ME AND MAULANA: A PERSONAL RECOLLECTION OF WAHIDUDDIN KHAN - John M. Butt

In 1993, he wrote in an article: “The issue of Ayodhya’s Babri Masjid has turned into one of life and death for the Muslim community. The tragic event of December 6 gave a serious jolt to the conscience of the country.” But he advanced a three-point peace formula, which he said could solve the problem provided the Hindus, Muslims and the government abided by it. He said the “movement launched by the Hindus should be stopped at Ayodhya”. “Assurance to this effect could take the form of a written declaration signed by all the four Shankaracharyas and by responsible people belonging to those Hindu organisations involved in the mandir-masjid movement. This should expressly state that after Ayodhya’s Babri mosque no mosque’s right to continued existence will ever again be challenged by the Hindus…” On their part, he said the Muslims should preserve a strict silence on the issue of Ayodhya. “If the protection of the Babri Masjid was their responsibility, they have now discharged it by the sacrifices they have made. Now they have reached a point where there is very little else that they can do. As such, Muslims should consciously resolve to distance themselves entirely from this issue. Till now they have been forced to take up this cause, but henceforth they should leave it to the conscience of the nation,” he said. The government of India, he said, should pass the Places of Worship Act in 1991, maintaining the status quo as on August 15, 1947, in order to guarantee the security of all places of worship.