Ayodhya, THE UNEASE is clearly palpable here in the narrow streets of the twin towns of Ayodhya and Faizabad where Hindus and Muslims have lived cheek by jowl for centuries. Today, both communities, separate yet interdependent and wary of the other after the initial bloodletting, are gearing up for Friday, unsure of what will happen after September 24 when the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court is scheduled to deliver its judgment on the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi title suit.

“We have faith in Allah,” says Inayat Rasool and Mohammad Qumar Siddiqui, residents of Ayodhya. “The situation is peaceful so far. The Mayawati government has tightened security around here. But will it remain the same after September 24?” they ask nervously.

In 1992, security forces had been deployed in large numbers, the Rapid Action Force was ready to face any eventuality, they pointed out. At that time, the administration was in favour of the karsevakas. This time, a more ambivalent chief minister in BSP leader Mayawati is monitoring the situation closely. The number of police personnel and security forces is increasing by the day, armed and at the ready, deployed at every nook and corner.

Significantly, there is agreement among both Muslims and Hindus that a judgment in this case is unlikely to be executed as it would be challenged in the top court immediately.

Mahant Rameshdas, a “mahant” at Hanumangadi Akhada, raised an interesting point when he said that while “it was easy to demolish the structure (Babri Masjid) but it would be difficult to build a temple,” while saying that he is confident that the situation would remain peaceful even after the September 24 judgment. Ayodhya’s Hindus and Muslims here also blame “outsiders” for creating the communal divide, deeply upset over the drop in the number of pilgrims over the alarm whipped up by the media and leaders ahead of the verdict.

Mohammad Aqueel, who runs a tiny clock shop, and Alok Tulsyan, a 20-year-old youth running a small mobile centre in Ayodhya, put the blame squarely on outsiders for creating tension here.

But in Faizabad, adjacent to Ayodhya, the scene couldn’t be more different. The business of life unfolds. Shops in the Chowk, on Swami Dayanand Marg, and the Khawaspura areas are full of customers, many of whom firmly believe that the situation will never slide back to the blood and gore of pre-December 1992.

But both communities put the BJP, Samajwadi Party and the Congress squarely in the dock for exploiting the sentiments of the people to gain political mileage over the last 20 years.

What has the BJP done for the Ram Mandir after coming to power at the Centre but dilute the issue under the common minimum programme, they ask. Mulayam Singh Yadav had aligned with the man — Kalyan Singh, the man guilty of demolishing the Babri Masjid, with a calculation that his OBC card would help him in elections, they add. “This shows Mulayam Singh’s convictions and opportunism,” say the residents who did not wish to be named.

It was during the Congress regime that the locks of the Ram Mandir were opened, shilanyas was performed. An election campaign was launched from here and later the Congress government at the Centre failed to protect the masjid on December 6, 1992, they recalled. With the issue completely politicised and the administration’s role suspect in the past, no one quite knows what to expect.