Ayodhya Dispute | By Dr. Mahipal Singh Rathore

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’

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
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?
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?