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Politics Business Expressions General Sports Leisure States 04 March 1998   Don't mess with the verdict The Chinese torture continues as the last results filter in. But there is one clear difference this time around. There should not be any confusion as to who the President should invite to form the government first.   A monument to reconciliation The proposal to erect a national monument at the Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya and to locate the Ram Mandir and a mosque at some distance from the monument sounds reasonable. Its acceptability can be rated higher than of any other solution, including a judicial verdict. Rights and wealth, very human Human rights cannot exist if they are divorced from the wealth production processes in any country. Yet the mass of humanity in the countries constituting the developing world faces denial of human rights because the political, economic, legal and information managers of their societies ensure this divorce. The rightful claimant If any party can claim to have the mandate to form a government at the Centre, it is the Bharatiya Janata Party. It has not only emerged as the single largest party but, together with its allies, it needs the support of a little less than 30 more MPs whereas the next party, the Congress, requires thrice that number.   Bow to the voter Whatever the other ambiguities of the 1998 elections -- and there are many -- the Congress cannot complain of a lack of clarity about its own verdict. The party has improved its tally from 1996, but the message clearly is for it to sit in opposition for the term of this Lok Sabha. Dramatis personae Another battle has been lost. Four years ago we stopped teaching Shakespeare in our school. "What use is it anyway," the Bard's detractors carped. "It's a relic of the Raj that we can do without. And why tax poor little heads?" But I believe Shakespeare is more than just literature. His work is a great civilising experience.