A group of Left-wing historians today alleged that the ASI was ‘‘under pressure’’ from Tourism and Culture Minister Jagmohan to unearth some or the other evidence in Ayodhya to prove Sangh Parivar’s claim that a temple existed there.Historians Irfan Habib and Suraj Bhan said it was because of such ‘‘pressure’’ that ASI sought more time to excavate close to the make-shift temple even after digging over 80 trenches in the vicinity. RSS backs VHP’s Kashi-Mathura temple agenda New Delhi: Strategically timing its public response on the Government’s so-called negotiations on Ayodhya issue with BJP’s Chintan Shivir, RSS today made it clear that it will neither drop its Kashi-Mathura temples agenda, nor will the Muslim community be allowed to offer prayers at the ASI protected Islamic monuments. In a signal to the Government, RSS also supported VHP’s stand on Kashi-Mathura and Ayodhya. After a meeting between RSS chief K.S. Sudarshan and VHP leaders Ashok Singhal and Praveen Togadia here today, it was decided that they will ‘‘not give up the Kashi-Mathura issue’’. Both Sudarshan and Singhal in their meetings with Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati, had indicated that they cannot give a ‘‘future promise’’ to abandon the Kashi-Mathura issue. ‘‘At that time, negotiations were at a preliminary stage. Both Sudarshanji and Singhal hoped that their opinion would be noted. However, the Government seems to be pushing the proposals despite their opposition to it,’’ sources said. This was one reason why the RSS chief chose to back VHP while sending a clear message to the BJP Chintan Shivir which is deliberating the Ayodhya issue. Regarding the opening of 1,000 ASI-protected monuments for Friday prayers, RSS spokesperson Ram Madhav today said: ‘‘The RSS fully supports the VHP stand on these issues as the move to allow namaz in these mosques would only open a can of worms. It will not help resolve issues.’’ ENS Bhan said the ASI, left to itself, would have taken barely two weeks to complete the excavations as it did not need to dig more than one trench on each of the four sides of Ram Lalla.Bhan said ASI has ‘‘dug up and destroyed what the kar sevaks didn’t demolish, namely the floors and foundation walls of the mosque. In any archaeological operation, such treatment of monuments would be totally impermissible’’.Since no evidence of a temple has emerged despite all efforts, VHP and its supporters, Habib said, ‘‘are now falling back on faith’’ and demanding a legislation to hand over the site for construction of a temple. But, since they are unable to produce any scriptural authority or document to show that Lord Rama was born exactly at this spot, ‘‘the faith they are talking about is only faith invented by them’’, he added.Habib said the BJP, ‘‘faced with the embarassing situation the excavations have placed them, is now speaking of a compromise.’’ He also denounced the reported conditions of the settlement formally proposed by the Kanchi Shankaracharya.The condition that Muslims can build a mosque 10 km away from the proposed temple, he said, does not take into account that there is already a mosque less than two km from the site. ‘‘Anyone who owns land can build a mosque at any distance from the Babri Masjid. This 10-km restriction does not make any sense,’’ said the historian.Regarding the other condition of the ‘‘compromise’’ that Hindu claims on moques at Varanasi and Mathura will not be pursued, Habib pointed out that any change in the religious status of a place of worship was forbidden by a law enacted in 1991. ‘‘What the proposed compromise suggests is that this is an open issue, which it is not.’’
