A mosque and a dargah, on land belonging to the Hanumangarhi Trust in Ayodhya, show there is more to the place than the Ramjanambhoomi-Babri Masjid conflict
A mosque and a dargah, on land belonging to the Hanumangarhi Trust in Ayodhya, show there is more to the place than the Ramjanambhoomi-Babri Masjid conflict
Ayodhya: The city of Ayodhya is more than a dot on the map. It's a wound that hasn't been healed in the eighteen years since December 1992 when kar sevaks brought down the Babri Masjid. 
Rising above religion:The head of Hanuman Garhi Trust himself
visits the Dargah of Ibrahim Sahib regularly. Pic/rajeev tyagi
However, what is striking is that despite all these years of communal polarisation, particularly around Ram Janambhoomi, there seems to be tranquility within the town and among its people.
As the nation anxiously awaits the verdict in the Ramjanambhoomi-Babri mosque title suit, the 'Mecca Khurd' is busy setting a text-book example of unity in diversity.
While several litigants are slugging it out over the 750 sq feet of land, which is said to be the birth place of Ram and where the Babri Masjid once stood, a 750-year-old mosque and dargah of a sufi saint holds out hope.
The Argada Masjid and the Dargah of Ibrahim Sahib are both located on land belonging to the Hanumangarhi Trust.u00a0
"The land on which the mosque stands and the nearby residential areas belong to the Hanumangarhi Trust. People residing in the area pay rent to the Trust and there has been no restriction on Muslims praying five times a day in the mosque," said Mahant Satyendra Das, chief priest of the Ramjanambhoomi temple.Das, who was also the chief priest in Hanumangarhi temple in 1959 and 1971, told MiD DAY:u00a0 "When a court order restrained caretakers of the mosque from renovating and repairing it, as the land belonged to Haumangarhi, the Trust itself offered to repair the ancient mosque."
There are more Hindus here and only a few houses belong to Muslims who are regulars at the mosque.
Even during the riots in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992, not a single incident of violence was reported from here.
The Dargah of Ibrahim Sahib is venerated by the people of both faiths. "People, no matter which religion they pursue, come here to offer chadar and pray," said Mohammed Junaid Qadri Rizvi, Gaddinazir (Manager), Syed Mohammed Ibrahim Shah, Argada, Swargdwar.
The head of Hanuman Garhi Trust himself visits the Dargah regularly. "Every year during the three-day Urs, which is organised on 24-26th day of the Islamic calendar month of Rajab, Sarpanch Baba Bhav Nath Dasji along with all his associates visits the Dargah to offer chadar," Mohammad Junaid told MiD DAY.
"Journalists have always focussed on the demolition of the mosque in Ayodhya. No one reported such examples of communal harmony. The two communities live in peace," he said.
The popular belief is Syed Mohammed Ibrahim Shah had come to this place from Tashkent in Kazakhstan on a horse. His horse stopped at this very spot and refused to move further. "The place is called Argara because of this myth," Junaid said.u00a0u00a0u00a0
Icons Of Peace
>>u00a0Dargah Naugazi, an 18 yards (16.2 metres) long-grave, named after a pir (saint) named Nuh Aleihi Salaam, is located in a narrow lane. Interestingly, Nuh is believed to be Noah and the grave the famous Ark. Another interpretation is that the mound perhaps was built over the remains of the Ark. The shrine, visited by scores of devotees, has no independent custodian.
>>u00a0The Teen Darvesh dargah, whose dome was also targeted by kar sevaks in December 1992 after the demolition of the Babri Masjid, is near Naugazi. No one knows the identity of the three saints buried there but it has a large following from all communities.
>>u00a0The most notable after Naugazi is the dargah of Sheesh Paigambar. Considered one of the holiest shrines in town, some people believe the saint to be the son of Adam. There is a spot called the Ganesh Kund, on the southern side of the grave, where devotees take a dip. There appears to be no contradiction of faiths here.
>>u00a0The dargah of Badi Bua located at a railway crossing between Ayodhya and Faizabad, is one of the few dargahs of women in the area. Badi Bua was the sister of Hazrat Khwaja Nasiruddin Chiragh Dehli, the spiritual successor of the Hazrat Khwaja Nizammudin Auliya, the Chisti Sufi of Delhi.
>>u00a0Two famous Jain temples in Ayodhya and the Gurudwara Brahmakund Sahib - where three prominent Sikh gurus, including the founder of the Sikh religion, Guru Nanak, are known to have preached - are symbolic of the peaceful coexistence of communities over the centuries.
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