Ayodhya verdict: Bollywood appeals people to maintain calm

The Film Fraternity in Mumbai has made a passionate appeal to the people in the country's financial capital to exercise restrain and maintain calm in view of the Allahabad high court's verdict in the Ayodhya title case scheduled to be delivered this afternoon.

The appeal, which has been published in a leading morning newspaper, referred the 1992-93 riots in the aftermath of the Babri mosque demolition and said Mumbai has been deeply wounded and scarred 18 years ago with the weapons of hate, and there is widespread fear that those weapons might be unleashed again, by one side or the other.

"We urge you not to let this succeed. We urge you not to let politics and politicians strike at your lives and your livelihood to serve their purposes. We urge you: don't pick up that stone. Don't let your blood boil listening to that rhetorical communal speech. And more importantly, when there is the opportunity to soothe nerves and help bring peace, don't look away," the appeal said.

"Because long after the first stone has been thrown, the first gash made, the first fire rages, long after the traders of hate go home, it is you, and us, who will be left to live with the debris of disaster. But, we know better, We will not let them do this," it added.

On September 23, several film personalities like Ranbir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Farhan Akhtar, Ajay Devgan, Priyanka Chopra and others had addressed a press conference at Mehboob studios urging fellow Mumbaikars and their fans in the rest of the country to maintain peace and communal harmony.