Understanding Ayodhya’s past could provide mediators with critical resources | The Indian Express

Understanding Ayodhya’s past could provide mediators with critical resources | The Indian Express

Written by Valay Singh |Updated: March 29, 2019 9:52:35 am

Singh, a Delhi-based journalist, is the author of Ayodhya: City of Faith, City of Discord

Understanding Ayodhya’s past could provide mediators with critical resources

It seems intriguing that, instead of a neutral place, the Supreme Court has chosen Faizabad as the venue for talks to resolve the Ayodhya dispute. Besides being Ayodhya’s larger twin city, it is a communally sensitive place.

The film ‘Ram Ki Janmabhoomi’, directed by Sanoj Mishra, revolves around the controversial issue of Ram Mandir. (File photo)

An oft-heard refrain in the twin towns of Faizabad and Ayodhya is “baatcheet and bhaichara”(dialogue and harmony) can resolve the dispute. The belief in dialogue is strong on both sides, though slightly shakier among the Muslims, who feel betrayed by governments and courts since the Ram Lalla idol was first implanted inside the Babri mosque in 1949.