Amicable agreement on dispute needed: Ayodhya residents

AYODHYA - An amicable agreement should be reached over the land dispute in Ayodhya, residents of this Uttar Pradesh city said Thursday, a day when the Allahabad High Court is to deliver its judgment on the long pending Babri Masjid-Ramjanmabhoomi dispute.

“The judgment is necessary as it would mark the end of a judicial process. But peace and communal harmony can only prevail when Hindus and Muslims reach an amicable settlement,” Ashwini Singh, a retired teacher, told IANS.

“The best way to resolve the dispute would be reconciliation. The central and the state governments must rope in Hindu and Muslim clerics to undertake an initiative for the amicable settlement of the dispute.

“Most importantly, such an exercise must not take place inside closed rooms in Delhi or Lucknow, but in front of Ayodhya residents who have been worst-hit by the dispute,” he said.

N.A. Imamuddin, who owns a mobile phone shop, echoed similar sentiments.

“The best thing about the judgment will be that the common man will be able to know about the technical and other aspects of the sensitive case that has become a national issue,” he said.

“But we also know that there are all chances that the case will reach the Supreme Court after the high court’s verdict. With it will start another round of legal battle, which may also take years to reach a conclusion.

“Hindus and Muslims (should) now try for an amicable settlement. It would not only end the uncertainty of the case, but would even go a long way in fostering Hindu-Muslim relations,” he added.

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court is to give its verdict on the dispute at 3.30 p.m. Thursday.

The suit relates to a disputed site in Ayodhya, which Hindu groups claim to be the birthplace of Lord Ram. On Dec 6, 1992, radical Hindu activists destroyed the Babri Masjid, alleging it was built in 1528 after razing a temple there.

The demolition had triggered one of the worst communal riots, resulting in the death of 2,000 people in different states.

Vijay Lakshmi Mishra, a postgraduate student of the Saket Degree College here, said: “We know that the case is about the ownership of the land. The court may transfer the ownership to either the Hindus or the Muslims.”

“But will it provide a solution to an age-old old issue which has sentiments of members of both the communities attached to it?” he asked.

Shadab Hussain, who runs a computer training institute, said: “To maintain law and order, even the police will have to solicit support from both the communities. Considering all this, we must start thinking towards reconciliation.”