'Battle not just for mandir but 67 acres of Ram's birthplace'

A model of the proposed Ram temple at Ayodhya

It is negotiation time again for the highly sensitive Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid issue as the Supreme Court yesterday referred the land dispute case for mediation. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leading the fight for a Ram Mandir at the site, along with other Hindu organisations is, however, not too happy with yet another round of talks. Mumbai's VHP spokesperson and general secretary Sriraj Nair outlines the VHP stand.

The Supreme Court panel, headed by retired SC judge Justice F M I Kalifulla, with senior advocate Sriram Panchu and Art of Living's Sri Sri Ravishankar, has an eight-week deadline to complete proceedings in the mediation hearing over the Ram Janmabhoomi issue.

Despite some opinions that say this is the way to an amicable solution for the flashpoint site, the VHP begs to differ. Sriraj Nair explains how...

Sriraj Nair

On the Supreme Court's order of a mediation panel…
The order is just out and the VHP's lawyers are studying it, post which, we will decide what course of action to take.

Why is the VHP against talks on the Mandir-Masjid dispute?
When the Allahabad High Court's 2010 verdict was announced where it was ruled that Ayodhya land be divided into three parts, with 1/3 going to the Ram Lalla or Infant Rama represented by the Hindu Maha Sabha for the construction of the Ram temple, 1/3 going to the Islamic Sunni Waqf Board and the remaining 1/3 going to a Hindu religious denomination Nirmohi Akhara was announced, all parties concerned rushed to the Supreme Court. It has been nine years and there is no solution. Justice delayed is justice denied. This seems to be playing for time. In the past too, negotiations have failed and bilateral talks have failed. This has been simmering since 1528 (500 years), look at history. There have been at least 70 battles fought for Ram Janmabhoomi.

Why VHP does not want the Masjid next to the Mandir…
The Babri Masjid was built by Babar; it is the symbol of an invader. The battle is not just for a mandir, it is for 67 acres of land, Ramjanmabhoomi, the birthplace of Lord Ram. Other countries in the world have demolished symbols and statues of invaders.

Is the VHP going against the Supreme Court order…
No. We are a law-abiding organisation and we are nobody to dismiss the apex court's orders. Past experience has shown that there have been talks during a slew of different prime ministers' time and nothing has come of them. We used to move towards a conclusion and the Muslim leadership would then turn back. Archeologist K K Muhammad has said that there was a temple at the site of where the masjid stood, so it has also been scientifically proven. The temple must be allowed on the janmasthan and peace will prevail.

A section of Muslims is afraid that today it is Ayodhya and tomorrow it may be some other mosque…
That is rubbish. When lakhs of people were moving towards Ayodhya, was there any mosque that was touched on the way? We are not invaders. We believe the world is one family.

Mumbai is not concerned about the Mandir-Masjid divide. The VHP meet in December 2018 at Bandra Kurla Complex did not draw numbers…
We did have numbers. There were at least one lakh people were there. You did not attend so you do not know. The subject does resonate with Mumbaikars.

Will this have any impact on the forthcoming elections…
No, this has nothing to do with any elections. These talks have been going on for years and elections have come and gone. Why bring elections into the picture? It is time for somebody to pick up this piece of burning coal, this is what a resolution to this dispute is all about.

Also Read: Baba Ramdev says Lord Ram ancestor of both Hindus and Muslims

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