Ayodhya Verdict: Odisha Hails ‘Harbinger Of Communal Harmony’

Ayodhya Verdict: Odisha Hails ‘Harbinger Of Communal Harmony’

The historic verdict by the Supreme Court has finally brought the curtains down on the long lingering Ayodhya land title dispute on Saturday.

A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi ordered that the disputed site should be handed over to a government trust to build a temple. The top court also ordered the allotment of a five-acre land to the Sunni Waqf board to build a mosque in Ayodhya.

Following the verdict, people in Odisha hailed it as a harbinger of communal harmony and peace in the country.

“This is the decision of the Supreme Court and we all have respect towards it. Indeed, this has effectively ended the hundreds of year-old controversy and conflict,” said political analyst Kamala Kanta Dash.

“While the SC has assigned the land to build a temple, it has also ordered that a separate piece of land measuring 5 acres be given to the Muslim party to build a mosque. This is a great gesture by which communal harmony will be restored,” Dash said.

“We as citizens are thankful to the government, people and the mediation team with Sri Sri Ravishankar being a member, who also suggested that we need to look at all communities to uphold and respect unity in diversity,” he added.

Senior citizens also welcomed the SC verdict as a positive step towards religious inclusiveness.

“We the senior citizens have seen this dispute grow and the violence in its aftermath. But this morning, the SC gave a historic judgment to end all that. I feel it should be welcomed by each and every citizen of India,” averred Baidyanarayan Mohanty, a retired lecturer.

“Religion is a thin and sharp line which if misused, could not only divide people and bring riots, but break a nation into pieces. It has happened in the past. According to me, the verdict by the top court has set a good example for religious harmony and inclusiveness,” he added.

On their part, the youth echoed the sentiment that the verdict will strengthen the concept of unity in diversity in the country.

“Since I was a kid, I have been hearing about this dispute from the elders in my family. Much later when I read the details, I felt that whatever the decision may be in future and whosoever it would favor, the unity of the nation should not be affected,” said Riyyan Farooq, an undergraduate student of psychology.

“India is a land of diverse cultures and that is what makes us unique across the globe. I am a student of psychology, but I also have a keen interest in reading history. Today’s decision by the SC is proof of peace, harmony, and equality in India. I sincerely hope that the other citizens of India would accept it positively and wholeheartedly. This is because our ‘past’ should never affect what we are in ‘present’,” he added.