujala headed with the headline, “After 28 years the verdict, all acquitted.” The newspaper had a subtitle, which focused on how none of the charges against the defendants, including Advani and other BJP leaders, could not be proven in court.
“Dosh karo noi [It was no one’s fault]”, It was the headline of the cover in Anandabazar Patrika. A report below him, titled “At Babri, all 32 are innocent,” opened on a scathing note. After hearing the verdict, many thought that fortunately they did not say “no one demolished Babri Masjid,” he said.
The newspaper took a sarcastic tone and said that this happened because “no one heard leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party or the Vishwa Hindu Parishad such as Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi or Ashok Singhal chanting slogans like ‘ek dhakka aur do, babri masjid tod do [Push once more, break the mosque]”. Advani, Joshi, Singhal: No one was seen inciting the kar sevaks, he said.
Tamil diary Dinamalar headed with a headline that screamed “Absolution!” The report then summarized the sentence, saying that the CBI special court judge concluded that there was no conspiracy and that the accused leaders did in fact try to stop the demolition. The newspaper also published a small report on page five with a headline, asking if the IWC will appeal the verdict.
“All, including Advani, were acquitted for lack of conclusive evidence,” was the headline of the Tamil newspaper. Dinathanthi. The report explained the history of the case and the fact that the judge concluded that there was no planning behind the demolition.
Page two had various reports, including reactions from political parties and a piece similar to that of Dinamalar, asking if CBI would appeal the case.
Gujarati Daily Sandesh headed with the headline: “Babri demolition case: All 32 defendants, including Advani, found not guilty,” with a subtitle, citing the CBI judge’s observations that the demolition was carried out by “antisocial elements” and was not a pre-planned controversy.
Another subtitle cited the statements of Judge Surendrakumar Yadav that the accused leaders were trying to prevent antisocial elements from destroying the mosque because it housed Ram Lalla.
Marathi newspaper Saamna, the Shiv Sena party spokesman, had a celebratory front page, with a large headline proclaiming: “Jai Shri Ram! All found innocent in the Babri demolition case !! “The newspapers carried subtitles such as” Celebrations Across the Country … Drum Beats, Firecrackers Everywhere! “And” Historic IWC Court Verdict. ”
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