On 27 November 1095, pope urban the second gave a history-changing speech that ended with the Latin cry Deus volt, God wills it. The crusades began. The princes of Christian Europe united to reclaim the holy land. The first crusade ended in July 1099, with the establishment of the kingdom of Jerusalem and it's neighbouring crusader states. They were in turn booted out by the Islamic prince Saladin in 1187 after his infamous victory at the battle of the horns of Hattin. The city of Jerusalem fell to Saladin. The holy land since the times Moses lead the salvation of the Jews from the Egyptian pharaoh. The battle for Jerusalem hasn't ended to this day. Almost a 1000 years. The promised land of the jews, near which Christ was born in Bethlehem and was he underwent his passion. Jerusalem also is home to the dome of the rock, which in Islamic lore was the spot from which the Prophet Mohammad ascended into heaven. 3 of the world's great and ancient religions laid claim to a single spot. There were never any crusades in India. The jihads that did take place were more for power and land conquest. Barring hemu, there was scarce any Hindu who used religion as a pretext to wage war. It was a factor for Shivaji perhaps and the Rajputs, but not the overriding one. The one other great ancient religion of the world lays claim to a site in Ayodhya, convinced it's the birthplace of lord ram. The place where babur would come and build a masjid in the 16th century. There is no religious dispute beyond that. Christ wasn't born in Ayodhya, it's not Mecca, it's not medina. India has never had a religious crusade, despite partition. The restoration of ram to Ayodhya which was hijacked by a violent act of destruction 3 decades ago, is likely to be completed by a nation giving due respect to a Hindu faith, which let's face it, found no reparation for the Ghaznis and Ghoris of old. Today, the VHP has once again begun a campaign in Ayodhya for the temple. They were joined by the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. The biggest political power game is on in the country. The Ram Mandir is at the heart of it. The BJP needs to be seen to be acting, not just talking. The congress is happy to point to this as the BJP's big failure. But away from the politics, there's the rest of us Indians. What a marvel it would be for the subcontinent to have ram restored to Ayodhya peaceably. What a statement it would be of who we are, one nation, united by, not divided by, our great if tumultuous past. The original idea of India. So why are there still some raising disputes over the surrounding undisputed land around the spot? If the Supreme Court was to allow use of the undisupted land, can we see the beginning of the mandir? What more can be done? What less is required?