Muslims won't give up Babri Masjid land, says Owaisi

Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi has said the Muslims will never give up even an inch of the land of the demolished Babri Masjid at Ayodhya.

The president of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) said Muslims were betrayed at every step in the Babri Masjid case and felt that justice should be done to ensure peace and law and order in the country.

Owaisi was addressing a mammoth public meeting organised by the United Muslim Action Committee at MIM headquarters Darussalam here Sunday night, ahead of the 20th anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid on Dec 6, 1992.

Giving a detailed account of the case, the MP from Hyderabad advised Muslims to pray for the success of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) in the legal battle.

The AIMPLB has challenged, in the Supreme Court, the Sep 30, 2010 verdict of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, which directed that the 2.77-acre disputed land be divided in three parts among Hindus and Muslims.

Of this, two parts go to Hindu organisations, while the remaining one-third will go to the Muslims.

Owaisi drew a parallel between installation of idols in Babri Masjid and the construction of an illegal temple in the precincts of the historic Charminar here.

He alleged that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) colluded with "communal forces" to allow the temple to come up, in blatant violation of the rules for protection of heritage monuments.

United Muslim Action Committee convenor Abdul Rahim Quraishi said secularism and justice were "murdered" with the demolition of the Babri Masjid.

He said Muslims would never forget that tragedy.

Quraishi, who is also the secretary of AIMPLB, said the Babri Masjid case was linked to all those mosques on which "Hindu communal forces" were laying claim. He hoped justice would be done to Muslims.

Shakeel Samdani, professor at Aligarh Muslim University and member of AIMPLB, said the tragedy of Dec 6, 1992 broke the hearts of Indian Muslims. He alleged that the communal forces which demolished the mosque were out to destroy Hindu-Muslim unity.

Samdani advised Muslim youth to pay attention to law education along with medical and engineering courses.

Leaders of various Muslim organisations addressed the meeting. - IANS