30 September 2010 was a very tense day, the most tense in my memory. Everybody was in fear, waiting eagerly to hear the decision of the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court in the long-running Ayodhya Land Dispute case.
The streets had gone empty out of fear - what would happen if the people reacted adversely to the decision.
The Title Suit for land in Ayodhya in the highly sensitive Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid issue had been in court for 60 years. The court had been asked to decide who owned the land. The court had announced earlier that the decision would be given on 24 September 2010. This got put off until 30 September 2010 when some retired bureaucrat filed a petition against the decision in the Supreme Court.
Anyway, after the supreme court quashed the petition on 28th, 30th was set has the decision day and the time was given as 3:30pm.
The Government of India and state governments had put the country on alert with security forces out on the streets in large numbers. The premises in Lucknow where the court was to deliver the judgement was converted into a virtual fortress.
But, to everyone's relief when the judgement was released to the world through the media personnel waiting outside the court premises, it was received very calmly by the people. There have been all kinds of reactions to the judgement. Some are happy. Some say that the judgement should be challenged in the Supreme Court of India. But, happily for all none of it was violent.
The people have made it clear that they value the peace, and that they want a peaceful solution to the dispute.
Long live everyone.
