The SC order on mediation has allowed Modi some reprieve to act decisively on the temple issue

The Supreme Court has clearly neutralised the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case, given its gravitas in our body politics and hold on our national consciousness, and dissociated it from the considerations of electoral politics. In that sense, yes it is healing. It has ordered mediation in the case by a three-member panel including spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Justice (Retd) FM Kalifulla and senior advocate Sriram Panchu in a time-bound manner, all of whom have a proven track record in dispute resolution through consensus. Of course, the mediation process, to be done in eight weeks, is no easy project considering that there have been at least three reconciliatory attempts in the past that haven’t got any of the three parties — the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla — closer to resolution. Even now, reports suggest that both sides are adamant about their stated positions. For both Muslims and Hindus, compromise equals climbdown when it comes to the legitimacy of the mosque and the temple. But as the court said, the past cannot be undone and the only option was to take things forward hereon.

The Hindu right-wing, which has based its claim to political legacy on the temple, cannot afford to water down Ayodhya. And in times of polarisation, even the BJP has but to address its core constituency. For it has derived only incremental advantages by converting what was once an upper caste concern to a heartland plank. Though the rath yatra by veteran BJP leader LK Advani laid the foundation of the movement, it was not until the demolition of the mosque that the construction of the Ram temple wrested the pan-India narrative. So, BJP will never be able to settle for half measures on the mandir issue though the traction has been diminishing over the years, compelling even RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to declare that the subject should be taken up after the general elections. The temple issue even failed to create a ripple effect in last year’s bypolls and Assembly elections in the heartland states, considering its supporters were mostly concentrated there. Truth be told, the Pulwama terror attacks and the Balakot airstrikes have given a nationalist and pan-India surge that has shored up Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ratings and the party can now afford to delay its Ayodhya strategy instead of giving into the pressure of issuing an ordinance from ideologues of the Sangh Parivar. Although Modi has clarified that any discussion on Ayodhya would be considered only after the judicial process is over, it is true that even two months ago, he had been expected to take an imponderable step to ensure  temple construction, the cascading effect of which would have posed a double-edged threat to his electoral prospects and governance. So the top court’s offer of mediation, with a friendly spiritual guru on the panel, has spared Modi and given him the time and reprieve to push this issue on the backburner. Post-elections, it will be another matter.