Ayodhya petitioner supports Sri Sri Ravi Shankar efforts for out-of-court settlement, says it will bring long term harmony and peace

Efforts to find a non-court resolution to the decades-old Ayodhya Ram Mandir issue got a shot in the Arm on Monday as one of the main Muslim petitioners in the Ran Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case heavily backed Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's efforts to settle the matter.

Haji Mahboob Ahamad, who is one of the main petitioners, along with five others have issued a letter where they express support for an out-of-court settlement, putting forth that it would bring long-term harmony between the Hindu and Muslim communities.

The text of the letter states:

We are fully aware of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's efforts to amicably resolve the Ayodhya issue. We believe that an out of court settlement of the Ayodhya issue will bring long term harmony and peace between Hindus and Muslims. We fully support and laud his noble efforts.

The letter speaks in glowing terms about one of the three solutions that currently appear to be feasible to the Ayodhya dispute.

The Supreme Court, which is hearing the case as a title suit, has previously concurred that an out-of-court settlement would be welcome, failing which it would adjudicate on the matter. However, with the apex court recently deprioritising hearings in the case till at least January 2019, and with CJI Ranjan Gogoi declining to hear a plea seeking early hearing on Monday, clamour has risen for legislative intervention, either by promulgation of an ordinance or by Parliament bringing in a law to facilitate the Ram Mandir's construction. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who celebrated Diwali in Ayodhya with much aplomb and also announced a number of developmental projects, has said that a solution would be found within the ambit of the Constitution.

Some of the other parties and claimants in the case have also earlier expressed their support for settling the matter with talks and out of court. The Nirmohi Akhada said as much to Republic TV speaking during Diwali, while Shia Waqf Board chief Waseem Rizvi has been staunchly for the construction of a Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

A solution that had been earlier proposed via the Sri Sri Ravi Shankar-led talks was to build a Ram Mandir in at the Ram Janmabhoomi site in Ayodhya and a grand Mosque at a nearby place.

In a letter written to the AIMPLB in March 2018, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar had written:

People from both communities who are adamant on following the court's verdict are also driving the issue to a situation of defeat. The best solution, according to me, is an out-of-court settlement in which the Muslim bodies come forward and gift an acre of land to the Hindus who in turn will gift five acres of land nearby to the Muslims, to build a better mosque.

It is a win-win situation in which the Muslims will not only gain the goodwill of 100 crore Hindus but it will also put to rest this issue for the benefit of future generations in the coming centuries. A Palak Nama will recognise that this temple has been built with the cooperation of both the Hindus and Muslims