The Times of India, 24 November 2009
Editorial
The Liberhan Commission report, which was leaked before being tabled in Parliament, has indicted top-rung BJP leaders for their role in the Babri masjid demolition on December 6, 1992. The one-man commission, appointed just 10 days after the Babri demolition, was asked to enquire into the sequence of events that led to the destruction of the mosque. It took nearly 17 years the longest taken by any commission in independent India and 48 extensions to submit its 900-page report to the prime minister earlier this year. Given the sensitive nature of the topic it was to be expected that the commission would take its time. But the inordinately long time taken by former judge, M S Liberhan, has taken some shine off the report.
Now that the findings are out, the top leadership of the sangh parivar has plenty to answer for. From media reports on the Liberhan report it appears that BJP's top rung, including Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, were fully aware of the demolition plans. The indictment of former PM Vajpayee is particularly significant since he was seen as the liberal face of the parivar. The report further says that BJP's top brass were "tools in the hands of the RSS". Liberhan is scathing in his assessment of the role of Kalyan Singh, who was chief minister of Uttar Pradesh when the Babri demolition happened. The report says Kalyan had full knowledge of the plans but forced his administration into "ineffectiveness". Even though several years have passed since the demolition, those indicted by the commission must face courts of law.
The commission has, however, given a clean chit to the Narasimha Rao government at the Centre on the grounds that it could have acted only on the UP governor's recommendation. But the report does not fully exonerate the Rao government saying it was caught unprepared. Muslim leaders haven't been spared as the report says that organisations such as the All India Babri Masjid Action Committee were self-serving and did not represent their constituents.
The first reaction of the BJP to the report has been to raise questions about how it was leaked and express shock at the findings. The larger question, however, is that of the BJP's complicity in the Babri demolition. The party would do well to distance itself from those who have been indicted. While the hysteria around Babri masjid might have helped whip up support for the BJP in the 1990s, it does not any longer excite voters except committed party supporters.
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