The Nation

OTHER STORIES RELATED TO NATION Sage Advice Ram Ritual

The Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government's attempts to negotiate a settlement to the Ayodhya dispute are probably its most extensive diplomatic manoeuvre. In contrast, mobilising international opinion against Pakistan would seem a cakewalk.

MEETING GROUND: Muslim leaders were in two minds at the Shankaracharya's offer

The Government's hopes are now pinned on Swami Jayendra Saraswati, Shankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam. To the orthodox Hindu, the Shankaracharya occupies one of the most revered seats in the faith. To the Hindu and Muslim religio-political leaders who have been contesting the Ayodhya issue in the courts for 50 years and on the streets for a decade and a half, the Shankaracharya is no less crucial. He embodies an honourable escape route for all parties.

TOUGH ACT: Softening Singhal was a challenge

The Shankaracharya arrived in Delhi on March 4. Over the next few days, he met the representatives of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), the All India Imams Organisation and other religious groups. He also met a battery of constitutional lawyers, consulted Law Minister Arun Jaitley, Home Minister L.K. Advani and HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi. PMO official Sudheendra Kulkarni always seemed to be around, as did Samata Party spokesman Shambhu Srivastava. Srivastava had taken over the role of government envoy from his party colleague, Defence Minister George Fernandes. Every evening Jayendra Saraswati drove down to 7 Race Course Road to brief the prime minister on his peace initiative.

The dispute in Ayodhya relates to the 80 ft by 40 ft (or 0.31 acre) former location of the Babri Masjid (see graphic). In January 1993, this land was acquired by the Union government. Also taken over was a surrounding area of 67 acres. The Shankaracharya's proposal sought to insulate the 0.31 acre. It had three broad components.

TEMPLE FACTORY: The VHP wanted a face-saver in Ayodhya, some land too

The VHP would agree to abide by the judicial ruling on the ownership of the 0.31 acre. The case is pending before the Allahabad High Court.

The VHP would be allowed to transport carved stones to undisputed but acquired land to perform shila pujan (pre-construction stone worship) for 100 days from March 15.

Since 43 of the 67 acres belonged to the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas, a VHP associate, at the time of acquisition, this land could be returned to the Nyas.

Part of the Shankaracharya's proposal was a rehash of what the VHP, led by its international president, Ashok Singhal, had been demanding. The VHP had announced it would begin construction of the temple on March 12. At the suggestion of Satya Sai Baba-the Puttaparthi-based religious figure who, one cabinet minister says, "is the only person Singhal quietly listens to"-the date was moved to March 15.

The Nation

MOVING SPIRITS OPENING GAMBIT: George Fernandes made the initial contact with the Shankaracharya and was his key political interlocutor. SUPPORT CAST: With his apolitical image, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was the perfect foil for Jayendra Saraswati. Used his goodwill. SILENT STEPS: Elder statesman R. Venkataraman was used to lend credibility to the peace offering and win over Muslim groups. WISE COUNSEL: Tejawar Swami, revered by Uma Bharati and Vajpayee, was used to convince the VHP of the need for compromise.

The VHP's call to Vajpayee to give back its 43 acres was referred by the prime minister to his law minister. Jaitley's opinion, it is understood, is not unfavourable. It suggests that the Government will be within its rights to transfer possession of the undisputed land. Jaitley draws from the Supreme Court judgement of 1994 upholding the acquisition: "At a later stage, when the exact area acquired which is needed, for achieving the exact purpose of acquisition, can be determined, it would not merely be permissible but also desirable that the superfluous excess area is ... reverted to its earlier owner."

The Shankaracharya's formula is not altogether new. Successive prime ministers-V.P. Singh, Chandra Shekhar, P.V. Narasimha Rao-have asked the VHP to consign the disputed site's fate to the courtroom and, meanwhile, build a Ram temple on adjoining land. The VHP's position had been that matters of faith could not be left to mere temporal courts. Even in the past week, Acharya Giriraj Kishore, VHP leader, said as much.

On March 7, however, Singhal repudiated that statement. He promised to abide by the court ruling, a dramatic shift for the VHP. On February 27, Ramchandra Paramhans, the priest who heads the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas and was among the original plaintiffs, wrote a letter to the prime minister promising to abide by the court ruling. This letter was handed over to the Shankaracharya and, in a sense, became his trump card.

Convincing the Muslim side hasn't been as easy. The Shankaracharya used the good offices of former President R. Venkataraman, former Uttar Pradesh governor Romesh Bhandari and former chief justice Ranganath Mishra. Even Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the guru of the swish set, added his mite saying, "Unreasonable acts provoke a rage and start a vicious circle."

The sobering reference to Gujarat was obvious. At its meeting with the Shankaracharya, the AIMPLB delegation-comprising among others General Secretary Maulana Nizamuddin and Syed Qasim Rasool Illiyas, convener of the board's Babri Masjid Committee-duly issued a joint statement for peace and religious harmony.

AYODHYA'S COMPLEXITIES

1. 0.31 acre: Disputed area 2. 16. 01 acres: Part of the 67 acres that is owned by the government. 3. 0.75 acre: Shilanyas site in 1989. VHP wants to build here. 4. 7acres: Shankaracharya wants this retained by government, to be given to whoever wins title suit. Acess to disputed site. 5. 43 acres: Part of the 67 acres that used to belong to Ram Janmbhumi Nyas, which wants it back.

Yet there were doubts. Syed Shahabuddin, AIMPLB member and former MP, was sceptical of what he termed a replica of a 12-year-old VHP formula, "In my two hour meeting, I told the Shankaracharya that his proposals were unacceptable." The board said it had promised to discuss the idea at its executive committee meeting on March 10 but Jayendra Saraswati surprised it by going to the press.

The political context of the Shankaracharya's move is no less important. Congress President Sonia Gandhi is in touch with him through her secretary, V. George. The prime minister is understood to have conveyed to the RSS-its senior member H.V. Seshadri had an early interface with Jayendra Saraswati-that if the VHP did not lower temperatures, he would have no option but to resign, recommending dissolution of the Lok Sabha. NDA allies like N. Chandrababu Naidu or Mamata Banerjee-who have little patience for the details of the Ayodhya dispute and simply want the status quo-would not brook concessions to Singhal and company.

Perhaps the Shankaracharya's biggest achievement was arranging a meeting of Vajpayee and Singhal, famous for their bad chemistry, on March 7. A greater test would come three days later, at the executive committee meeting of the AIMPLB.