The Ayodhya Mediation – An Optimist's View

Public opinion is divided on the decision of the Supreme Court of India to refer the Ayodhya dispute to mediation. In a TED talk, William Ury, expert negotiator and co-author of "Getting to Yes", points out that there is always a "third side" in any conflict. In the context of the Middle East conflict, William Ury talks about the history of the Middle East tracing it to the journey that the Prophet Abraham undertook across the Middle East. Ury calls Abraham the symbolic "third side" of the Middle East conflict. Can the people of Ayodhya, along with Lord Ram, be the "third side" holding the key to a resolution?