RIP: With Hashim Ansari's death, an era ends in the Ayodhya dispute

The voice of Hashim Ansari, the oldest litigant representing the Muslim community in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit and who advocated an amicable court settlement in the Ayodhya case, fell silent on Wednesday.

Ansari died early on Wednesday morning at the age of 95 after a prolonged illness. He had been suffering from heart and breathing problems related to old age and had been admitted to the local hospital’s ICU for some time.

With Ansari gone, the feeble chance of an out-of-court settlement in the Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute has dimmed further. As per Ansari’s wish, his son Iqbal is likely to be made the petitioner in his place.

Hashim lived in a small, nondescript house in a lane in old Ayodhya and ran a small tailoring shop most of his life but he became popular because of his involvement in the Ayodhya shrine case. Known as ‘chacha’ by locals, he was a familiar figure in Ayodhya and a symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity despite the court case. In fact he often used to express anguish at the “plight” of Ram Lalla (Lord Ram as a child) sitting under a canvas canopy, and had expressed the hope that one day a magnificent Ram temple would be constructed there, alongside a mosque.

He was one of the petitioners on behalf of the Muslim community in the case filed in December 1949 after some idols appeared at the site after which it was claimed to be the birth place of Lord Ram. In 1961, Ansari had become plaintiff along with five others with Sunni Central Waqf Board of Uttar Pradesh. Since then, Ansari had taken pains to attend every hearing whenever possible, and of late, had been expressing his frustration at the slow pace of litigation. He used to say that he wished to see a solution in his lifetime but blamed vested interests in both communities for prolonging the dispute.

He had also named Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mohammad Azam Khan, a minister in the Akhilesh Yadav government, as trying to derive political capital out of the dispute and in 2014, had said in an outburst that he wanted to exit as a petitioner in the case. However, he was persuaded by others, including office bearers of the Babri Masjid Action Committee, to stay on. At one point in 2015, Ansari had also said that if Prime Minister Narendra Modi so wished, a solution to the contentious issue could be found out of court.

Old-timers in Ayodhya remember how Ansari and the petitioners from the Hindu side, Mahant Ram Kewal Das and Mahant Ram Chandra Paramhans, often used to share the same rickshaw to go to court to attend the case hearing. They used to joke about who will have the upper hand in the case that day, and after coming out, used to sit together to have tea and snacks. When Ram Chandra Paramhans died in 2013, Ansari had commented that he had lost a “long-time friend.” Ansari had also condoled the death of Ashok Singhal of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in 2015, saying that Singhal’s death was “a big loss” for the Ram Mandir movement.

During the troubled days of 1992, after the shrine demolition rioters set fire to Ansari’s house, many of his Hindu neighbours rushed to his rescue and gave him shelter. In subsequent years, his home became a favourite haunt of visiting journalists from India and abroad. Iqbal would speak directly in Ansari’s ears since the older man found it difficult to hear despite using a hearing aid.

When news of Ansari’s death spread in Ayodhya, a huge crowd gathered at his house. Many saints and priests of temples in Ayodhya expressed their grief and condoled his death. Mahant Gyan Das, former president of Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad and head priest of Hanuman Garhi temple, said in his condolence message that Ansari was among those who wanted a solution by consensus to the dispute. Locals and legal experts say that the possibility of an out-of-court settlement in the case had further dimmed as Ansari was the only one from his side who advocated such an approach.