Table of Contents
What is the Ayodhya Dispute?
- Lord Ram, one of the most revered gods in Hinduism, was born in Ayodhya and later ruled over his kingdom from here.
- A temple is said to be built in the early medieval ages to commemorate his birth place (Janmabhoomi)
- 1528 – A mosque was built, purportedly at the same site by destroying the Janmabhoomi temple, by Mir Baqi – a general of Babur The political, historical and socio-religious debate over the history of the site and whether a previous temple was demolished or modified to create the mosque, is known as the Ayodhya dispute.
Beginning of the Dispute
- For centuries, Muslims prayed inside the mosque while Hindus continued worshipping the Janmabhoomi, just outside on a chabutra (raised platform)
- 1853 – Local Rioting and clashes for control over Mosque
- 1885 – Mahant Raghuvar Das pleaded in Faizabad court to build a temple over Ram Chabutra (a platform) near the masjid . The request was denied
Rekindling of the dispute – Events of 1949
- 22/23 December 1949 – ‘’Appearance’’ of Ramlala (infant Lord Ram) idol inside the mosque premises
- The D.M., KK Nair took control of premises when local Muslims complained about the placement of idols.
- January 1950 – Mahant Ramchandra Das appealed the court to allow prayers inside the structure
- Court decreed that prayers will be from outside – no entry inside the structure to public (Hindu or Muslim) . The premises were henceforth locked by administration
- 1959 – Nirmohi Akhara filed another case asking for control of the site from the administration
- 1961- The Sunni Waqf board went to court asking for removal of idols, stopping Hindu prayers at the site and giving control of the site to Waqf board
- * Waqf is a permanent dedication of movable or immovable properties for religious or charitable purposes
The Politics of 1980s
- 1984 – Dharma Sansad (conclave) by Vishwa Hindu Parsihad Ram Mandir issue comes to the forefront of national politics
- 1986 – Shah Bano case Opening of the premises for Hindu worship – TV broadcast on DD Appeasement?
- Protests by Muslims at many places
- Babari masjid action committee (BMAC) formed
- ‘Hindutva’ politics – VHP, along with Sangh parivar affiliates and Hindu nationalist political party BJP started a socio religious as well as political campaign to construct a temple at the Janmabhoomi site
- Karseva – voluntary service for temple work • Organisation of Ram Janaki Rathyatra in Ayodhya
- Bajrang Dal was formed – youth wing of VHP
- Shila poojan – bricks collected from all over the country for temple construction
- August 1989 – the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court bunched together all the petitions regarding the dispute over Babari Masjid site and ordered that status quo be maintained.
- November 1989 – ‘Shilanyas’ Stone-laying ceremony performed by VHP near the disputed site
- Riots in multiple cities – 1000 dead
- General elections in December 1989 – Congress/Rajiv Gandhi lost the mandate
- VP Singh leading the National Front, became Prime Minister with outside support of right wing BJP (85 Seats) as well as the left parties.
Rath Yatra by Advani 25 Sept – 30 Oct 1990
- BJP president LK Advani toured the northern states on a rath – a bus converted to look like a mythical chariot – with the intention of drumming up support for Ram Mandir.
- 10,000 Km – from Somnath in Gujarat to Ayodhya, UP
- Bloody trail of rath – riots along the path of Yatra
- 23 Oct 1990 – Advani was arrested in Samastipur, Bihar BJP pulled support to VP singh Government in centre Chandrashekhar became Prime Minister with support of Congress
- Attempts to bring down the masjid by Karsevaks on 30 October 1990 – failed
- 1991- Rajiv Gandhi assassinated while campaigning for elections
- Congress returned to power – Prime Minister – PV Narsimha Rao BJP stormed to power in UP assembly elections with 221/425 seats Chief Minister – Kalyan singh
- The new Govt acquired 2.77 acre of the disputed site for tourism purposes and leased it to the Janmabhoomi Nyas (trust)
- Meanwhile the Allahabad High court banned any permanent construction on the disputed site.
- Kalyan singh govt submitted to the court that it will maintain status quo and not allow any construction on the site.
- July 1992- Karsevaks started construction of a platform on the disputed site
- Tensions between state and centre governments
- PV Narsimha Rao tries to mediate and solve the dispute – VHP and Babari Masjid Action Committee started talks to resolve the dispute out of court for the first time ever Talks failed
- 30 October 1992- VHP Dharm Sansad announced 6th December as day of ‘Karseva’
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The Demolition of Babari Masjid
- In late November 1992, Kalyan singh assured centre that no construction will be allowed on the site (acc to court orders)
- He also announced publicly that no ‘Karsevak’ would be fired upon and that police have been given such instructions
- Karseva day on 6th December 1992
- ~2 lakh crowd gathered in Ayodhya
- Ashok Singhal, LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and other senior BJP/VHP leaders were present at the site (few hundred metres away) giving speeches.
- With whatever tools and instruments they could lay their hands on , Karsevaks climbed up the Babari masjid structure and brought it down by late afternoon.
- A rudimentary temple site with Ramlala idol was set up by evening
- CM Kalyan Singh resigned the same day
Ensuing Riots
- Riots started across India soon after the Babari masjid was demolished
- Riots were severe in Bombay* – 800-1000 died
- More than 2000 people died all over the country
- Anti Hindu riots + destruction of many temples in Pakistan and Bangladesh
- 1993 serial blasts in Bombay – perceived as retaliation for Babari masjid demolition
Liberhan Commission
- 48 extensions and 17 years time
- Report tabled – June 2009
- The report holds 68 people culpable, including L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and more critically, Kalyan Singh
- The report accused the RSS + VHP of being the chief architect of the demolition
- The report was labelled ‘politically motivated’ by BJP,VHP and RSS
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ASI excavations
- 2003 – High Court ordered Archaeological Survey of India to carry out excavations at the disputed site in Ayodhya
- The ASI report stated that multiple structures – especially pillars showing Hindu motifs, point to a large Hindu complex predating the mosque (10/11th century)
- ASI called it a ‘shrine’
- Difference of interpretation on the findings – debated among Historians
- 19th century excavations by ASI reported Buddhist era structures
- Pro Temple arguments: Archaeological evidence – pointing to a temple complex
- Accounts of some European travellers during Mughal period state that
- a temple was destroyed to build a Mosque (Masjid-e-Janamsthan) Hindus worshipping Ram lalla just outside the Mosque since centuries
- Question of honouring the belief and sentiments of a billion Hindus
- Pro Mosque arguments: ASI report is inconclusive
- Ramcharitmanas (1576) does not mention any destruction of temple
- at Janmabhoomi The mosque stood for 460 years – a very long time.
- It was a historical building and an important site of worship for
- Muslims – question of faith of millions of Muslims in India How far back will one go to rectify historical events?
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The Ongoing legal case
- The multiple cases were clubbed together by Allahabad High court.
- Verdict of High court on 30 September 2010
- Three way division of disputed site between – 1. Ram Lalla (Ram Janmabhoomi nyas) – central shrine where idol is placed 2. Nirmohi Akhara – Sita rasoi and Ram Chabutra (peripheral structures) 3. Sunni Waqf board – Rest For the first time in a judicial ruling, court accepted that the disputed site was the birthplace of Lord Ram
- None of the parties were satisfied by the verdict and all of them appealed in the Supreme Court
- SC hearing to begin – August 2017
- Deferred to December 2017
- Meanwhile CBI has brought about criminal conspiracy charges against L.K. Advani, Uma Bharti and Murli Manohar Joshi (VHP leaders Ashok Singhal and Giriraj Kishore – died pending trial)
Continued Importance
- The dispute posed a challenge to India’s unity, social fabric and law and order situation for many years
- Many terrorist groups have cited the demolition in 1992 as the cause for terrorist attacks on Indian cities
- India’s secular image and respect for the rule of law took a body blow on world stage after 1992
- The Godhra riots of 2002 began after torching of 60 Karsevaks enroute Ayodhya.
- The boundaries of Politics and Religion have blurred
Way Forward?
- Respect for the rule of law and courts have to be maintained for a democracy to succeed in long term
- The religious feelings of the citizens of ALL faiths have to be respected.
- Can the new generation find a way forward?
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By Dr. Mahipal Singh Rathore
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