HYDERABAD, 24 July — A Hindu temple and a mosque here have amicably resolved a dragging land dispute, setting an example of communal harmony and showing what political will can achieve.
The mosque, temple and the police department — which was a party to the dispute — have agreed to share the 4,640 square yards of prime land at Abids, the commercial hub in the heart of Hyderabad. Under the agreement, each will get 1,546 square yards of the land.
The three were party to a decades-old court case over the land, which was allotted to the temple and the mosque in the 1930s by Mir Osman Ali Khan, the then ruler of Hyderabad state.
At one stage the chances of an amicable out-of-court settlement appeared remote, but sustained efforts by ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader and MP Lal Jan Pasha bore fruit. Over the last 70 years, private individuals had begun to encroach on the land.
Two years ago, the Abids police station, abutting the disputed plot, removed all the encroachments.
The mosque, temple and the police station lie side-by-side, with only a few shops dividing the two places of worship.
The imam of the mosque, the temple pujari and police officers came together in the presence of Minister for Hindu Endowments D. Shivarama Raju to settle the dispute. “This step will go a long way in promoting communal harmony and will set an example for others to follow,” a beaming Pasha said after the agreement was reached on Monday.
“We are all happy that this dispute has been resolved amicably,” said Rizwanul Qasmi, the imam of the Aamira Mosque who is also a member of the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board.
Shiv Kumar Chube, the pujari of the temple, said the agreement could be reached due to the understanding shown by all three parties. He said political leaders played a positive role in settling the dispute.
A major temple-mosque land row in the northern town of Ayodhya has been dragging on for decades and still has no end in sight. Efforts to get leaders of the two communities to reach an amicable settlement through dialogue have failed.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has said it would not abide by any court verdict that goes against the interests of Hindus. The right-wing group’s supporters had in 1992 torn down the 16th century Babri Mosque that stood on the site, with plans to build a temple there.
The demolition triggered riots in many parts of India.
