Lakshman statue may be installed at a different spot, decision next month: Mayor
LUCKNOW: The Nagar Nigam might scrap the ‘controversial’ proposal to install a grand statue of Lakshman at the roundabout, opposite city’s most prominent mosque—Teele Wali Masjid.
Mayor Sanyukta Bhatia said the spot—roundabout opposite the mosque—may be changed if installation of statue hurts religious sentiments. “The spot can be changed, depending upon the suggestions from the corporators. The final decision over the spot is yet to be taken. It will be ensured that religious sentiments do not get hurt. But Nagar Nigam would surely install a grand statue of Lakshman Ji as Lucknow is known by the name of Lakshman Teela,” said the mayor.
She said the decision would be taken in the house meeting scheduled in August first week. “Our priority will be the roundabout opposite the mosque. But in case of any objection by our corporators in the meeting, we may shift the spot somewhere else,” she said.
Proposal to install the statue of Lakshman, lord Ram’s younger brother, first came in during the executive committee meeting held last month. In the meeting, a proposal from a corporator from Gomti Nagar area was made regarding installation of a grand statue and a plaque, highlighting Lucknow—Lakshman connect. “I made the proposal to install grand statue of Lakshman Ji to re-establish connect between Lord Ram’s brother and Lucknow,” said Ram Krishna Yadav, corporator, Nagar Nigam.
It was also proposed that statue should be installed at the roundabout opposite Teele Wali Masjid, citing it the most appropriate place. The proposal however created a controversy, not only among clerics but also among historians and residents. Some clerics called it a ‘cheap political gimmick ahead of 2019 elections’, while a few strongly opposed the decision, saying ‘namaz’ could not be offered in front of a statue.
Maulana Shah Fajlul Mannan, Imam, Teele Wali Masjid said, “It’s a cheap political gimmick, ahead of elections”.
He said he is not against installation of the statue but the place where it would be installed. Installation of the statue outside the mosque, he said, would cause inconvenience to the namazis and also to the visitors at the ‘mazaar’ of Shah Pir Mohammed, just a few metres away. Other clerics said that the Nagar Nigam should ensure that religious sentiments of others were not hurt.
“The same issue was raised in 1993 also after which the matter was resolved through talks. It’s an appeal to the government to install the statue anywhere else but not in front of Teele Wali Masjid,” a cleric said.
City historians on their part said it was difficult to establish Lucknow-Lakshman connect as there were no evidences or documents in history that suggested Teele Wali Masjid was built in place of Lakshman Teela. “Nowhere in history is there a mention of the name ‘Lakshman Teela’. In fact, the name is not even mentioned in the first Census carried out by the British government in Oudh. In Lucknow’s 1000-year history, there is no mention of Lakshman Teela,” said Roshan Taqui, noted historian.
Prior to this, BJP veteran Lalji Tandon’s book ‘Ankaha Lucknow’, which allegedly accused Muslims of severing the city’s connect with the younger brother of Lord Ram, had also triggered a controversy. The book stated the state capital’s biggest Sunni mosque, built during the reign of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, was constructed over Lakshman Teela, a raised platform believed to be named after Lord Ram’s brother.