Babri scars live on Ayodhya mosques

Security personnel are not amused with journalists dropping in and taking pictures. They question the Maulvi and others who have come to offer prayers. ‘‘What is happening here? What is the activity?’’ When told it’s mediapersons from Delhi, they hold back but won’t budge from their spot. ‘‘This is what happens everytime. This time they are not saying much since you people are here,’’ says Maulvi Hashmi.

Chairman of Babri Masjid Reconstruction Committee Mohd Hashim Ansari says he has taken representations to the district magistrate in Faizabad several times but nothing has happened. ‘‘We want peace and that is why we are not pressing the issue. But will anybody tell us what to do in such a situation?’’

Maulvi Hashmi is more vocal. ‘‘How do we consider this country to be a secular democracy if we don’t have any say? They want the Muslims to leave this place. This is our home too,’’ he says.

Dorahi Kuaen Wali Masjid is not the only mosque to carry the blows of the demolition. Mufti Afiya Begum, a resident of Ayodhya, says several other mosques were damaged: ‘‘There are hundreds of small mosques in Ayodhya, there are around 7,000 Muslims too. But the sadhus and politicians say there should be no masjid in the the entire 16 km of the parikrama. ’’

Even the Badr Masjid, where Maulvi Hashmi stays, has been reduced to a small room. The remaining portion was taken over by Hindus during the riots and he never got it back. ‘‘Those used to be my living quarters. Now I am forced to live in the mosque. There is not even a toilet here and I have to go out,’’ he says, pointing to the cramped praying area with a tap. ‘‘This is all I have.’’

He still can’t find fault with his people. ‘‘There is no animosity among the people. I go to teach Persian on the other side of the disputed site everyday. Nobody says anything to me,’’ he says, smiling.