Amin Sheikh, Mainul Sheikh, Anowar Ali and thousands of others poured into Beldanga in Murshidabad with bricks from their villages on Saturday, driven by a common desire to “undo the mistake that the Muslims of Ayodhya committed by not rebuilding the Babri mosque”.
The villagers, mostly migrant labourers, said that contributing to the foundation-stone laying ceremony for the proposed Babri mosque, spearheaded by suspended Trinamool Congress MLA Humayun Kabir, was an attempt at righting the wrong that had happened at Ayodhya.
They claimed it was also a mark of protest against the atrocities allegedly faced by Bengal's Muslims in Odisha and other states where they once worked before being forced to return.
“It is an event to correct the wrong done in the past and establish our right as legitimate Indian citizens,” said Aminul, who was labelled a Bangladeshi and had to face attacks in a BJP-ruled state.
The ceremony was held at Moradighi along the NH-12, where traffic came to a standstill.
Trucks and tractors loaded with bricks brought from as far as North Dinajpur and Canning in South 24-Parganas weaved past the crowds to unload the construction material at the proposed Babri Masjid site at Chetiani village, 2km away.
Vehicle movement on both the Calcutta and North Bengal-bound lanes of the highway was choked for nearly six hours.
Police said a 15km stretch of NH-12 between Beldanga and Rejinagar remained completely blocked as “about 1 lakh people were on the road near the venue of the programme”.
Responding to police appeals, Kabir cut short the main programme by 30 minutes, ending it at 1.30pm instead of the scheduled 2pm.
“We cannot create problems for the people on the road. There may be ambulances that were stopped midway,” he said.
Amid the frenzy, several people were seen carrying bricks, calling it a contribution to a holy cause and retribution for the “error perpetrated through the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya”. Many of them equated the gesture with the brick-donation spree during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
Ashraf Ali, who identified himself as an ISF activist from Bhangar, arrived with friends in a car loaded with bricks. “We have not come here for political reasons, but to participate in the construction of the Babri Masjid, which is a passion for us. It was unjustly demolished. So we rushed here because the Babri Masjid will be built here,” he said.
The organisers said that villagers had arrived carrying bricks on their heads, while others rode in on motorbikes with bricks strapped behind them. Many sent bricks by lorry, with more than a hundred such vehicles standing on the road, a traffic officer said.
Piled at the proposed mosque site, the bricks resembled an ever-growing mountain. Next to the site stood a brickfield from where bricks were being bought and donated.
Brickfield owner Mustafa Chowdhury said the bricks had been sold at ₹10 each and that he had earned around ₹15 lakh on Saturday.
“I saw the frenzy and emotion of the people… it was unimaginable,” he said.
Moved by the scenes unfolding before him, an euphoric Kabir said: “The main mosque will be built on a three-cottah plot, while a medical college and hospital and a university will come up on a 25-bigha plot.”
Kabir, who reached Moradighi around 10am, was welcomed by students and teachers of various Beldanga madrasas. He said the bricks collected would not be used only for the mosque but also for a school, hospital, inn and other ancillary projects, “which nobody ever imagined”. Two qazis from Medina were present.
At the start of the event, Kabir attacked the state government and Trinamool, while expressing gratitude to the judiciary. "A lot of conspiracy was done to stop the laying of the foundation stone. But they failed to stop it,” he said as the crowd chanted slogans against the ruling party.
As people continued streaming towards the venue, an unusual problem arose — voluntary deposits into an SBI account associated with the project exceeded the day’s permissible transaction limit. Around noon, Kabir urged supporters not to send any more money.
“The branch manager informed us that those who wish to send money might send it tomorrow,” he announced.
The block on online transactions didn’t stop the cash flow. Within two hours, the two containers kept near the venue were overflowing with cash. People dug into their savings and made contributions — big and small.
“I am a poor migrant worker, but I shelled out whatever I could for the grand cause,” said Iqbal Ahmed, who had come from Kalna, East Burdwan.
A little later, Kabir announced that the SBI branch had raised the deposit limit by ₹20 lakh. The crowd erupted in joy.
Amid the charged atmosphere, Kabir announced that an Indian Muslim businessman with an annual turnover of about ₹4,000 crore had expressed willingness to donate ₹80 crore.
“We are not taking his money right now. We will take that help before the work begins,” he said, adding that a doctor from Calcutta had offered ₹1 crore.
While the donations surged, free chicken biryani was served to the crowd.
Soon, a striking admission came from the stage — the land for the project had been identified but not yet registered.
“We have not yet purchased the land… but it has been discussed and the land identified at Chetiani village,” Kabir said.
“Everything will be sorted out soon,” a confident Kabir told The Telegraph.
“This is just a trailer... the big picture is waiting next year for Mamata Banerjee. She will have to pay the price for conspiring against me and misleading the Muslim community,” the MLA added.
About 200 maulanas and social workers sat on the stage during the programme, along with teachers and students from local madrasas. No political leaders were seen.
After the programme, Murshidabad police chief Kumar Sunny Raj expressed relief.
“I am happy with the way everyone cooperated. There was not even a small accident on the stretch today despite the huge gathering," he said.
"The police helped end the programme peacefully and arranged for the return of the people. As a result, both the Chetiani and Moradighi events under Rejinagar police station ended smoothly."