Iqbal Ansari, the son of Hashim Ansari—the oldest litigant in Babri Masjid mosque demolition case—is now a party representing the Muslim side. Iqbal has been witnessing the developments in the case for several years. He is not very optimistic about an out-of-court settlement. On the 25th anniversary of the demolition of the mosque, he spoke exclusively to THE WEEK.
How this dispute can be resolved?
It is not in our hands. We cannot do anything. The matter is with the court, and the court has to provide a solution. Those who get involved in the case, in the name of finding a solution, are doing nothing but politics.
There have been efforts to resolve the dispute through third party mediation. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar came and spoke to you and other parties involved with the case . Do you think it will help resolving the temple imbroglio?
Now that the matter is pending with the court, from coming December, the court will regularly hear the case, so there is not much role for any the third party regarding mediation and settling the dispute. This is not for the first time such efforts are being made. Earlier too, from the side of Hindus and Muslims, such efforts were made, but they did not succeed. Even my father late Hashim Ansari (who represented Muslims) tried to figure out a solution by opening up a dialogue with Mahant Gyandas in 2015, but the efforts did not succeed.
Temple dispute has been going on for the past so many decades. Do you think that various political parties made sincere efforts to resolve it?
The temple dispute is not a small business, but a goose laying golden eggs. There are people from both the sides [Muslims and Hindus] who do not want that temple to come up. Once the dispute ends, their business will also come to an end. There are many political leaders from both the sides who shot into limelight by raking up this temple issue from time to time. If the dispute is resolved, their prominence will fade away. Some leaders in the name of temple dispute are doing sheer politics.
Various kinds of solutions are being offered by different factions. Even now Shia Waqf board too has come out with a solution. Do you think they are practical?
I personally feel that these solutions are impractical. Some people say mosque should come up in Lucknow, some say it should be built somewhere in Ayodhya. Who will accept such kind of mindless solutions?
What role should the present government play in this connection to resolve the dispute?
See, the government is all powerful. It should take the matter completely in its hands. Then, whether it goes for temple or mosque does not matter. The dispute has dragged for so long that now common man has started losing interest in it.
Last month, spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar had come to Ayodhya with the hope that a solution will be found out soon. What you think about his efforts.
In this connection, he has come to Ayodhya for the first time. Now, the time for mediation and dialogue is over . Even Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is of the same view. Sri Sri’s efforts will not have much impact in resolving the dispute.
But head of Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, has hailed mediation efforts of Sri Sri and is hopeful of reaching at a solution in near future
I do not know what makes him think so. But Sri Sri’s mediation efforts have been attacked by some seers of Ayodhya itself. They feel he has some personal interest. They feel he wants to placate both the Hindus and Muslims. Many have described mediation efforts by Sri Sri a mere ‘political stunt’.
