Even as the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) is scheduled to take up the sealed proposal of Jagadguru Swami Jayendra Saraswati, Sankar-acharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, on resolving the vexed Ayodhya dispute through mutual negotiation early next month, a leading news weekly has come out with startling revelation that the majority of Indian Muslims want a negotiated settlement on the dispute.
In its latest issue, the weekly Outlook has come out with a survey report that states that while 52 per cent of Indian Muslims prefer a negotiated settlement to the Ayodhya issue as against 48 per cent who prefer a court verdict, a whopping 64 per cent feel the prolonged dispute at Ayodhya is working against interests of the Muslims.
The survey conducted by the Centre for Forecasting & Research (C-Fore), interviewed a total of 1,432 Muslims randomly in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow and Aligarh.
However, very few among them prefer to see Muslims gifting the disputed Ayodhya site where the Babri Masjid once stood to the Hindus with 85 per cent saying no to it.
Interestingly, while 45 per cent of them want the Babri Masjid to be rebuilt at the disputed site without compromise as against 41 who are opposed to it, 62 per cent of them prefer construction of a social welfare structure like a hospital or a school at the site if no compromise is worked out.
A majority among these respondents have also said that the Babri Masjid Action Committee has a vested interest in keeping the Ayodhya issue alive as well as that they are not the true spokesperson for the Muslim community at large, while saying they do not trust the federal government's intentions on Ayodhya.
What Muslims and Hindus think
- 85 per cent of Muslims do not think Muslims should gift disputed site at Ayodhya to Hindus
- 64 per cent believe prolonging dispute is against Muslim interests
- 52 per cent want a settlement through negotaition, 48 per cent will abide by a court judgement
- 45 per cent says a mosque should be rebuilt at the disputed site
- 62 per cent want neither a temple or a mosque but a welfare structure
- 74 per cent do not trust the Vajpayee government's intentions on Ayodhya
Majority of Indian Muslims want Babri issue settled
Even as the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) is scheduled to take up the sealed proposal of Jagadguru Swami Jayendra Saraswati, Sankar-acharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, on resolving the vexed Ayodhya dispute through mutual negotiation early next month, a leading news weekly has come out with startling revelation that the majority of Indian Muslims want a negotiated settlement on the dispute.
