Unfinished Business in Ayodhya

Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them.
- Epictetus

If there's one thing the whole of India seems to be scared of, it's Ayodhya, or what the courts are going to decide about it to be more specific.

Rather than a clash between Hindu and Muslim which it was, the Ayodhya issue is today also a clash between the new and the old Indias. In the Old India, your identity defined you, and you therefore had to defend your identity at all costs. Even if it meant hanging onto a symbol of medieval barbarism merely to annoy the "other". Even if it meant breaking the law and demolishing a disputed structure which you'd promised not to harm. In a world constrained for space, maximizing yours at the expense of the "other" was the norm. Who got that piece of land and got to build their place of worship was the issue.

In the emerging New India your identity is merely incidental. It is a label, signifying your roots, but one that does not bind you to ghosts and hurts long buried. When Azim Premji talks to N R Narayana Murthy, you can bet your last line of C code that Ayodhya hardly ever comes up. When Habil Khorakiwala meets Dr Pratap Reddy, one presumes they have a lot of other things to talk about. In a world which we are beginning to get the first tantalizing glimpses of, there's enough room for everyone. There are more important things to worry about than a piece of land with a chequered history.

So the real question about Ayodhya is not what the courts will decide, but will the new India prevail over the Old to take whatever verdict comes its way, and get a move on?

For the record, lets do what the Great Bong recommends, and build a mall there.