LUCKNOW: The atmosphere is taking a turn for the good in the temple town of Ayodhya as Supreme Court is proceeding with the day-to-day hearing in the vexed Ramjanmbhoomi-Babri Masjid issue pending before it for around a decade now.
Known for amity and trust among various sections of society, a rare show of communal harmony was there for everyone to watch in the land of Lord Ram on Monday when Muslims, in large numbers, converged at the mandir karyshala (temple workshop) for ‘shram daan’ as a gesture to pave way for construction of a grand temple of Lord Ram in Ayodhya.
The members of the minority community turned up at the workshop housing thousands of stone slabs and pillars with carving piled up in large number.
Slogans like — Mandir ka nirman ho, desh ka vikas ho (temple shall be constructed and the country shall develop), Ram lala ke samman mein, Muslim hain maidan mein (In honour of Lord Ram, Muslims are out in the field)—ranted the air at Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas Karyashala.
Led by Babu Khan, over six dozen members of minority community carrying tricolour and chanting Bharat Mata ki jai (long live Mother India) reached the workshop in the morning.
They cleaned the stone slabs both carved and uncarved and arranged them in order in a show of solidarity with their Hindu brethren on the temple issue. During the ‘Shram Daan’ by the Muslims, Ayodhya saints and seers including Mahant Paramhansdas of Tapasvi Chhavni, Mahant Brijmohan Das, Dr Raghvesh Das Vedanti and regional head of VHP and Parishad spokesman Sharad Sharma were also present in the
workshop at Ram Ghat to appreciate the gesture of the Muslims of temple town.
Similarly, with imbroglio being heard in apex court five days a week, the votaries of temple are putting their efforts together in the temple town. The work on carving and cleaning of the stones has speeded up at Nyas workshop.
Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas Karyashala was established in 1990.
Artisans from Gujarat and Rajasthan have been chiselling and carving stones and pillars proposed to be used in the temple construction since then.
Hundreds of huge stone slabs are piled up there in the workshop of which some are already chiselled while some are plain.