By TwoCircles.net staff writer
Liberhan report’s third chapter is “Sequence of Events” that led to the demolition of Babri Masjid on December 6th, 1992 by Hindutva organizations. In listing various events related to the movement to destroy the masjid, Justice MS Liberhan has given version of events that tells the Sangh Parivar’s stories.
He mentions as facts that the masjid was locked since 1934. He fails to mention that Muslim position has been that the namaz were offered there up until the night of December 23rd, 1949 when idol was placed in it.
At various places in the section titled ‘Background,’ the report copies from BJP’s white paper verbatim. There is no interrogation of Sangh Parivar’s claims.
In fact, it is presented as facts that there was no namaz offered there and no new grave dug in the adjoining graveyard since 1934. This “fact” is attributed to D.B. Roy who was Senior Superintendent of Police, Faizabad in 1992. It is unbelievable that the Commission should accept as statements as “facts” from someone who is indicted by the Commission in the same report.
In fact, Commission goes out of the way so as not to seem to be offending the Hindu sensitivity. On page 69 of the report it states, “the Commission need not go into the question whether idols were installed or they had miraculously appeared as some of hard-core fundamentalists and the protagonists of the movement claimed during the course of their evidence.” The Commission tries to balance itself by criticizing the Hindutva group while at the same time not disputing the facts peddled by the Parivar.
It lists all Hindu leaders involved in the cases concerning this controversy but Muslim respondents and petitioners like Hashmi Ansari and Aslam Bhure, common residents of Ayodhya with the former fighting this case since 1949 are not even mentioned.
Also missing from the report is the circumstances that led to the discovery of the idols and subsequent filing of the FIR and who filed this FIR.
On page 106 it again quotes verbatim a statement by Acharya Dharmendra Dev giving it one full page where the leader of Dharam Sansad spews venom against Muslims and it is presented without any criticizing the statement. Perhaps, to balance it with Muslim fanaticism Abdullah Bukhari is quoted on page 152 as saying “if Government failed to take right decision country may disintegrate.” The quote was pointed out to the Commission by Chief Secretary VK Saxena, who again is another person indicted by the Commission. One wonders why the report presents as facts, material provided to it by people who were indicted for their role in the Babri Masjid demolition?