December 23, 1949- Abdul Sees Divine Ram Lalla

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Transcript

00:00 Outlook brings to you excerpts from the issue titled 'In the Name of Ram'

00:04 It analyses the narrative of Ayodhya

00:07 What was, what is and where will it go from here?

00:11 December 23, 1949

00:14 Abdul sees divine Ram Lalla by Balbir Punj

00:18 Balbir Punj is a social and political commentator

00:22 Global history is replete with instances where faith has overshadowed all other considerations

00:29 On Friday, December 23, 1949

00:33 Not too long after independence, the Shriram Janbhoomi dispute resurfaced

00:38 when Ram Lalla idols mysteriously appeared in the Babri structure at Ayodhya in the dead of the night

00:45 That day was destined to become a starting point for a long drawn-out legal battle

00:51 and a protracted public movement of unprecedented scale in the history of free India

00:57 Soon, a small group of devotees chanting 'Prakat Tripala Din Dayala'

01:03 arrived on the scene, leading to commotion in the wee hours of the morning

01:08 a time when usually it was all quiet in Ayodhya, particularly at the Babri structure

01:14 For the believers, the emergence of Ram Lalla was a divine phenomenon

01:19 A surprise statement by Abdul Barkat, a Muslim police constable on duty at the police outpost

01:25 at Ram Janbhoomi on the night between 22nd and 23rd December 1949

01:31 made before a magistrate later

01:35 further strengthened the devotees' belief of the divinity of the episode that midnight

01:40 In Shriram Janmabhoomi, historical and legal perspective

01:44 Justice Devaki Nandan has provided this version of Abdul Barkat's testimony before a court

01:50 While on duty that night, he saw a flash of divine light inside the Babri Masjid

01:56 Gradually, that light became golden and in that he saw the figure of a very beautiful god-like child

02:03 of four or five years, the likes of which he had never seen before in his life

02:08 The sight sent him into a trance and when he recovered his senses

02:13 he found that the lock on the main gate of the mosque was lying broken

02:17 and a huge crowd of Hindus had entered the building and were performing the Aarti of the idol

02:24 Skeptics may term Abdul Barkat's account of the events as weird

02:28 a figment of the imagination of a possibly disturbed mind or a simple case of hallucination

02:35 However, any establishment responsive to public sensibilities would normally deal with such a situation

02:42 with empathy and compassion transcending legal and procedural technicalities

02:48 For this and more, read the latest issue of Outlook.