Reiterating its commitment that Ayodhya belongs to lord Ram, the UP Shia Central Waqf Board has decided to donate 10 silver arrows for the quiver of the statute of lord Ram that will come up at the banks of river Saryu. In a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Chairman of the UP Shia waqf Board Waseem Rizvi said that Shia community hold lord Ram in a high esteem and therefore has decided to donate 10 silver arrows for the quiver of the statue of lord Ram. “These silver arrows will be a token of admiration for government decision to erect a statue of lord Ram at ghats of Saryu river. This gift will be reflection of ‘Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb’ of Awadh”, Rizvi said in his letter. The UP Government plans to erect a 108 feet tall statue of lord ram at the ghats of Ayodhya. The government has made it clear that the statue will ve set up only after clearance from the National Green Tribunal (NGT). The proposal is aimed at promoting religious tourism and the proposal has been sent to Governor Ram Naik.
Rizvi said that the construction of the statue would put UP on the world map and will help in building a New (naya) Ayodhya. “The association of Shias in building Ayodhya is not new. The Nawabs of this region always respected the temples in Ayodhya. The land for construction of Hanuman Garhi temple was donated by Nawab Shuja-ud-Daulah in 1739, while the funds to construct the Hanuman Garhi temple were provided by Nawab Asif-ud-Daullah, between 1775 and 1793,” Rizvi said. Interestingly though Shia Waqf Board has come in support of construction of statue, the All India Muslim Personal law Board (AIMPlB) and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) have opposed this move saying that in a secular country, a government cannot involve or associate itself with a project like this (building the statue of a deity).