Indian newspapers yesterday welcomed a landmark court ruling dividing a hotly disputed religious site, saying it pointed to a new, more confident India where law prevailed over communal emotion.
The high court judgment on Thursday split the site in the northern pilgrimage town of Ayodhya between Hindu and Muslim claimants, easing immediate fears of a violent backlash.
The Hindustan Times wrote that the “sagacious” verdict was one “that left no losers,” and argued that the decision of the main Muslim claimant to appeal the judgment was proof that the issue was now firmly contained within the framework of the law.
“A bull has been caught by its horns and credit should be given where it’s due: the law overwhelming what had always seemed ... a matter of -extra--judicial misadventures and posturings,” the newspaper said.
Heightened Security
Security had been tightened in Ayodhya and across India generally to prevent a repeat of violence in 1992, when Hindu zealots tore down a 16th century mosque at the Ayodhya site.
Around 2,000 people, most of them Muslims, died in the riots that followed.
“In the end, what is of prime importance and deserving both relief and applause is that this verdict, in no mean way, has been a touchstone moment for Indian secularism and a definitive step away from the pit of religious fundamentalism,” the Hindustan Times said.
Watershed Moment
An editorial in the Times of India also identified the ruling and the apparent lack of any violent backlash as a watershed moment for a country with huge ambitions as an emerging global power.
“A new, resurgent India has emerged from the debris of the violent 1990s. A new generation has come of age since then and it doesn’t want to be tied down by ancient hatreds,” the Times said.
“We need to move on and the onus is on the state, political parties and community elders to ensure that the issue is not kept simmering for too long,” it added.
The Hindu was slightly more critical of the judgment, saying it could be seen as a compromise calculated to hold the religious peace rather than an exercise of “profound” legal reflection.
“Nevertheless, the compromise nature of the verdict, along with the substantive outcome of dividing the disputed land, have restrained any party from claiming outright victory or sulking in total defeat,” it said.
Moving On
“On balance, the verdict should help the nation as a whole put a longstanding dispute behind. Secular India needs to move on and not be held hostage to grievances, real or imaginary, from the distant past,” it added.
The Indian Express, however, argued that the past should not simply be wiped clean.
While praising the work of the court and welcoming the measured response to its judgment, the newspaper said it was crucial that the law continues to pursue the related cases of those responsible for the 1992 mosque demolition.
“Faith in the law requires stringent action against those who take the law into their own hands,” the Express said.
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