Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 4: The final clearance for the construction of the mosque in Ayodhya sanctioned by the Supreme Court under the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute settlement scheme has been given by the Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA), official sources said on Saturday.
The ADA gave the final sanction for the construction of the mosque (yet to be constructed) on Friday. The Supreme Court while announcing the settlement had given the sanction to the Muslims for the construction of the mosque while allotting the now demolished Babri Masjid land to the Hindus for the construction of the Ram temple.
The clearance was given about three years after the settlement of the long-drawn dispute over the Ram Janmabhoomi land. During the period, the Hindus were allowed to go ahead with the construction of the Ram Temple, which is nearing completion and is expected to be opened for public by the year-end, the mosque was awaiting administrative clearance before it can start laying the first brick for the construction of the proposed mosque even as in parallel across the Saryu river on its main bank the grandiose Ram temple is nearing completion.
In November 2019, the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court permitted the construction of a temple in Ayodhya, at the site where the 16th century Babri Masjid once stood, after being brought down by Hindu fundamentalist groups. In the same order of over 1,000 pages, the top Court had asked the government — either the Centre or Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) — to allot a “prominent and suitable” 5-acre plot in Ayodhya to the Sunni Central Waqf Board, to construct a mosque. “This should be done simultaneously with the transfer of the property to the proposed trust [for the temple],” the order had said.
The Sunni Central Waqf Board later formed the Indo-Islamic Culture Foundation (IICF) to execute the construction of the mosque which was named as Masjid-E-Ayodhya. The U.P. government allotted five acres of land for to IICF in Dhannipur, 25 kms from Ayodhya city.
Mr. Gaurav Dayal, Divisional Commissioner of Ayodhya and Chairman of ADA said the ADA had informed the authorities of IICF and it has approved the project of the mosque in the Board meeting held on Friday. “Sanctioned maps will be handed over to IICF after a few departmental formalities which are to be completed within couple of days,” Mr. Dayal said.
Mr. Arshad Afzaal Khan, one of the trustees of IICF, said the Trust was planning to apply for the sanction of the map online from ADA sometime around March 13, which probably will be the last step before starting the construction of the mosque. “We will hold the meeting of all trustees after the month of Ramzan to finalise the plan to start the construction of the mosque at the site,” Khan said, adding that the foundation of the mosque was laid on January 26, 2021, but nothing moved since then due to administrative hurdles.
“We chose this day for laying the foundation of the Ayodhya mosque as on this day India’s constitution came into effect more than seven decades ago. Our constitution is based on pluralism, which is also the leitmotif of our mosque project,” he said.
The new mosque will be bigger than Babri masjid, but won’t be a lookalike of the structure which once stood in Ayodhya, the IICF trustees informed. The hospital would hold centre stage and would serve the humanity in the true spirit of Islam as taught by the prophet 1,400 years ago.
The hospital won’t be a usual concrete structure but will be in sync with the architecture of the mosque, replete with calligraphy and Islamic symbols. “The project will open a window to the world on the true spirit of Islam, which preaches service to humanity. While the hospital will treat the sick and infirm, the community kitchen will feed the hungry, blurring barriers of religion, caste and creed,” said Athar Husain Siddiqui, secretary, IICF.
The green belt at the site will create awareness of climate change and the research centre will conduct research on the contribution of Muslims to the freedom struggle and the legacy of the Hindu-Muslim brotherhood which helped India attain independence. “And last but not the least, it will be a place for bowing before the Almighty,” Siddiqui said.
