‘On Dec 6, I wept too’

‘‘It (mosque) should be built where it is required. It’s not required in Ayodhya where people are already worshipping. A mosque should be built where there are Muslims.’’

He claimed the disputed sites at Kashi and Mathura too would be turned over to the Hindus.

‘‘They (the Muslim leadership) want a solution, but there’s a lot of grief within. They want to assuage the feelings of their own community…There’s nothing wrong with the Muslim community, it’s just a handful of leaders who are being difficult.

‘‘It will be difficult to find a political or a judicial solution because that will upset both sides. So, you need a negotiated settlement outside the court and the government can then go and tell the court. Only then can there be a settlement.’’

Conceding that the demolition of the Babri Masjid had caused great pain and anger among Muslims, the Shankaracharya said it was for the courts to punish people behind it. The court, he said, was doing its job.

‘‘When the mosque was demolished, everyone cried — from Narasimha Rao downward. Even I wept.’’ Asked if he could guarantee that no mosques would be demolished in future if the Muslims were to agree and settle the Ayodhya issue, he said: ‘‘Koi nahin girayega (nobody will demolish).’’

Asked where the Hindu faith was going in the age of globalisation, given the kind of campaigns by the VHP, he said: ‘‘The Hindus and India have nothing to fear from globalization. What we need is a rational approach: Indianise the heart, thereby the culture; globalise the mind, thereby the intellect.’’