The local population is dead against the backdoor entry of Ram Janmabhumi Nirman Ucchadhikar Samiti, an apex body of the VHP, in the ongoing negotiations for settlement.

Significantly enough, the chief of Nirmohi Akhara, Mahant Bhaskar Das, has publicly declared that he would withdraw from the negotiations, if there was any attempt to politicise the issue with the interference from outfits like VHP.

He made it clear that the Akhara would not be led by any pressure coming from the Ram Janmabhumi Uchchadhikar Samiti as far as the negotiations for Ayodhya settlements were concerned.

Similarly, Mahant Gyan Das, the head of the Akhil Bharat Akhara Parishad, also made it pretty clear that he would not allow VHP, or its allied organizations, to hijack the Ram Temple issue as had happened in the past.

It would be worth mentioning here that the 90 year old Hasim Ansari, who has been among the main parties in the title suit of Ram Janmabhumi-Babri Masjid case for the last 60 years, took the initiative to meet Mahant Gyan Das, and others, to arrive at peacefully negotiated settlement. It seems apparent that he does not want to move to Supreme Court after the Allahabad High Court judgement, which rejected the claim of Sunni Central Waqf Board over the title of the disputed site.

There have been sharp reactions amongst the local populace of Faizabad and Ayodhya following the statements made by the BJP and VHP leaders. Mahant Ram Vilash Vedanti made the announcement that compromise formula would only be implemented if it was approved by the Ram Janmabhumi Uchchadhikar Samiti.

The two Akhara leaders, Mahant Gyan Das and Mahant Bhaskar Das, reportedly said that they were not bound by any guidelines or discipline from any committee to go ahead with the temple construction in Ayodhya.

Significantly enough, Mahant Gyan Das and Mahant Bhaskar Das have no objection if the temple and mosque are both constructed at the Ayodhya site.

On the other hand, Ram Janmabhumi Uchchadhikar Samiti with 21 religious leaders, including Shankaracharyas and Mahamandaleshawars as members, are not willing to give land for the construction of the mosque. This attitude would further complicate the issue and help fundamentalists to create ever more hurdles in reaching negotiated settlement.

According to informed sources, the Ram Janmabhumi Uchchadhikar Samiti is likely to meet very soon to review the situation after High Court verdict, which gave one-third of the land of disputed site to Muslims as well.

The local people of Faizabad-Ayodhya were elated when Hasim Ansari took the initiative to have direct dialogue with Mahant Gyan Das and Mahant Bhaskar Das to arrive at a mutually negotiated settlement.

There have been several meetings between the two parties and they are confident of arriving at a solution to the Ayodhya tangle.

Hasim Ansari said that he was too old to carry the case further to Supreme Court and he wanted the settlement of the issue in his life time.

Ansari, who had received threat to his life in the past regarding the Ayodhya quagmire, has now been granted Y category security on the recommendations of Faizabad administration.

Although the legal committee of All India Muslim Personal Law Board opine that this is a fit case for the Supreme Court, but some of the members welcome the out-of-court settlement attempts of Hasim Ansari. The meeting of All India Muslim Personal Law Board would take place on October 16 to discuss the issue and finally take the decision.

Mohammad Khalique, member of the legal cell of All India Muslim Personal Law Board, said that although some of the members favour the move to Supreme Court, nevertheless, in the meantime, they would watch the efforts of Hasim Ansari for negotiating an out-of-court settlement.

Meanwhile, a delegation of Sufi saints from the Kheda district in Gujarat visited Faizabad and Ayodhya, and met Mahant Gyan Das as they honoured him for this efforts towards the negotiated settlement along with Hasim Ansari.

Similarly, former Allahabad High Court Judge, Palok Basu, also visited Faizabad and met Mahant Gyan Das to appreciate the latter's efforts for an out-of-court settlement.

Maulana Mahmood Madni, president of Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, said that the next generation should not face this religious conflict and be provided the opportunity to march ahead in peaceful manner. He also made appeal to the community to accept the verdict.

Prominent Sunni leader and Naib Imam of Idgah as well as member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Mr Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali, and Mr Kamal Faruqi, also favour compromise to end this very old issue which had rocked the entire nation for several decades.

The meeting of leaders from all the three sides involved in the Ayodhya case, that is, Hasim Ansari from Sunni Waqf Board, Ram Das from Nirmohi Akhara, and Ram Vilas Vedanti from Ramlalla Virajman, announced that they had arrived at a formula which included both mandir and masjid, and it would be made public in 60 days. The abovementioned meeting took place in Ayodhya on October 10. (IPA Service)