Babri Masjid in Ayodhya: Islamic rule stops work on ground for 2 months

A sign reading "Build the Babri Mosque on the Same Place" hangs before the massive Jamma Masjid (Friday Mosque) on 19 March, 1993 in New Delhi. Pic/AFP

No work "on ground" will start for at least two months on the new 'Babri Masjid' slated to come up in Dhannipur village in Ayodhya.

This is because there are standing crops on the site as of now, according to the official spokesperson of the Indo Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF), the trust created to oversee the mosque's construction.

"Nothing on ground will happen till the standing paddy crop is harvested, as it is 'haram' or forbidden in Islam to harm green cultivation unnecessarily," Athar Hussain, secretary and spokesperson of the trust told IANS. He added, "So it will be two months at least before we plan any construction."

So what is the trust doing, given it can't start any construction in the next couple of months? There are backroom moves at play. A resolution was passed to open a bank account. Meanwhile, local authorities in Sohawal Tehsil, under which Dhannipur village comes, are undertaking 'Medhbandi' or what is better known as land demarcation.

"After this, we will proceed for the topography plan and final approval of the architect," Hussain said. But doesn't he think the pace of work is very slow given that Shree Ram Mandir Teerth Kshetra, the trust entrusted with the job of building the Ram temple, has already done the 'Bhumi Pujan' and is now about to meet again to discuss the way ahead?

He says, "It is very unfair to compare our activity and our speed with the other trust. We were handed over the papers of the land-only on August 2 and there was an event attended by the PM on August 5."

And now the Islamic rule that stops crops from being uprooted before harvest, as Hussain claims, has further delayed the process.

The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh had allocated the land in Dhannipur village in Ayodhya district to the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board which was in compliance with the apex court's order on November 9, 2019, settling the title suit pertaining to Ram Janmabhoomi.

The IICF, which was created by the Sunni Waqf Board, has decided to keep public utilities like a hospital, Islamic research centre and a community kitchen among others in the compound.

The age-old dispute, which involved both a legal battle as well as street agitations, came to an end last year when the Supreme Court awarded the entire land to the Hindu parties.

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