July 28, 2003. Copyright, 2003, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Vajpayee may testify at Ayodhya inquiry
By Joanna Griffin

LONDON, July 28, Graphic News:  As plans to construct a new Hindu temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya continue to fuel communal tensions in India, there have been calls for Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to testify at an inquiry into the destruction of the 16th century mosque there 11 years ago.

The calls for Vajpayee to come forward are just the latest twist in a decades-old religious tussle that has intensified since Hindu extremists destroyed the mosque in the northern town in Uttar Pradesh state in December 1992, triggering violence that killed around 3,000 people.

Both Hindus and Muslims lay claim to the site at Ayodhya. Hindus say the mosque was built on the site of a Hindu temple that marked the birthplace of one of their chief deities, Rama. A team of archaeologists has until the end of August to find evidence to back such claims.

Meanwhile, reports say the inquiry into the 1992 incident is to be shown a video in which Vajpayee is heard telling a public meeting that land at Ayodhya will Òhave to be levelledÓ to make room for Hindus. The next day extremists, including alleged supporters of his then opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, devastated the mosque.

Since the BJP came to power in 1998 Vajpayee has struggled to appease its more extreme supporters while not alienating IndiaÕs 135 million Muslims, particularly ahead of elections next year. His government recently approved Hindu plans to build at Ayodhya, but the prime minister softened the blow by saying. ÒIt would be good to construct a temple [on the disputed site], but the dispute should be resolved harmoniously through negotiations.Ó

So far, however, negotiations have failed to produce a solution, and Muslim leaders recently rejected Hindu offers of a land-swap deal. In addition, harmonious resolution of the issue seems unlikely: in February 2002 Muslim mobs killed 50 Hindus returning by train to Gujarat from Ayodhya, sparking riots in which around 900 people were killed.

Whether Vajpayee is summoned is due to be decided by the inquiry on August 7, but this is not the first time his party has been implicated in the destruction of the mosque. This month IndiaÕs lower house of parliament was adjourned after a row broke out over accusations that the BJP was trying to get Hindu nationalist leaders let off the hook for their role in the incident.
/ENDS