Campaign to isolate Hashim Ansari hits Ayodhya dialogue process

Just when the dialogue to settle the Ayodhya dispute through negotiation seemed to be moving in the right direction, a campaign has been started to isolate and discredit oldest litigant Hashim Ansari, who initiated the talks on behalf of Muslims.

Ironically, the move, which is sure to undermine his mediation efforts, has not been made by the Hindu parties but by prominent Muslims of Ayodhya.

“There are some aspects of the [Allahabad high court] order which Muslims find unacceptable… in such circumstances, there is no scope for talks,” Maulana Qutubuddin Qadri, imam of the famous Tatshahi mosque, said.

“Ansari has no business starting talks on behalf of Muslims. Has anyone authorised him?” he said.

Significantly, a signature campaign was also launched in mosques in the twin townships of Ayodhya and Faizabad after Friday prayers. Muslims signed a declaration that they did not support the talks initiated by Ansari.

The campaign is sure to hurt the peace formula Ansari is trying to work out with Nirmohi Akhara as he has often claimed his efforts had the approval of the silent majority of Ayodhya’s Muslims.
Apparently, that majority has now broken its silence. “This is a matter concerning Muslims across the country. Ansari cannot take upon himself the task of solving it alone,” shahar imam Haji Mehboob, who also heads Anjuman Mohafiz Masajid, an umbrella organisation of mosques in Ayodhya-Faizabad, said.

Haji, who, like Ansari, is one of the main plaintiffs in the title suit, went a step further as he said: “Ansari seems to be playing in the hands of some vested interests.”

He also questioned the status of Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad president Mahant Gyandas, who has been conducting talks with Ansari, saying: “Who is Gyandas? He is not even a party in the title suits.”

However, Ansari is unfazed. “We’ve just begun the good work… they [the opponents] will also come around,” he said.

Meanwhile, All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) also seems to have decided to appeal in the Supreme Court rather than get involved in the dialogue. Sources said a decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the board’s legal committee in Delhi on Saturday. The decision would be formalised at the board’s working committee meeting in Lucknow next Saturday, they said.

About Ansari’s initiative, senior AIMPLB member and cleric Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahali said, “No individual can claim to represent Muslims. This is a matter which can be decided by the ulema. Only the board can decide the course of action to be taken on behalf of the community.”