Setting an example of Hindu-Muslim brotherhood, the first donation towards the proposed construction of a mosque in Ayodhya district of Uttar Pradesh has come from a Hindu.
A Lucknow University law faculty member Rohit Srivastava, has donated Rs 21,000 for the mosque at Dhannipur village which earned him praise from mosque trust secretary Athar Hussain.
"The first contribution for the building of the mosque came from a Hindu brother which is exemplary and heart-warming example of the Indian culture," Hussain said.
The Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF) constituted by the Sunni Waqf Board to build the mosque, library, museum and community kitchen on five acres of land has set up a corpus fund for the project.
Srivastava said: "I come from a generation that is rooted in syncretism, where religious barriers blur. I don't celebrate Holi or Diwali without my Muslim friends and they don't celebrate Eid without me. This is the story of crores of Hindus and Muslims in India. I appeal to members of the Hindu community to come forward and donate for the mosque to send out a message that Muslims are our brothers."
The district administration had handed over five acres, as ordered by the Supreme Court in lieu of the Babri Masjid, to the Waqf Board in August. In February 2020, the Uttar Pradesh government had announced allotment of land at Dhannipur in Sadar tehsil of Faizabad, about 25 km from the Ram Janambhoomi complex.
