What was remarkable was not the Babri Masjid ruling itself, but the way it was received. The Ayodhya site of the mosque, which was destroyed by Hindu extremists in 1992, will be split two ways, with two thirds allocated to Hindu groups and one to Muslims. If the ruling stands, the most contested area, where the mosque's dome once stood, will remain in the hands of Hindus. The legal decision was almost overshadowed by security fears and the 200,000 police and soldiers on the streets of Uttar Pradesh state. Those fears were well-founded. The 1992 mob action incited the worst sectarian violence in India since partition in 1947. But while the media and security forces may have been on a knife edge yesterday, there were few signs of the frenzy that fueled the bloodshed 18 years ago. Two days before the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, stability is the country's highest priority.
"India has moved on. Young people have moved on," said Palaniappan Chidambaram, the home minister. He is right, although not as much as might be wished. Certainly the run-up to the court ruling was dominated by powerful symbols of unity; the government's India First campaign, fronted by Bollywood superstars including Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan, held sway in the public eye instead of the hate mongers of years past.
India still has deep wounds to heal. The demagogues of years past still pour poison into their adherents' ears. Bal Thackeray, the leader of the Hindu extremist group Shiv Sena, still holds court in Mumbai after having inflamed passions following the razing of the mosque. Equally, the criminal gang of Dawood Ibrahim, who is the prime suspect in the 1993 bombing campaign, still controls swathes of the same city.
Prominent figures will continue to foment hate and exploit sectarian differences. India's pluralism is both its greatest strength and its greatest vulnerability. While the court's decision left something to be desired, hopefully the resiliency of civil society in the next few days will prove that the agitators are a diminished force. Contrary to the expectations of some, this ruling is not a resolution. Many sides plan to appeal to the supreme court in a process that could last years. "It's not a victory or defeat for any party. It's a step forward," said Zaffaryab Jilani, a Muslim advocate in the case. "We hope this matter will be resolved."
The world's largest democracy is a work in progress, and always will be. There are fundamental tensions to be resolved, not least justice for the many victims of communal violence of the past decades. While this decision may not satisfy on all counts, we stand with the majority of Indians who put the country ahead of dangerous sectarian polemics.