NEW DELHI: Syed Shahbabuddin, convener of the Babri Masjid Movement Coordination Committee, appealed to the staunch Hindu organization, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), and other bodies to postpone construction of the proposed temple at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh till an amicable settlement is reached on the issue.
Welcoming the initiative taken by Jain religious leader Acharya Sushil Muni in forming a committee to strive for an amicable solution, Shahabuddin said he was surprised at the absence of VHP and Ram Janam-bhoomi Mukti Yagya Samiti (RJMYS) in the committee.
“Such an imbalance and asymmetry gives rise to the apprehension that the VHP and the RJBMYS are free to reject any compromise solution suggestion by the committee,” Shahabuddin said in a statement here.
The Babri Masjid is the main bone of contention between the Muslims and the Hindus in the country, each of which is claiming the temple.
Hindus believe the site marks the birth place of Lord Rama and want a temple constructed there. The mosque, which now stands ‘was built on the original temple by India’s first Moghul emperor Babur.
The controversy caused a number of communal fights, the worst being in Bihar.
The VHP, last year, laid the foundation stone for a temple on an empty plot adjacent to the mosque.
He urged the committee to appeal to the VHP and the RJBMYS not to precipitate the matter and to postpone construction of the proposed temple till the deliberations of the committee were over or till an amicable settlement was reached or the issue was decided through judicial means.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 26, 1990
