Little success in mediation on Ayodhya dispute

Over the last three decades, there have been several attempts— court-mandated as well as by individuals— to resolve the Ayodhya dispute through mediation but with little success.

In 1990, the then prime minister Chandrashekhar made an attempt to resolve the Ayodhya dispute through talks after the Babri mosque was vandalised but failed.

In 1992, the then prime minister P V Narasimha Rao also took the mediation path but with little success.

In 2001, the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee too tried the mediation route, a year later the influential pontiff of the Kanchi mutt Jayendra Saraswati got written undertakings from the VHP and Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas to abide by the court verdict.

The VHP retracted after the court disallowed puja in the sanctum sanctorum.

In 2003, Saraswati again attempted to mediate but this time the All India Muslim Personal Law Board shot down his proposals.

The Dalai Lama also made an effort in 2004, but with little success.

The three-judge bench of the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court, too, had tried mediation after the litigants concluded their arguments on August 3, 2010. But all ended in rejection.

A retired bureaucrat, Ramesh Chandra Tripathi, had moved a plea seeking mediation, but his petition was rejected by a three-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court by a 2:1 majority.

In 2015, Mohammad Hashim Ansari, the oldest litigant in the case, also tried the mediation route.

Two years later, Sri Sri Ravishankar too attempted to resolve the issue through talks, but did not succeed.