One man’s very visible efforts to clean the stones meant for a Ram temple at Ayodhya are drawing criticism from both Hindus and Muslims in the city.
The person in question is Bablu Khan, a newly minted BJP member who has led a gaggle of followers to use sand paper, polish paper and handkerchiefs to wipe off the dust, grime and moss that sits on the carved blocks of stones that are expected to someday form a grand Ram Mandir.
Khan says that his modest efforts should be put down to the syncretic traditions of Awadh. His slogan is Ram Lalla ke samman mein, Muslim hai maidan mein (Muslims are in the field for the respect of Lord Ram). He is followed by a group of skull cap bearing men—not all of whom are Muslim, according to Khan’s critics.
“Those who get fat funding from elsewhere, those who are not interested in the progress of the country are the ones who oppose me”, says Khan, who labels himself the regional minister of the BJP’s Muslim Manch.
“There are many temples and mosques. This matter is beyond that. This is the birthplace of Lord Ram. As a disputed spot, namaz cannot be offered on it anyway. Lord Ram is also a prophet. Muslims and Hindus share the same DNA. We should be large-hearted and give this spot to the Hindus”, says Khan, who holds a diploma in Urdu. He also claims to have contributed 10 slabs of stone from Rajasthan for the temple.
A resident of the panchayat of Mirzapur Maafi in Faizabad and the owner of a bakery, Khan has been voicing opinions contrary to those of his larger community. “I have become unpopular with my own people. Now, I have security follow me around," Khan told THE WEEK. He says that even his family needs security as he has received threats from ‘terrorists’.
“On social media, people write filth about my son and me. My family is not safe,” he says. Yet, he will continue do whatever is required for the construction of the temple.
Suryakant Pandey, an Ayodhya-based social activist, says that Khan is looking for cheap and easy publicity. “There are many Muslims who are part of the BJP and the RSS. They go about their work quietly without irking anyone. Khan practices a kind of pro-Hindu politics which is stringently anti-Muslim. He is not liked by anyone”, Pandey told THE WEEK.
Shah Alam, a filmmaker from Ayodhya told THE WEEK, “He is in a great hurry to reach some place—any place. It is not as if he has cleaned truck loads of stones. It was all done for photos, and the media played along”.
The Ram Janmbhoomi Nyas workshop, where these stones lie exposed to rain and wind—more mottled green than pink—has been a popular tourist draw. For a decade, there was an incessant din of hammers as artisans from across the country carved pillars, beams and walls to be picked and installed as soon as a call for temple construction was made.
