Assam Muslims to donate Rs 5 lakh for Mandir

Guwahati: In what has been seen as an attempt to strengthen communal harmony, 21 organisations representing indigenous Assamese Muslims have not only described the verdict on Ayodhya as historic but also decided to donate Rs 5 Lakh to the trust that will oversee the construction of the Ram Mandir.

The organisations under the banner Jonogusthiya Somonnoy Parishad Asom (JSPA) said that the decision was an expression of solidarity of the indigenous Muslims to country’s unity and to “cherished aspiration” of Hindus to see the temple is constructed in Ayodhya.

JSPA chairman, Syed Muminul Aowal said that all the 21 organisations will raise the money and donate it once the trust is formed. “We are happy that the protracted dispute has been resolved through the historic judgement of the Supreme Court. We will donate Rs 5 lakh because we also want to be part of this historic decision that will further strengthen the spirit of unity and harmony in the country,” Mr Aowal, who is also senior BJP spokesperson, said.

The 21 organisations represent Goria, Moria, Deshiya, Jalha, Maimal and Kachari Muslims, whose ancestries converted to Islam from different ethnic groups of the state.

On the other hand, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief Badruddin Ajmal said, “We respect the Supreme Court’s verdict on the Babri masjid dispute. Our appeal is that post-verdict, people of Assam and across the country keep peace and harmony intact.”

Mr Ajmal, who represents the minority-dominated Dhubri seat in the Lok Sabha, said that people should desist from making communally charged remarks in the social media after the verdict.

Assam State Jamiat Ulama (ASJU), a socio-religious body also headed by Mr Ajmal, on Friday asked the state government to impose temporary ban on social media use to prevent communal situation in the aftermath of Supreme Court’s verdict. The ASJU secretary Maulana Fazlul Karim Quasimi said that he is saddened but honour the verdict.

“We have accepted the verdict, but with sadness. The fact is that a masjid existed in reality. Now, Muslims will be given a separate 5 acre land for the Masjid. Anyway, we want peace and unity to prevail and we will work for this. We as citizens of the country have respect for the apex court’s verdict. No one should be allowed to vitiate the atmosphere through inflammatory and communally charged remarks, particularly in social media,” Mr Quasimi said.

Mr Quasimi also warned Pakistan to desist from making remarks on Indian Muslim vis-à-vis the verdict.

“We as Indian Muslims know and can deal with our affairs. We have utmost trust in the judiciary and the Babri masjid issue is completely our internal affair. Pakistan is a creation of the two-nation theory and should stay away from making remarks on the issue. The division of the subcontinent is a pain that we still feel,” Mr Quasimi said.

Jamiat Ulema E Hind (JUEH) state president Mustak Anfar said that his organization has submitted all the necessary documents to the Supreme Court for the case.

Maintaining restraint, Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Saturday afternoon performed keertan at Govindar Bari, a temple in Silchar, only to celebrate the ‘historical development.’

VHP South-East Prant secretary Swapan Suklabaidya said apart from keertan, it performed puja, aarti and distributed prasad to celebrate the occasion. Govindra Bari is also the office of the Hindu body’s South-East Prant consisting Barak Valley, Dima Hasao, Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram.

“We welcome the judgment and at the same time, we abstained from bringing out rallies or bursting crackers only to maintain restraint in line with decision of the leadership. That’s why we performed keertan and puja on the occasion”, said Mr Suklabaidya.

Meanwhile, security has been beefed up in sensitive pockets of Assam in view of the Supreme Court’s verdict on Saturday. Places with a history of communal tension have been closely monitored by Assam police to avert untoward incidents.

The districts of Dhubri, Goalpara, South Salmara Barpeta and Bongaigaon in Western Assam and Nagaon, Hojai, Morigaon in central part of Assam are under tight vigilance. Ranjan Gogoi, the Chief Justice of India hails from Assam.

Mr Raunak Ali Hazarika, deputy inspector general of police (DIGP) of Western Range said, “Any place vulnerable from the accessibility point of view have been identified and police is keeping a close watch on these places. Since 9’o clock in the morning, maximum police force, we can extract from a district, is out on the road.”

Apart from this, forces from battalion headquarters in these districts are also put on standby to move at any point of time in case of a riot-like situation.

“Additional services like fire control is being coordinated with the security forces for incidents of fire,” Mr Hazarika said.

In districts of Nagaon, Hojai, Morigaon also additional security forces have been mobilized. The superintendents of police (SP) of all the districts are instructed to be on alert for the next few days.

“We are zeroing on certain pockets which have been identified as sensitive in these districts and additional forces have been mobilized to these areas.” said Mr Dilip Kr. Dey, DIGP, Central Range. Assam police is also in talks with various religious, student and civil groups which could contribute to the normalcy to keep prevailing.