Hugs, handshakes mark end of 40-yr-old tussle over shrine land
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Varanasi: A long-pending dispute over a place of worship between two religious groups is rarely resolved over hugs, handshakes and sweets. But it happened in Varanasi's Jagatganj on Tuesday.
A 3500 square feet premises here that houses a century-old Bade Hanuman Temple and that's also considered sacred by Sikhs as it is claimed that Guru Tegh Bahadur had paid visit to the site had been locked for over 40 years following claims and counterclaims and lawsuits in courts.
Following efforts by the local community, a few mediators and a genuinely good gesture by the religious leaders of both sides, the issue was amicably resolved on Tuesday.
It was a sight of rare warmth and prudence.
"The series of meetings between the temple committee's Shyam Naryan Pandey and Gurdwara committee's office-bearers and representatives, including Sardar Karan Singh Sabharwal and Sardar Paramjit Singh Ahluwalia, helped us reach a historical conclusion," said Pradeep Narain Singh, who belongs to freedom fighter Jagat Narain Singh's family.
Singh mediated and convinced the administrators and authorised representatives of the Shri Bade Hanuman Temple Management Committee and Gurdwara Management Committee to bury the decades-old hatchets and reach an amicable solution.
Both groups expressed their happiness and celebrated the moment by exchanging sweets and garlands as the symbolic lock on the disputed land was finally removed after both sides reached a mutual understanding. Now, this site will accommodate both a Hanuman temple and a Gurdwara, said temple committee's Shyam Naryan Pandey.
The Gurdwara Management Committee expressed its gratitude and acknowledged the support of the administrative departments and officials of Varanasi.
The dispute over the ownership of the land, which was donated by Jagatganj natives for the construction of a gurdwara and a temple, mainly started in 1980. The assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984, followed by anti-Sikh riots, aggravated the situation. After the situation started normalising, the tug-of-war for the ownership of the land intensified, and the dispute took an ugly turn, finally ending up in the courtroom.
The district administration sealed the plot as a preventative measure due to rising tensions. Regular court hearings in this case began in 2014.
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