Ayodhya: Villagers hopeful new mosque will help bring development

There are 22 big and small mosques in Dhannipur, a village with a population of nearly 2,000 where land has been allotted for building a mosque to replace the demolished Babri Masjid.

According to residents, four of these mosques are Jama Masjid, where Friday prayers are held. But as they wait for the work to start on the new mosque, the villagers' main hope is that the newfound limelight will ensure better amenities for them and help bring development in the area.

The land for the mosque is adjacent to 18th century Sufi shrine of Shahgada Baba, believed to be the disciple of famous Sufi Syed Makhdum Ashraf Jahangeer who has a mausoleum in Kichaucha in Ambedkarnagar district, and maximum visitors to this shrine are Hindu devotees.

Nearly half of the residents of the village are Muslims, and many of them like Mohammad Faheem Khan say the proposed mosque should not be connected with Mughal emperor Babar, as he was not a representative of Indian Muslims.

"The true representatives of ...