There has been somewhat of an uproar in Indian politics this week, after the release of an extensive government report on the 1992 destruction of the Babri Masjid, the “Liberhan” report. According to news coverage in the Indian media, the main findings of the report are 1) the destruction of the Masjid was a planned, rather than spontaneous event, and 2) the leaders of the BJP at the time were involved in the planning of the event. One of the controversial elements in the publishing of the report at this time came from the fact that it was leaked to the press before being officially published, leading the government to “table” the report in Parliament sooner than it ordinarily might have done.
The full report is here, for anyone who has an interest in reading it. (I would be curious to hear any comments from readers who’ve looked at some of it closely.)
Meanwhile, The Hindu has an editorial focusing on the leak, and how in effect it is a good thing for Indian democracy that this report finally sees the light of day:
But then the leak occurred because the government sat on the findings of an exercise that took more than 16 years to discover and establish “the sequence of events leading, and all facts and circumstances relating” to the demolition of the Babri Masjid by communal vandals on December 6, 1992. The habit of withholding from Parliament and the public the findings of expensive Commissions of Inquiry, which lack teeth in any case, until ‘action taken’ reports are readied by a slow-moving bureaucracy is indefensible. It devalues the whole exercise, aggravates the already indefensible delays, and serves up plenty of opportunity for motivated campaigns, speculation, and leaks. The news media in the present case, The Indian Express and NDTV 24×7, certainly cannot be faulted for doing their best to penetrate the veil of secrecy and get the essential findings out. This role is demonstrably in the cause of truth-discovery, and serious journalists and editors are not going to be deterred by sanctimonious cries of ‘breach of parliamentary privilege.’link)
In effect, the report is what everyone already knew. One can still argue, as the The Hindu does, that it’s important to have a formal recognition of the history, so people can finally begin to move on. The question isn’t why this report was leaked to the press now; the question is, why wasn’t it prepared and released 10 years ago or more?
I am reminded of a line from the BBC comedy Yes, Minister!: A commission of inquiry is appointed, not to discover the truth, but to bury it.
To clarify Post 1, the public has very low expectations of commissions of inquiries in practice and the BBC quote seemed to the one that best captures it.
I think at a basic level because BJP was in power in 1999
Indian Standard Time (IST).
Seems like it wouldn’t have been politically useful to release it earlier! Seriously, UP should be constitutionally demoted by reducing the representation it has in Parliament.
Reports are often sat on for years by the Indian government (so are court decisions not yet made). it’s what happens when you politicise data collection and why independent sources like human rights watch and research by publications like tehelka is so useful – you can’t wait until the indian government is ready to tell you something to believe it’s true (as with every other government – see the nation’s article on blackwater operating in pakistan with impunity and u.s. government funding in this week’s issue).
That argument would have some weight if this was released before the general elections. Muslims have swung to congress.
wow. truth = a ONE man commission appointed by the Congress? truth = Rs 8 crores of taxpayer money for this one-man investigation spanning 17 yrs? Please find more facts here: “Anupam Gupta, commission’s counsel for eight years before be quit in 2007 following differences with Justice Liberhan, termed as “illegalâ€, the references made to Vajpayee in the report.” http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/india/17-years-after-a-dud-Liberhan-report-no-punitive-action-suggested-by-ATR/Article1-479956.aspx
and here: Archaeological findings of burnt bases of pillars made of brick, a few metres from the mosque indicated that a large temple stood in alignment with the Babri Mosque since the 11th century.[1] In a trench at a distance of four metres south of the mosque, parallel rows of pillar-foundations made of brick-bats and stones were found.[2] … …There were also attempts by Babri Masjid supporters to prohibit all archaeological excavations at the disputed site. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeology_of_Ayodhya
Kiddos, especially Amandeep, please educate yourselves on Indian history before making blanket statements. Should Jews be reclaiming Israel as their land after 400 years? Should Hindus be reclaiming the holiest site of Hinduism – the birthplace of arguably the most important Vishnu Avatar – in the only land where a Pagan religion still flourishes?
The result of the destruction of Babri masjid did not need to be an all-India communal outburst and riots. When thousands of Hindu temples were destroyed, they did not break out into bloody revenge killing everyone. It’s just a building. Many many buildings have been routinely destroyed, including Hindu temples and churches. Don’t start killing people! There’s no excuse.
Think the earliest this report could realistically have come out was maybe the last term.
Check how many seats Congress won in UP – the road to a Parliamentary majority for Rahul goes through UP 2012.
You raise some interesting points.
However, the last Jewish commonwealth prior to the founding of modern Israel occurred in late antiquity, when Judea was a Roman province. That was almost 2,000 years ago.
However, as a Muslim, I am not negating the continuous Jewish presence in Palestine since the destruction of the second temple and Maccabees rebellion.
I am Muslim, and Muslim-Hindu tensions in India have been problematic since the time of the British raj.
The holiest site of Judaism is currently occupied by the Dome of the Rock and the Omar mosque complex, known as Haram al-Sharif in Arabic or the Temple Mount to the Jews.
If this site was to be vandalized by fanatical Jews, the third holiest shrine in Islam would unleash a torrent of heated passion by some Muslims.
Hinduism is not the only pagan religion still practiced, Shintoism is still practiced in Japan but is not as pervasive as Hinduism. The Japanese tend to be more secular in their outlook than the Indians.
Hmm.. this was way better, things like Bofors scandal will never be solved. I guess this report came out since the crime was probably not committed by Cong. I would not believe it to be completely true though. It is like one thief accusing the other thief.
One of the recommendations in the report is to establish a media regulator and introduce licensing for journalists to counter questionable press.
The real question is: Why was this report ‘leaked’ to the press so that the Govt is forced to table it early on in the winter session?
1.Congress needs to ensure that the entire minority segment moves to it in UP. Currently, the Muslims are supposed to be divided between SP, BSP and INC.By releasing the report, SP will get the taint via its links with Kalyan Singh.This, combined with using Mohd.Azharuddin as the Congress’ muslim face in UP (Azza is actually from my town-Hyderabad, but has been transplanted to UP in the last elections).
2.The UPA Govt has found this ‘report’ quite handy, to deflect attention from the failures related to internal security post-26/11. With the anniversary approaching in a few days, a pliable media is full of ‘Liberhan’ and not asking tough questions to the Govt on what has been accomplished since the tragedy 12 months back.
3.The opposition in Parliament got united on the sugar cane price issue.The leaking and tabling of the report has served to break that unity, and further isolate the BJP.
No sympathies from my end for the BJP, and especially for Advani.But of what use is a report tabled 17 years after the event?Yes, there is nothing new in it.Also, no chornicler of history would take this report at face value. The aam people of India know what is what.
Kumar (#14), good points. But when you say the people know what is what, I daresay the perception of a great majority is that the BJP top brass did indeed know what was going on and stood aside (at best), regardless of where they stand on the issue. So, yes, the report doesn’t say a lot that is new, but it does take aim at Vajpayee – where do you think that leaves the BJP? Make no mistake, (the English) media has started quoting the report as if it were the gospel.
It looks like the Vajpayee issue is headed to the courts. Kind of explains Liberhan’s furious backpedaling yesterday. I’m at a loss to explain how the gentleman can excoriate the media for reporting what he wrote about Vajpayee.
the perversity is in the people who ask this question instead of facing up to the reality that what was always well known is now official – the bjp party is led by amoral murderers who rose to power on the backs of a pliant hindu middle class and a lot of dead bodies.
All the big parties are the same, Cong – 1984 anti Sikh riots, CPM – Nandigram..
the 1984 murders of sikhs by congress was disgusting and reprehensible, but te congress neither rose to power as a result of those murders nor did they garner vote banks as a result.
stirring up ram janmabhoomi, which was donee merely because bjp needed to get some attention, has created open wounds that will take a long time, if ever, to heal.
But in this case, Congress opened the mosque to the VHP after bowing to the Ulema’s wishes over Bano. How was this not about getting votes by pacifying both sides of the religious divide?
what? selective reading? from your link:
after the ruckus about bano, do you realize what would have happened if the cong dragged its feet on impleenting a court ruling?b
They would have at most lost a general election or the UP state government. So what?
I’d imagine that the Wakf would have wanted to appeal to the high court against this decision, and throwing open the mosque in an hour preempted that.
what about the communal fallout after so much unrest had already been stirred up? if the cong decided to delay implementing a seemingly pro-hindu decision after the idiotic bano appeasement.
and how does opening the doors in 1986 imply demolition in 1992?
You mean that Congress governments both at the Centre and in UP wouldn’t have been able to control the situation?
It doesn’t. But that is what changed the status quo that had held since 1949, and is part of the reason why people don’t see a difference between the Congress and BJP on the use of religion for political purposes.
As a first time visitor to this blog, I would like to know your opinions on whether the thousands of Hindu temples that have been destroyed by Islamic invasions should simply be forgotten ?