The Liberhan Commission has indicted 68 persons in the demolition of the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid structure on December 6, 1992. Some of them, notably Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani, do not deserve to be in that list. However, after reading the report, I am constrained to add a 69th name: the commission itself.

The commission is guilty of self-indictment on many counts. First, it has discredited itself by taking 17 long years, and seeking as many as 48 extensions, to submit its report. The honourable retired judge of the Supreme Court could have easily completed his mandate in less than half the time. Sadly, the lure of enjoying post-retirement perks in Lutyens’ Delhi is a spreading malady among members of the higher bureaucracy and judiciary.

Second, seventeen years is sufficient time for any judge to prepare a cogent report, informed by clarity of thought and free of factual and grammatical howlers. Sadly, the Liberhan report takes a trophy for shoddy writing. One of many examples: India’s former President is referred to as “Dr Abdul Kalam Azad” on page 878.

Third, the report is riddled with self-contradiction. A glaring instance is this: the learned judge is simply unable to cast a clear judgment on the role played by Advani, who was by far the most important ideologue and leader of the BJP’s Ayodhya movement. Many crucial references to Advani are, in fact, such that they project him in a positive light, as one who never wanted the disputed structure to be demolished but was insisting on its peaceful and dignified relocation, who never uttered a single word to demonise Islam or the Muslim community throughout his rath yatra, who had no prior knowledge of the demolition plan, who actively tried to dissuade an unruly section of karsevaks from climbing onto the structure, and who was extremely sad and dejected at the vandalism that took place on December 6. Indeed, Liberhan’s discomfiture in indicting Advani is so obvious as to give rise to a strong suspicion that the commission’s report might have been significantly different had the UPA not returned to office in May 2009.

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