In India, a government-appointed panel probing the 1992 demolition of the Babri mosque in the northern Indian town of Ayodhya by Hindu extremists has submitted its report 17 years after it was set up, according to an Urdu daily.
The Liberhan Commission, whose tenure was extended 48 times, submitted its report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday.
The December 6, 1992 demolition of the Babri mosque led to riots between Hindu and Muslim communities in India, most singularly when Mumbai was rocked by a series of bomb blasts in early 1993, masterminded by underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, who now reportedly lives in Pakistan.
The Liberhan Commission report prompted opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to declare its commitment to building a Hindu temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya, an issue that once polarized India.
Several BJP leaders, including its prime ministerial candidate Lal Krishna Advani, are blamed to have incited a crowd of Hindu extremists to attack the Babri mosque in Ayodhya.
The Liberhan Commission’s report is yet to be tabled in the Indian parliament.
Source: Roznama Munsif, India, July 1, 2009
