| |
Dalai Lama treads where others fear to
go
By Sudha Ramachandran
BANGALORE - The Dalai Lama is likely to be the
new mediator in the dispute over the Babri masjid-Ram
Janmabhoomi site in Ayodhya. But while the Dalai Lama's
credentials to mediate in the dispute are impeccable,
the possibility that he will find a solution acceptable
to both sides seems bleak.
The Dalai Lama, the
exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, has generally adopted a
low-profile in India - the country he and his followers
fled to in 1959, following the occupation of Tibet by
the Chinese. He has generally refrained from making
public statements, especially on contentious issues, as
his government in exile has its home in Dharamshala in
northern India.
In an unusual appeal earlier
this month, though, the Dalai Lama called on India's
Hindus and Muslims to adopt a "mature, far-sighted and
open-minded" approach to resolve the dispute over the
site. The Ayodhya issue, he said, involves "too much of
politics and emotions" and the "master key" to solving
it lies in India's "tradition of religious tolerance".
The dispute is over a plot of land which Hindus
believe is the birthplace of the Hindu deity Ram. Hence
the name Ram Janmabhoomi (or Ram's place of birth). A
temple that stood on this site was destroyed by Muslim
invaders, who then built a mosque there. In December
1992, Hindu extremists, led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad
(VHP - World Hindu Forum) tore down the 16th century
mosque. While the dispute over the site has existed for
centuries, it is only over the past decade that it has
assumed immense significance in India's politics.
The VHP, a constituent of the Sangh Parivar - a
family of Hindu extremist parties and organizations - of
which the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is a part,
is in favor of a temple being built at the site and
routinely initiates agitations and campaigns to push for
the construction of a temple. The Ayodhya dispute has
set off bloody riots across the country.
Several
attempts have been made to resolve the mandir-masjid
(temple-mosque) dispute, but none have succeeded so far.
Last year, the widely revered Hindu pontiff, the
Shankaracharya of Kanchi, stepped in to mediate between
the parties to the dispute. That effort ran aground. Now
the Dalai Lama will try his hand.
The Dalai Lama
has clarified that he has no "proposal or agenda" to
solve the issue at present. But he has outlined the
basic elements of his approach. There should be mutual
trust between the parties, there should be no losers at
the end, and only a "middle path" will ensure that there
is a lasting solution.
It has been reported that
the government has been exploring the possibility of
roping in the Dalai Lama as an interlocutor for some
months. The first offer was reportedly made in November
last year.
Many feel that the Dalai Lama's
stature and neutrality make him an ideal interlocutor in
the Ayodhya dispute. The Times of India points out that
"as a Buddhist spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama has no
religious or political stake in this tangle. On the
other hand, both the Hindu and the Muslim religious
leaderships are inevitably perceived to be constrained
by the dictates of their respective constituencies ...
The Ayodhya conflict needs the healing touch of a man
like the Dalai Lama, who is seen as being free from any
political or religious baggage, and endowed with a
philosophy whose central tenet is peace."
What
is more, his mediation has been welcomed by all the
interested parties to the dispute. Not only does he have
the backing of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and
Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, but also the
Sangh Parivar, the VHP, the Shahi Imam of the Jama
masjid in Delhi and the Muslim Personal Law Board have
all come out in favor of the Dalai Lama's effort.
The VHP has generally resisted any "outsiders"
mediating in the Ayodhya dispute as it sees the temple
issue as its turf. The sudden willingness to allow the
Dalai Lama to mediate is said to have more to do with
upcoming general elections in the country rather than
any mellowing down in the VHP's outlook. Many believe
that the latest initiative on the Ayodhya dispute and
the backing the Dalai Lama has received is an attempt by
the Sangh Parivar, especially the BJP, to bring the
issue to the fore in the run-up to the general
elections. With a peace process with Pakistan in place,
the ruling BJP might be looking for a breakthrough in
its attempts to resolve the Ayodhya dispute in the hope
that it will contribute to building an image of the
party as one that is amenable to settlement of disputes
through dialogue.
There is some skepticism as to
how successful the Dalai Lama will be. His stature
notwithstanding, whether the interested parties to the
dispute will heed the Tibetan leader's suggestions is a
moot point. The parties to the dispute have a vested
interest in keeping the conflict simmering.
Drawing attention to some of the drawbacks in
the Dalai Lama assuming a mediatory role in the Ayodhya
dispute, the Times of India says: "The mandir-masjid
controversy is divisive in nature and a third party like
the Dalai Lama clearly has no locus standi
[standing] in it. Any proposal he makes towards conflict
resolution would be used as a political tool and would
not be acceptable to all the parties concerned."
Some have suggested that India's Muslims could
make a generous gesture and give up their claim to the
site in Ayodhya. Hindus point out that the site, after
all, is not as significant to Muslims as it is to
Hindus. They argue that the Ayodhya site is central to
Hinduism as Mecca is to Islam. While there seems to be
some support for this among the Muslim community, there
are fears that if they give up claims on Ayodhya, a
jubilant VHP will press ahead with its demands on
similar contentious sites in Mathura and Kashi. When
asked whether the Sangh Parivar would give up its
demands on Mathura and Kashi if a temple was allowed to
be built in Ayodhya, the VHP International general
secretary Praveen Togadia replied that its demands on
Ayodhya, Mathura and Kashi were not negotiable.
An editorial in the Deccan Herald points out:
"There is till now no indication that the parties to the
dispute have changed their positions and attitudes. When
the declared aim is to make the other party be seen as
the loser, how can a win-win solution be evolved?
Ayodhya is not seen in isolation, other disputed shrines
have also been made part of the issue now. The Dalai
Lama may have to first change the basic mindset and
attitudes that created and aggravated the Ayodhya issue,
in order to find an acceptable solution."
It is
not the stature of the mediator that would enable a
resolution of the Ayodhya dispute. What is required is a
spirit of compromise on the part of the parties to the
dispute, which is still lacking. Therefore, the Dalai
Lama initiative could end up as just another twist in
the Ayodhya tangle.
(Copyright 2004 Asia Times
Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact content@atimes.com for
information on our sales and syndication policies.)
|
| |
|
|
 |
|
