New Delhi, March 12
In a development of long-term significance, Govardhan Puri Shankaracharya Swami Adhokshajananda Devtirth today announced that a new nyas (Trust) comprising Hindu and Muslim religious leaders would be formed soon to resolve the Ayodhya dispute but stressed that the Supreme Court’s decision would be final and binding on all litigants.

Announcing the initiative at a press conference here, the Shankaracharya said the decision to float a new trust was taken after meetings with prominent Hindu and Muslim clergymen on March 9 in the Capital.

“The mandate and jurisdiction of the trust will be defined soon by religious leaders,” he said and urged that such a body should be recognised by Parliament and the Supreme Court.

The Hindu seer, who has initiated a parallel dialogue with Muslim organisations for an amicable resolution of the long-pending dispute in Ayodhya, said the consenus of the meeting was that the government should not allow any symbolic puja or construction work of a Ram temple at the undisputed site at Ayodhya on March 15 before the Supreme Court verdict.

“At the same time, it is incumbent upon the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court to initiate regular hearings on the issue and give a decision within a fixed time-frame,” he observed.

At the March 9 meeting, the participants from both communities expressed their commitment to abide by the court verdict, he pointed out.

“If the court verdict goes in favour of the Babri Mosque, a magnificent Ram temple will also be constructed at the undisputed land with Muslims pitching in for construction work along with Hindu kar sevaks.

“And if the verdict is in favour of a Ram temple, Hindu kar sevaks will join Muslim Ulemas in constructing a grandiose mosque along side the temple,” he stressed. This alone would break the impasse that had fomented animosity between the two communities and given various political “parties an opportunity to keep the issue alive for their nefarious designs”, he said.

The Shankaracharya pointed out that the court verdict might be devoid of “emotional contents”, and because of such a possibility, the new ‘nyas’ was being set up to take care of the sensibilities of both the Hindu and Muslim communities.

The only solution, he reiterated, was that both a mosque and a temple should be constructed on the acquired land forming part of the 27.08-hectare undisputed land.

Asked about the feasibility of a new ‘nyas’ when the Supreme Court was to begin hearing on the issue from tomorrow, he said it had nothing to do with the court. “Our only concern is that the issue which has been hanging fire since the past decade is given a decent burial once and for all.”

The Govardhan Puri seer said the dispute was originally between the Nirmohi Akhara and the Sunni Board, and the Ram Janambhoomi Nyas got impleaded much later.

Any defiance of the court order should be construed as an act of “treason” and those who orchestrated it should be put behind the bars, he said and slammed the BJP leadership for “using religion in furtherance of their political goals.”

Taking a dig at Kanchi Kamkoti Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati, he said the Kanchi seer had gone against the “religious protocol of the institution of Shankaracharya” by visiting the “portals of political leadership.” In fact, the political leaders should have gone to the Shankaracharya seeking his mediation.

Alleging that Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee had been projecting himself as the Prime Minister “more of the Sangh Parivar” and “less of India”, he raised doubts about the efficacy of deploying the Army and CRPF personnel in Ayodhya.

He said VHP acting president Ashok Singhal was recently allowed entry to Ayodhya in violation of court orders. “There are genuine apprehensions that the December 1992 incidents may be repeated in Ayodhya if the Centre continues with its feeble attempts to control the situation there.”

The Shankaracharya also warned that if the government failed to take effective steps from preventing the situation snowballing in Ayodhya, he would jump in the fray with his followers and expose the “mischievous elements.”

Meanwhile, the Shahi Imam of the Fatehpuri mosque here demanded the deployment of Army in Ayodhya till a final court decision on the temple-mosque dispute.

In a statement, Shahi Imam M Mukarram Ahmad said such a measure by the Centre would be appreciated by all peace-loving Indians.

He also demanded a ban on the RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal and the Shiv Sena for their “provocative and communal statements”.

The Babri Masjid Movement Coordination Committee (BMMCC) has urged the Centre to ask the VHP to stop its mobilisation of people for the temple construction at Ayodhya in favour of an out-of-court settlement of the issue.

“The Central Government, if it is interested in an out-of-court settlement, should first ask the VHP and Ram Janambhoomi Nyas (RJN) to stop mobilisation, then formulate a proposal and hold separate discussions with the parties concerned,” BMMCC Convener Syed Shahabuddin said in a statement.

He said Prime Minister Vajpayee should come out with a clear stand on the Ayodhya issue in the light of the “unlawful” demands of VHP.