Bihar devotee, who did not wear slippers for 18 years, to wear one after construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya

Kishanganj: The Supreme Court of India on November 9 delivered the verdict the entire country awaited for decades. While the judgment gave the rights to the disputed Babri Masjid land to a trust for a temple, there are many who prayed with bated breath and umpteen sacrifices to see the dream of a temple fructify.

A devout worshipper of Lord Ram in Bihar had taken a resolve 18 years ago to not wear slippers until a Ram temple is built in Ayodhya.

“I had taken a pledge to not wear slippers when I saw Lord Ram without his rightful home in Ayodhya. Walking barefoot in the initial phase was very difficult especially in the summer season but Lord Ram gave me the courage to complete my resolve,” Dev Das said, according to a report by news agency ANI.

Interestingly, Das runs a grocery shop, while also being the district executive of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Kishanganj.

“Due to my unflinching faith in Lord Ram, not a single piece of glass lying on the streets or a pebble stone has hurt me. My resolve will be completed when the Ram temple will be established in Ayodhya. I would wear a slipper only after that happens,” Das said.

Another resident, Amritesh Kumar Sah, told ANI, “We are seeing him from our childhood days. He was my teacher. We got to know that he had resolved not to wear a slipper until the Ram temple is built in Ayodhya. He is a very nice person.”

The Supreme Court last week ruled that the disputed land would go to the central government which has to set a trust for the temple, while Muslims will be allocated a 5-acre land for a mosque in Ayodhya itself.