Zafaryab Jilani: Lawyer who fought for a lost cause

Jilani, who was the secretary of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), died at 73 in a Lucknow hospital on Wednesday.

Zafaryab Jilani first saw the Babri Masjid in 1984.

In an interview, he recalled how Hashim Ansari, one of the original litigants in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute, took him to the mosque on his bicycle.

The lawyer's association with disputed structure continued over the decades, making him one of the prominent faces from the Muslim side in the wrangle that ended with a historic Supreme Court in verdict in 2019.

Jilani, who was the secretary of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), died at 73 in a Lucknow hospital on Wednesday.

He had also headed its Babri Masjid Action Committee, which led the court battle on behalf of the Muslim parties in the dispute.

"Once a mosque, always a mosque," he argued in court while appearing for the Sunni Waqf Board.

He submitted that there was no evidence to suggest that the disputed site, particularly the 'Ram Chabutra' was the birthplace of Lord Ram.

Jilani also served a stint as Uttar Pradesh's Additional Advocate General during the Samajwadi Party's term in office.

Born on February 7, 1950, in Lucknow's Malihabad, Jilani started his legal career in 1972 from the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court.

When the locks on the mosque were opened after a district court order in 1986, Jilani got involved in the matter on behalf of the Babri Masjid Action Committee.

According to his close aide Syed Kasim Rasool Ilyas, the Action Committee took the initiative under his leadership in 1989 to hold talks with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to resolve the dispute.

Many Hindus believe Mughal emperor Babur got the mosque built in Ayodhya after demolishing a Ram temple that stood there.

The masjid was razed by right-wing kar sevaks in 1992.

The title suit was settled by the Supreme Court in 2019, paving the way for the construction of a Ram temple at the site claimed by both Hindus and Muslims.

Jilani was a student at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and also a member of the university's court.

Those close to him recall that he was also involved in legal efforts to preserve the AMU's minority status.