In an endearing act of religious harmony, a Muslim family in Bihar has donated land worth Rs.2.5 crore for construction of the world’s largest Hindu temple–Virat Ramayan Mandirin the Kaithwalia area of East Champaran district in the state. Talking to reporters on Monday, Acharya Kishore Kunal, chief of the Patna-based Mahavir Mandir Trust, that has undertaken the project, said that Ishtiyaq Ahmad Khan, who has donated the land, is a businessman from East Champaran based in Guwahati.
“He recently completed all formalities pertaining to the donation of land belonging to his family for the construction of the temple at the registrar office of the Kesharia sub-division (East Chanmparan), Kunal, a former Indian Police Service officer, told reporters.
Ishtiaq Ahmed Khan said that majority of the land is owned by his family and he thought that it was his responsibility to do something for the construction of the temple. “This is a tradition of our family,” he told news agency ANI.
The Acharya said that this donation by Khan and his family is a great example of social harmony and brotherhood between two communities. Without the help of Muslims, it would have been difficult to realise this dream project, he added.
The Mahavir Mandir Trust has so far obtained 125 acres of land for construction of this temple. The trust will soon obtain another 25 acres of land too in the area. The Virat Ramayan Mandir is slated to be taller than the world famous 12th century Angkor Wat complex in Cambodia, which is 215 feet high.
The complex in East Champaran will comprise 18 temples with high spires and its Shiv temple will have the world’s largest Shivling.
The total construction cost is estimated to be around Rs. 500 crore. The trust will soon take advice from the experts engaged in the construction of new parliament building in New Delhi.
This is not the first time a member from the minority community has made donations for temples. In the past two years, there have been many reports of donations from the Muslim community for the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. In May last year, WS Habeeb, a Muslim businessman from Chennai, had donated Rs 1 lakh for the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Rama.
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