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Ayodhya seer has amicable settlement up his sleeve

Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow

Prominent Ayodhya seer Dharamdas, mahant of Ayodhya's oldest temple Hanuman Garhi, has floated his own formula to solve the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid tangle.

Mahant Dharamdas claims to have thrashed out a deal with some prominent local Muslims to rebuild the Babri Masjid on a ten-acre plot of land owned by him about 1.5km from the disputed site.

"All prominent Hindu saints of Ayodhya will participate in laying the foundation of the mosque," he told rediff.com in Lucknow on Tuesday evening, "while leading local Muslims will extend a hand in building the Ram temple at the site where the makeshift temple exists."

Dharamdas is chief trustee of the Ram Janambhoomi Nyas headed by Mahant Ramchandra Das Paramhans, who has been hogging the limelight, particularly in recent times. Despite being isolated by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and sidelined by Paramhans, he remains a force to be reckoned with in Ayodhya.

Significantly, just like well-known Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawaad earlier in the day, Mahant Dharamdas said keeping the VHP out is a pre-condition for an out-of-court settlement. "The VHP has been and will continue to play politics in the name of the temple," he said. "They are not interested in building the temple, only in using it as an instrument to further their own vested interests."

Dharamdas pointed to his close association with the dispute to justify his initiative to pave the way for a solution. "It was my guru Mahant Abhiram Das," he said, "who installed the idol of Ram Lalla inside the Babri Mosque in 1949; and it was he who performed the daily puja at the shrine since then right up to December 6, 1992, when the structure was pulled down."

He described Paramhans as only the "officiating" president of the nyas. "Paramhans was only made to officiate in that position until the appointment of a new shivaramacharya, who alone can head this trust. However, by systematically deferring the selection of a true successor to the last shivaramacharya who passed away several years ago, Paramhans has managed to clutch on to that position," he said.

While he was unwilling to give out many names of local Muslims who were inclined to consider his formula, Dharamdas said, "Let me tell you that it includes someone like Haji Mehboob, who is the biggest landowner in Ayodhya."

"After all," he argued, "at the local level in Ayodhya, Hindus and Muslims supplement each other in their daily lives. Any trouble in Ayodhya affects the livelihood of members of both communities, who are extremely keen to put a full-stop to this age-old dispute."

The mahant, who goes around barefoot, went on to explain how Muslims were catering to the basic needs of Hindu devotees visiting various temples in Ayodhya. "Do you know that the kharauns (wooden footwear) used by Hindu saints are made essentially by Muslim carpenters?" he said. "And few would be aware that most of the flower sellers outside Ayodhya's temples are Muslims. Even the saffron shawls emblazoned with 'Jai Shree Ram' in red are the product of Muslim weavers."

Dharamdas was in Lucknow to change the counsel appearing on his behalf before the high court. "My existing counsel had somehow come under the influence of the VHP, whose sole objective is to linger on this case," he said.

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