It is an irony that should escape no one. The BJP is now suffering the wrath of its gods. The party that used the Ayodhya issue to muscle its way into power is lost in a maze of its own creation. It must be seen to act in a responsible manner as a leader of the Government yet must also reassure its rank and file that it remains committed to the mission of Hindutva. This is why the BJP now speaks in riddles. On the one hand, it says it will stand by the Supreme Court's verdict disallowing the symbolic puja. On the other, it attempts to get the puja allowed through a devious route.

Modern India appears doomed to endure governments that lose their way. When crises require leaders to show iron political will, all they produce is the petty politics of compromise. Rajiv Gandhi's government frittered away a historic opportunity by introducing the Muslim Women's Bill in 1986 to appease the Muslim orthodoxy after the Shah Bano judgement. He then went to the other extreme by facilitating the opening of the gates of the Babri Masjid-the frightening consequences of which we are still suffering.

V.P. Singh made a promising beginning as prime minister, then decided to play the Mandal card and wreak havoc on the nation. It all led to the build-up of the Ayodhya movement and the emergence of the BJP. P.V. Narasimha Rao was another casualty of Ayodhya with the mid-term destruction of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992. After that the Rao government floundered to its end in 1996, enmeshed in scandals.

It has been correctly said that revolutions often devour their own children. It seems Ayodhya's next victim will be the BJP. Our cover story this week is an attempt to study the Ayodhya issue in its exhaustive-and exhausting-entirety. Managing Editor Swapan Dasgupta details the complex legal history of the issue, while Associate Editor Ashok Malik and Special Correspondent Sharad Gupta report on the situation on the ground. Undoubtedly, the country needs to settle this vexatious dispute and start paying attention to more important issues.

(Aroon Purie)