Indian Express
Jun 14, 2009
Nehru’s letter, other documents missing in Babri case
by Arshad Afzal Khan
Ayodhya: Certain crucial documents related to the Ram Janma Bhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute, including a telegram from Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to the then chief minister Govind Vallabh Pant, have gone missing from the records of the UP government.
During a hearing on May 27 and 28, the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court had directed the state government to produce the documents by July 7.
The Bench, comprising Justices Rafat Alam, D V Sharma and Sudhir Agrawal, is hearing a bunch of petitions, arising from various claims over the disputed site.
The litigation dates back to December 1949, when idols of Lord Ram were placed in the mosque.
The court had first asked the government to submit these documents in 2004 on an application of the Sunni Wakf Board, the party to the dispute.
During the May hearing, the state chief secretary and the principal secretary (Home) were present in the court as the Bench expressed its displeasure over the government’s failure to produce the documents.
Special Secretary (Home) Rajendra Prasad Mishra said a circular had been issued to the Communalism Control Cell of the Home Department, Department of Secrecy, the in-charge of the record room and the secretariat administration to trace the documents.
The documents:
* A telegram sent by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister GB Pant on January 15, 1950.
* Documents regarding action taken for the attachment of Babri Masjid in December 1949.
* A letter written by Deputy Commissioner of Faizabad KK Nayyar to Chief Secretary Bhagwan Sahai on July 20, 1949.
* A letter written by Chief Secretary Bhagwan Sahai to Deputy Commissioner KK Nayyar on September 30, 1949.
* Two letters written by the divisional commissioner of Faizabad to the chief secretary on July 20 and September 3, 1949.
* Two letters written by the deputy commissioner to the chief secretary on December 26 and 27, 1949.
According to Ranjeet Lal Varma, counsel for Nirmohi Akhara, which claims title over the disputed site, in his letter on December 25, 1949, Chief Secretary Bhagwan Sahai had instructed Deputy Commissioner KK Nayyar to remove the idols placed in the mosque premises illegally on the night of December 22-23.
In his reply on December 27, 1949, Nayar wrote that it was impossible to remove the idols because the place was full of Hindu devotees.
As for Nehru’s telegram to Pant, Verma said the then prime minister had expressed his unhappiness over the incidents in Ayodhya and also asked for the removal of the idols.
Verma said in the last hearing, the court had also issued contempt notice against principal secretary (home) for his failure to submit Hindi translations of certain Urdu documents despite repeated directions by the court.
Sources at Faizabad Commissioner’s office said they were also searching for copies of the documents.
The case is now in the final stages. The Sunni Central Waqf Board has completed its arguments and the arguments of the Nirmohi Akhara are likely to be over shortly.
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