The Lucknow Municipal Corporation’s plan to install a statue of Lord Lakshman, the brother of Lord Ram, in Lucknow has run into rough weather due to its proposed location. Muslim groups in the capital are objecting to the decision to install the statue at the crossing right next to the Teele Wali Masjid.
According to reports, two BJP leaders – Ram Krishna Yadav and Rajnish Gupta – proposed on 27 June that a huge statue of Lord Lakshman be installed in front of the historic mosque.
Their contention, which is based on the belief that Lord Lakshman laid the foundation of the city of Lucknow, is that the deity from the Ramayana has a significant religious and cultural connection to the city and its denizens.
“Lucknow was based and enhanced by Laxman-ji, we want Lucknow to be renamed as Laxmanpuri. We will also bring a proposal regarding it,” said Yadav.
The Asian Age reports that Lucknow Mayor Sanyukta Bhatia, too, believes that it is perfectly in order to install the statue of Lakshman in the state capital since the city is known as “the city of Lakshman”.
Objecting to the proposal, Maulana Fazle Mannan, the Shahi Imam of the Masjid, said the installation of the statue is an attempt to provoke Muslim sentiments. The Imam also said that the statue of the Hindu god revered by many should be erected at an appropriate place because the proposed site is small.
“Islam doesn’t permit a statue or a portrait and people will not be able to offer ‘namaaz’ if a statue if installed in front of the Masjid,” said the Imam.
“The statue of a personality as grand as Lord Lakshman should be put at an equally grand place. Tikonia park is small and used for offering ‘Namaz’,” he was quoted as saying by ANI.
The Imam reportedly said that during Islamic religious occasions thousands of people often spill over on the roads.
The Maulana said that he would soon seek the intervention of Governor Ram Naik and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the matter citing the problems that would be caused due to the installation of the statue and the fact no construction can take place with the permission of the Archaeological Survey of India.
According to reports, the area falls under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), so the Lucknow Nagar Nigam would need an approval to install the grand statue.
LMC’s executive committee reportedly approved the proposal on the grounds that the place was earlier called ‘Lakshman Teela’. It is yet to pass LMC’s house meeting.
The proposal follows BJP leader Lalji Tandon claimed in his book ‘Ankaha Lucknow’ that the Teele Wali Masjid was constructed on a demolished Lakshman Teela.
The Teele Wali Masjid is located in the old part of the city on the banks of the River Gomti. It is flanked by the Bara Imambara and the Rumi Darwaza to its south and west. The King George’s Medical University (KGMU) stands opposite the mosque. The exact date of construction of the Masjid is not known but it was built by the Mughal governor during the reign of Aurangzeb (1658-1707).