Construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya began in August 2020, almost a year after the Supreme Court delivered its verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi case and allotted 5-acre of separate land to the party contesting for Babri Masjid. The Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF), which has been set up for the construction of the mosque then appealed to the people to donate an amount for not only the construction of the mosque but also other public facilities like a hospital, library, community kitchen, and research institute on the five-acre land in Ayodhya’s Dhannipur village.
While people promised to raise Rs 1 crore for the construction, Rs 10 lakh was immediately collected by the Trust when its president Zufar Farooqui visited Farrukhabad on August 12 for making a donation appeal. Also, the Trust already had collected Rs 25 lakh for the construction of the mosque. However, even after three years of the SC’s decision, the construction of the Mosque has not begun. Reports emerged on Friday stating that the maximum amount for the construction of the Mosque on the land has been donated by Hindus.
An exclusive report by Dainik Bhasker revealed that around 40 per cent of the donations received by the Trust are given by Hindus, while Muslims have only contributed 30 per cent. The other 30 per cent of the total donations are corporate donations. Foundation secretary Athar Hussain confirmed that the Trust has to date received Rs 40 lakhs of donations and 40 per cent of it has been contributed by the Hindu community.
“In August 2020, we issued bank details for cooperation in the construction of the mosque. So far we have received a donation of Rs 40 lakh. Tax exemption is provided to the donors under Section 80 G of the Income Tax Act. About 30 per cent of the donation has come from the corporate, 30 per cent has come from the Muslim community, and the remaining 40 per cent has come from the Hindu community”, said Hussain.
However, he claimed that the construction of the Mosque has not yet begun as the land allotted by the Court for the purpose is agricultural land. “15 days back we came to know that the land we got is of agricultural use, we cannot do construction in it. We have applied to Ayodhya Development Authority to change the land use and construct a 7-story building on it,” he said.
The first cheque of donation for the Mosque was from a Hindu
Hussain also recalled the first cheque of donation received by the Trust and said that it was from a Hindu person. “The first donation to build the mosque was given by Rohit Srivastava, a member of the Faculty of Law, Lucknow University. The amount of donation was Rs 21,000. Along with this, many Hindus including Professor RK Singh of Avadh University have donated”, he said. He added that the Trust had visited Farrukhabad and appealed to people for donations. “On August 12, many big businessmen of the city, retired officials, and others organized a fundraising program in Farrukhabad. We got a donation of Rs 10 lakh in one visit. Similarly, from Mumbai and various districts of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, people are calling the Foundation team. We are now making our ‘route map’ so that all these places can be visited and funds raised”, he added.
He said that the Muslim side contesting for the Babri Masjid in the Supreme Court wholeheartedly accepted the 5 acres of the land allotted for the construction of the mosque. “The Muslim community tried to give a message to the whole country that we have no regrets in our hearts. After the verdict, the Sunni Bakf Board approved a trust to be formed to build the mosque. The name of the trust is Indo Islamic Cultural Foundation”, he said.
Other facilities to be developed by the Trust along with the mosque
Reports mention that the registry of the land was executed ten months after the Court verdict. The Trust now plans to build a mosque on the land along with other facilities for the people of Ayodhya. It plans to build a mosque in which more than 2 thousand Muslims will be able to offer Namaz together. The Masjid Trust will also build a 300-bed multi-speciality hospital on the land offering free treatment to the patients. A community kitchen will also be built on the land, in which more than 1000 people will be able to eat food every day for free.
According to Hussain, a research centre will also be built next to the mosque on the land. “In this, it will be taught, and told what is the contribution of Hindustani Muslims in nation building. This will eliminate the escalating hatred in society”, he said.
Earlier also foundation secretary of the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF) had said that the maximum donation to the Trust for the construction of the Mosque was being provided by non-Muslims. “Not only Muslims, but people from other communities are also trusting the Foundation. Initially, non-Muslims donated a lot to the Foundation but now Muslims have also started showing interest in participating in a big way,” he was quoted.
Donation to build a mosque on the 5-acre land is ‘haram’: Owaisi
To note, earlier many Islamic organizations and leaders unhappy with the Supreme Court’s verdict had claimed that contributing amount towards the construction of the mosque on the 5-acre land would be ‘haram’. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) President Asaaduddin Owaisi also said that construction of the mosque on the allotted land in Ayodhya is not permissible in Islamic law.
“Performing prayers and contributing for the construction of that masjid is haram (not permissible). It must not be called a masjid and prayers cannot be performed there”, he had said while addressing a public meeting in Bidar, Karnataka. He had also requested Muslims not to contribute money for the construction of the mosque in Ayodhya.
Threats issued by Islamists to demolish Ram Mandir
The Islamists meanwhile had also issued threats saying that they would demolish the Ram Mandir in the future and build Babri Masjid at the same spot instead. On August 5, 2020, when the Bhoomi pujan of the Ram Mandir was performed, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) issued a threat against the construction of the Ram Mandir and demanded to undo the alleged ‘injustice’ that was meted out to them by the country’s judiciary in the Ram Janmabhoomi case. The controversial Islamic body also had said that the demolished Islamic structure ‘Babri Masjid’ would remain a mosque for them till eternity.
Then, Islamic cleric Maulana Sajid Rashidi, the President of the All India Imam Association made provocative statements against Hindus and issued threats to demolish the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya. He had asserted that the Babri Masjid was not built after demolishing a Hindu temple at the disputed site, but it would happen in the future. Also, the recently banned Islamist terrorist organization named Popular Front of India (PFI) had planned to demolish Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir as they wanted to build Babri Masjid instead at the same spot.
Why mosque construction has been stalled for 3 years?
According to Hussain, there are two approach roads to reach the land that has been allotted by the Supreme Court. One connects to the east and the other to the west. “Both these roads are 4.10 meters wide and if a multi-story building is to be built on the land, large vehicles would want to come inside for construction, and for this 12 meters wide road is required”, he said.
“The map has not yet been passed from the Ayodhya Development Authority. For such construction, 15 types of NOC ie No Objection Certificates are required. 14 were made available by the Ayodhya Development Authority however, we were asked to get the NOC of the fire department ourselves. When we started the process of getting fire NOC, it came to know that no NOC can be obtained due to the narrow road”, he added.
He further said, “We went to Ayodhya Development Authority with an application for widening the road. But the officials told us after 3 years that the map cannot be passed as the land allotted for the mosque is suitable for agriculture and not for construction. They’ve asked us to change the land use. We applied on November 5, 2022. The day the map will be passed, the construction work will start the very next day,” he said.
Speaking on the issue, Ayodhya Development Authority Secretary Satyendra Singh said, “We ourselves want to get the map of the mosque passed as soon as possible. Every kind of legal process is being completed so that there is no problem in future”.
Singh said that a 2-story building can be built on agricultural land but the Masjid Trust wants to build a 7-story building. “There is a need to change the land use for this. We attached the documents 20 days ago. The application was however sought on November 5, 2022. Now the application will be passed as soon as the ADA board meets. After this, the land use will be changed and the Trust will be able to start the construction work soon. All types of NOCs including fire have been cleared”, he confirmed.
