The friendly face of Babri - Hashim Ansari
Omar Rashid
JULY 30, 2016 16:15
IST
https://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/The-friendly-face-of-Babri/article14545896.ece
Hashim Ansari, the
oldest litigant in the Babri Masjid case, passed away on July 20. Photo:
Special Arrangement.
Justice may have
eluded him but the amiable and persistent Hashim Ansari was the sanest voice in
a deeply divisive debate
In February this year,
reports of Hashim Ansari’s demise spread like wildfire on social media and
WhatsApp. This was not the first time such a rumour had circulated but there
was a particular sense of pessimism this time. At 95, Ansari, the oldest
litigant in the Babri Masjid case, was on a pacemaker and had been brought to
Lucknow after complaining of chest pain.
I decided to visit
him at Lari Cardiology Centre at King George Medical University in Lucknow. At
the entrance, an armed policeman was meticulously recording all visits in a
book. The intensive care unit in Lucknow’s best-known hospital was overrun by
cockroaches. And on the hospital bed lay Ansari, frail and quiet. “Sab theek
hai?” he asked in a low yet stable voice when he noticed I was clicking
pictures of the room.
“Ji, sab theek (all
is well),” I replied, only to realise a few seconds later that I had
misunderstood his query. He was not asking about my well-being but his own,
anxious about the long line of visitors. The conversation ended on a positive
note and everyone in the ward said Ansari would live to be a 100 — something I
strongly felt myself. That was the last time I would see him — yet this final
meeting did not truly represent the personality that Ansari was. Although he
embodied the despair, the long wait and the futility of the Babri Masjid case,
he will be best remembered for his tenacity and resolve in trying to secure
justice through constitutional means. That is why his voice emerged as the
sanest amid all the divisive politics and provocative posturing. One of the
last persons to have personal knowledge of the Babri Masjid episode, his
inclusive rhetoric and insistence on a peaceful resolution made him the middle
ground. With his death, an era ends and a void is created.
Ansari was born to a
tailor in Ayodhya. After studying till Class 2, he joined his father in
tailoring till the Emergency, when he spent eight months in Bareilly jail.
Apart from the usual clothes, Ansari also stitched garments for the gods in
nearby temples, a service he offered in return for prasad. After his release
from jail, he repaired cycles for a few years.
In 1949, Ansari was
among those arrested when idols of Lord Ram were planted inside the
400-year-old mosque. Later, he was sentenced to two years in jail for giving azaan
at Babri Masjid. In 1961, when the Sunni Waqf filed a case, he and six others
became the main plaintiffs in the ‘Ayodhya title suit’. But why was Ansari
picked? For his amiable and persistent nature. In her book, Portraits from
Ayodhya, Scharada Dubey writes: “He was perceived as honest, because he didn’t
hanker after big money or a high public profile. Instead, he needed only kind
words, a small treat in the form of samosas and tea or similar offerings, to
keep going faithfully to the courts for every hearing.”
His simplicity and
integrity got him wide affection, including that of his opponents. His
cordiality with Mahant Paramhans Ramchandra Das, head of Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas
in Ayodhya, was hailed as an example of Ayodhya’s composite culture. “They were
legal opponents over what is essentially a property dispute… But they were
friends too and often travelled by the same car to court where they took on
each other,” Dubey writes.
In contrast to the
divisive political campaign, those actually involved in the legal battle —
Hindus and Muslims — displayed a bonhomie that reflected Awadh’s famed
‘Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb’. It was only befitting that prominent Hindu seers,
including Acharya Satyendra Das, head priest at Ram Janmabhoomi Temple, were
the first to visit Ansari’s house after his death.
Ansari lived in a
humble dwelling just off the main road near the Tedhi Bazaar Chauraha, not too
far from the disputed site. The words “Suraksha guard se poochkar andar jaye –
Hashim Ansari” etched in red Devanagari font on his unassuming door were the
only marker of his importance. And the four armed policemen camping outside.
The district administration gave him protection in 1992, when he was attacked
by a mob of Hindutva activists who tore down the mosque. Ansari was saved by
his Hindu neighbours – scores of Muslim residents of Ayodhya lived to tell
similar tales.
“Don’t you mistake
that I am under threat from the common Hindu or any other person. I am under
threat from the administration, the political parties,” he had told me in
December 2012, on the 20th anniversary of the Babri demolition. Though he was
highly spiteful of the VHP and RSS — despising them for playing “politics over
Ram”-- he harboured bitterness for the Congress, and this feeling aggravated
after the demolition of the Babri Masjid. He held former Prime Minister P.V.
Narsimha Rao personally responsible for the demolition and the violence in the
aftermath. Yet, in his discussions and criticism, he was a voice of peace,
least bit provocative or polarizing. He always propagated a peaceful solution
to the long-standing dispute and once wondered, “What fighting over a few acres
of land given us.” ‘Even if the case is won, the construction of the mosque
will not start till the Hindus gave their support willingly,’ was his common
refrain.
His quick humour and
politically clever remarks made him a favourite with journalists, who played a
role in making him the most recognisable face of the controversy. He used to
offer his beedis to visiting journalists. On days of his bad temper, he could scold
away a reporter for asking an unintelligent question or putting words in his
mouth. Each time the Ram Mandir issue surfaced, or when December 6 approached
each year, he was by far the most sought-after man in Ayodhya. Long chats with
him gave you a hint of his sharp political wisdom and essential nuggets from
the Babri episode.
Last December, while
explaining to me the RSS-BJP projection of Dalits and OBCs as frontal faces to
target Muslims, he made a jibe at a senior OBC BJP leader known for his role in
the Hindutva movement. “Vinay Katiyar kehta hai Ram Mandir banaenge, lekin usse
poocho kya woh pujari ban payega kya?” he said with scorn.
Ansari’s integrity
and selfless nature came at a cost. He died a pauper, leaving behind a daughter
and a son, who runs a tyre repair shop. Those close to him say his family
members often criticised him for not making the most of his fame, just like
some others associated with the case had. The governments too, did not give him
his due. In 2014, when he was seriously ill and referred to Lucknow, his
operation could not take place on time as his family did not have enough money.
For most of his life,
Ansari hoped for a legal end to the dispute. In his later days, however, he
gave in to disenchantment and the word insaaf or justice would get an irritated
response from him. He vowed to dedicate his remaining time for maintaining
communal harmony, and economic uplift of his community through a demand for
reservations. “Justice, if any, should have come a long time ago. By the time
the Supreme Court decides anything, I may not live to see it. Hum nahi ladenge
yeh ladai, babri masjid ki ladai. Yeh film chalti rahegi.” (The film will go
on.)
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