The Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA) on March 3 has given final sanction for the construction of the proposed mosque by order of the Supreme Court, which allotted the Babri mosque land to Hindus to build the Ram temple.
The Hindu on February 26 had published that over three years after the Supreme Court ruled on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute, the mosque awaited administrative clearances before a brick could be laid. Meanwhile, across the Sarayu river, on its main bank, the under-construction Ram Mandir in Ayodhya will see visitors enter the sanctum sanctorum by the end of the year.
In November 2019, the Supreme Court’s Constitution Bench permitted the construction of a temple in Ayodhya, at the site where the 16th century Babri Masjid had once stood before it was 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 — to allot a “prominent and suitable” five-acre plot in Ayodhya for the Sunni Central Wakf 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 Wakf Board later formed the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF) to execute the construction of the mosque that has been named ‘Masjid-e-Ayodhya’. The U.P. government allotted five acres of land for to IICF in Dhannipur, 25 km from Ayodhya city.
Gaurav Dayal, Divisional Commissioner of Ayodhya and Chairperson of the ADA told The Hindu that the ADA had informed the IICF that the concerned authorities had approved the mosque project at a Board meeting held on Friday.
“Sanctioned maps will be handed over to the IICF after a few departmental formalities which are to be completed within a couple of days,” Mr. Dayal said.
Also read | Ayodhya mosque, an unfinished tale
Arshad Afzaal Khan, one of the IICF’s trustees, said that the trust was planning to apply to the ADA online for the sanction of the map sometime around March 13, which would probably 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,” Mr. Khan said. He added that the foundation of the mosque had been laid on January 26, 2021 but nothing had 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 will not look like it, the IICF trustees said.
The hospital that’s planned as part of the complex will hold centrestage. “It will serve humanity in the true spirit of Islam, as taught by the Prophet Mohammad 1,400 years ago,” Athar Husain Siddiqui, secretary, IICF, said.
The hospital will not appear like a typical 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,” Mr. Siddiqui said.
A “green belt” at the site will create awareness on climate change and a research centre will study the contribution of Muslims to the freedom struggle and the legacy of the Hindu-Muslim brotherhood that helped India attain Independence.
“And last but not the least, it will be a place for bowing before the Almighty,” Mr. Siddiqui said.
