Too many irons in Ayodhya fire: How Narendra Modi is managing the dispute

Modi's trying to manage the dispute while keeping the VHP at a distance but his own motivations and the issue's volatility ensure a straight course is unlikely

When Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the Art of Living Foundation maker, initiated an effort to “resolve” the Ayodhya tangle, he joined a line of past negotiators that included ‘tantrik’ Chandraswami and Jayendra Saraswathi, pontiff of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham. 

There’s a difference, though. Chandraswami and the Kanchi Shankaracharya were directly engaged by former prime ministers Narasimha Rao and Atal Behari Vajpayee, respectively, when the Ayodhya dispute became too much of a hot potato to hold. It’s unclear if the spiritual guru from Bengaluru was empowered by the Narendra Modi government to begin talks on Ayodhya with the Shia Waqf Board