Ahead of the hearing on the Ayodhya title suit on August 11 by the Supreme Court, the Shia Central Waqf Board of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday proposed an amicable settlement to the long-standing dispute by suggesting construction of the mosque at a reasonable distance from the disputed site of “Ram Janmabhoomi” at a place having predominantly Muslims. For working out this formula, the Shia Board further suggested a Committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to be constituted for hearing each party and deciding on their claims.
The suggestion forms part of an affidavit filed in the court by the Shia Waqf Board of Uttar Pradesh, one of the parties to the suit. Claiming that the disputed site in question is a Shia Waqf land, the Board seemed open to the earlier proposal made by the Supreme Court for working out an amicable settlement of the dispute lingering for years.
Interestingly, contrary to what the Shia Waqf Board has claimed in its affidavit, the Allahabad High Court judgment of September 30, 2010 said, “In the suit of 1945 (R.S. No.29 of 1945) in between Sunni and Shia Waqf Board, it has been held that the mosque in question is a Sunni Waqf. During arguments, no learned counsel on behalf of Shia Waqf Board raised any argument regarding the mosque in question to be Shia Waqf.” It is this judgment which is under challenge as the three-bench HC decision by a 2:1 majority divided the disputed site equally between three parties - Ram lalla (lord Ram), Sunni Central Waqf Board of UP, and Nirmohi Akhara.
The Shia board affidavit said, “It is submitted that the Sunni Central Waqf Board of UP (a main party to the suit) is under the dominant control of Sunni hardliners, the fanatics and non-believers in peaceful coexistence, who have absolutely no stake in the present case. Since Babri Masjid was a Shia Waqf, it is Shia Central Waqf Board UP alone that is entitled to negotiate and arrive at a peaceful settlement with other remaining stakeholders.”
“Masjid can be located in a Muslim-dominated area at a reasonable distance from the most revered place of birth of Maryada Purushottam Sri Ram,” The affidavit said, claiming that Shia sect is also facing threats from hardliners for proposing so