NEW DELHI: Hashim Ansari, 95, the oldest litigant in the Babri Masjid case, died early on Wednesday morning due to heart-related complications.
According to a report published in The Hindu daily, Ansari was suffering from heart ailment for a long time and was living with a pacemaker. Ansari passed away in the wee hours — at around 5 a.m. — at his house in the temple city of Ayodhya, not too far away from the disputed site, the paper quoted his son, Iqbal, as saying.
“I will carry on the fight on my father’s behalf,” Iqbal told The Hindu.
In signs of his failing health, in February, he had been admitted to the ICU of the King George Medical University in Lucknow after complaining chest pain and congestion. He had also suffered a fracture recently but he could not be operated upon as he had a pacemaker, said Gujran Siddiqui, a Faizabad-based activist close to the family. “He was unable to walk in the last few days,” Mr. Siddiqui said.
Born in Ayodhya, Ansari’s father was a tailor who owned a shop in the Shringar Haat area. Ansari followed his father’s traditional business till the Emergency — during which he spent months in Bareilly jail — after which he shifted to repairing cycles for a few years.
Ansari had been associated with the Babri Masjid case since 1949, being among the persons arrested for breaching public peace after the episode in which idols of Lord Ram were planted in the mosque.
In 1952, he was sentenced to two years in jail by a Faizabad court for giving azaan (call for prayer) in the disputed mosque.
In 1961, he along with six others, became the main plaintiff in the ‘Ayodhya title suit’ filed by the Sunni Central Waqf Board in the court of Faizabad civil judge. He was the lone surviving litigant and considered the main voice from the Muslim-end.
Zafaryab Jilani, the convenor of the Babri Action Committee, said Ansari’s passing away would not impact the case.
“All his statements had been recorded in the High Court and his documents filed. His death will not impact the case. But his passing will have an impact on public life. He was one of the last persons to have personal knowledge of the Babri issue. He was well-versed in the issue,” Mr. Jilani said.
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Oldest Babri Masjid litigant passes away; son vows to carry on the fight
Oldest Babri Masjid litigant passes away; son vows to carry on the fight
Taiwan says Chinese drone made ‘provocative’ flight over South China Sea island
TAIPEI: A Chinese reconnaissance drone briefly flew over the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands at the top end of the South China Sea on Saturday, in what Taiwan’s defense ministry called a “provocative and irresponsible” move.
Democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, reports Chinese military activity around it on an almost daily basis, including drones though they very rarely enter Taiwanese airspace.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said the Chinese reconnaissance drone was detected around dawn on Saturday approaching the Pratas Islands and flew in its airspace for eight minutes at an altitude outside the range of anti-aircraft weapons.
“After our side broadcast warnings on international channels, it departed at 0548,” it said in a statement.
“Such highly provocative and irresponsible actions by the People’s Liberation Army seriously undermine regional peace and stability, violated international legal norms, and will inevitably be condemned,” it added.
Taiwan’s armed forces will continue to maintain strict vigilance and monitoring, and will respond in accordance with the routine combat readiness rules, the ministry said.
Calls to China’s defense ministry outside of office hours on a weekend went unanswered.
In 2022, Taiwan’s military for the first time shot down an unidentified civilian drone that entered its airspace near an islet off the Chinese coast controlled by Taiwan.
Lying roughly between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance — more than 400 km (250 miles) — from mainland Taiwan.
The Pratas, an atoll which is also a Taiwanese national park, are only lightly defended by Taiwan’s military, but lie at a highly strategic location at the top end of the disputed South China Sea.
China also views the Pratas as its own territory.
Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.
Democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, reports Chinese military activity around it on an almost daily basis, including drones though they very rarely enter Taiwanese airspace.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said the Chinese reconnaissance drone was detected around dawn on Saturday approaching the Pratas Islands and flew in its airspace for eight minutes at an altitude outside the range of anti-aircraft weapons.
“After our side broadcast warnings on international channels, it departed at 0548,” it said in a statement.
“Such highly provocative and irresponsible actions by the People’s Liberation Army seriously undermine regional peace and stability, violated international legal norms, and will inevitably be condemned,” it added.
Taiwan’s armed forces will continue to maintain strict vigilance and monitoring, and will respond in accordance with the routine combat readiness rules, the ministry said.
Calls to China’s defense ministry outside of office hours on a weekend went unanswered.
In 2022, Taiwan’s military for the first time shot down an unidentified civilian drone that entered its airspace near an islet off the Chinese coast controlled by Taiwan.
Lying roughly between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance — more than 400 km (250 miles) — from mainland Taiwan.
The Pratas, an atoll which is also a Taiwanese national park, are only lightly defended by Taiwan’s military, but lie at a highly strategic location at the top end of the disputed South China Sea.
China also views the Pratas as its own territory.
Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.
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