Author:
Publication: The Asian Age
Date: April 12, 2001
The Union sports minister Uma Bharati
has said, that she believes that the disputed structure in Ayodhya which
was demolished on December 6, 1992 was a symbol of slavery.
Deposing before the Liberhan Commission,
probing the sequence of events which led to the demolition of the structure,
Ms Bharati said, "There was no conspiracy involved in the demolition of
the structure. I have always considered the disputed structure not only
a symbol of slavery but also an insult to the nation."
She said that she does not subscribe
to things which are known in the name of a person, who came not as a guest
but as an aggressor. She said that she does not link it to any religion.
"I believe that whatever be the religion of the citizens of the country,
their approach towards an aggressor should be that he is an aggressor."
She further said, "My national sentiments
were hurt whenever I heard that this place was called Babri structure."
When she was asked whether she was aware that Babur had been invited by
a king of this country she said, "No one can become a guest of the country
only because he is invited by a traitor.
However, I do not confirm it as
a historical fact."Replying to another query that a large number of historians
also believe that Aryans too had come as aggressors and usurped land from
Dravidians, she said, "The question where the Aryans come from is still
being debated. Secondly a large number of historians believe that Aryans
came from the foothills of Himalayas."
During her cross examination when
it was pointed out to her that there are more than 15 criminal cases lodged
against her, she said, that since she has participated in several movements
it is possible that cases have been foisted on her.
When it was pointed out to her that
her fiery speeches in Ganjdundwan, in Etah, in 1990-91 had resulted in
communal riots, she contested that the riots had broken out even before
she had entered the town.
She said that she was literally
pleading with the police to let her go and deliver a speech so that the
riot would stop but instead she was driven out of the district.
