March 15 may be the beginning of the end of a problem in India that is now been a major religious issue that is now decades old. The Ram Janmabhoomi – Babri Masjid Land Dispute! Supreme Court has appointed a 3 member bench for the mediation of the Ram Janmabhoomi case, the bench includes of Retired Supreme Court judge Fakir Mohamed Ibrahim Kalifulla, spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravishankar and senior advocate Sriram Panchu, headed by Justice FMI Kalifulla.
It is expected to be a two months-long mediation process around Ram Janmabhoomi issue as per the SC guidelines. The Ayodhya Mediation bench is receiving a mixed response and has been a constant source of political entertainment for the Twitteratis.
However, the members of the bench have the highest regards among all communities alike. Justice Kalifulla has been known to serve the people of J&K trying to fighting for their right to have justice. He has also served as the CJI of Jammu and Kashmir. His public service and honorable career makes him a man of high value in the Ayodhya Mediation bench and thus the heading authority in the mediation of this decades-old Ram Janmabhoomi dispute.
Sri Sri Ravishankar is among the most well-known spiritual gurus of India and has been involved in the front lines for the mediation of the Ram Janmabhoomi – Babri Masjid dispute. He had met the Sunni Waqf Board, All India Muslim Personal Law Board last year in an attempt of an out-of-court settlement of this issue. Sri Sri Ravishankar’s Art of Living had given the statement that the meetings were definitely fruitful and an agreement was reached to move the Masjid outside to another place and that they are receiving cooperation in this matter.
Advocate Sriram Panchu is hailed by all as an expert in mediation owing to the fact that he is the founder of the country’s first Court-annexed mediation center named The Mediation Chambers. Apart from being the president of the Association of Indian Mediators, Advocate Panchu has authored several books on Mediation including Mediation: Practice and Law. Hence, an obvious and a great choice for the Ayodhya Mediation bench.
The SC has chosen a mediation bench that is qualified both in terms of the techniques of mediation and also qualified to enforce the sentiment of the communities involved. The court had said that it’s not a dispute of land, it’s a dispute of two faiths.
However, based on a poll on Twitter by Republic TV asking directly whether India can get a solution on Ram Janmabhoomi issue by May, it seems that the people don’t believe there will be a resolution to this issue anytime soon as more than 67% have answered NO to the question. Is the Ayodhya Mediation bench going to fail to resolve the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute? Or is it just the people?
Sri Sri Ravishankar had tweeted “Respecting everyone, turning dreams to reality, ending long-standing conflicts happily and maintaining harmony in society – we must all move together towards these goals.” after his appointment in the Ayodhya mediator bench.
The issue being highly religious in nature, the Twitter has a mixed reaction with questions on the neutrality of Sri Sri Ravishankar and in turn others questioning the neutrality of Justice kalifulla.
Living up to the trend of being very vocal and vested in the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute, in a Tweet Asaduddin Owaisi went ahead and even questioned the public standing of the widely hailed spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravishankar and also questioned the judgement of Supreme Court in appointing him in the Ayodhya mediation bench in a case that is being watched by the entire country at the moment, The Ram Janmabhoomi – Babri Masjid Land Dispute!
