Religious background
At the centre of the debate is the status of the land known as Ram Janmabhumi, on which the original Babri Mosque was built.Ram Janmabhumi
Main article: Ram Janmabhumi
Ayodhya is revered by devout Hindus as the traditional birthplace of the god Rama, legendary King of India and avatar of Vishnu. Hindu religious groups claim that a Ram temple was built at the site sometime during the 11th century, and was destroyed during the 16th century to build the Babri Mosque.[1]History of the Babri Mosque
Main article: Babri Mosque
When the Muslim emperor Babar came down from Farghana in 1527, he defeated the Hindu King of Chittorgarh, Rana Sangram Singh at Fatehpur Sikri, using cannon and artillery. After this victory, Babur took over the region, leaving his general, Mir Banki, in charge as Viceroy.Mir Banki enforced Mughal rule over the population. Mir Banki came to Ayodhya in 1528 and built the Mosque.[2] The main reason to build the mosque in Ayodhya was because it served as a central point of India under the Mughal Empire. Later on, the Mughal Empire shifted to Delhi.
Mir Banki, after building the mosque, named it after his master Babar.
Before the 1940s, the mosque was called Masjid-i Janmasthan ("mosque on birthplace") by Indian Muslims.[2] The Babri Mosque was one of the largest mosques in Uttar Pradesh, a state in India with some 31 million Muslims.[3]
Early historical surveys
In 1767, Jesuit priest Joseph Tieffenthaler recorded Hindus worshiping and celebrating Ramanavami at the site of the mosque. In 1788, Tiefffenthaler's French works were published in Paris, the first to suggest that the Babri Mosque was on the birthplace of SriRama[citation needed], saying that "Emperor Aurangzeb got demolished the fortress called Ramkot, and erected on the same place a Mahometan temple with three cuppolas" reclaimed by Hindus through numerous wars after death of Aurangzeb in 1707 A.D like they earlier fortified it during Jahangir's rule as Ramkot.During the 19th century, the Hindus in Ayodhya were recorded as continuing a tradition of worshiping SriRama on the Ramkot hill. According to British sources, Hindus and Muslims from the Faizabad area worshiped together in the Babri Mosque complex in the 19th century until about 1855. P. Carnegy wrote in 1870:
- "It is said that up to that time, the Hindus and Mohamedans alike used to worship in the mosque-temple. Since the British rule a railing has been put up to prevent dispute, within which, in the mosque the Mohamedans pray, while outside the fence the Hindus have raised a platform on which they make their offerings."[4]
In 1858, the Muazzin of the Babri Mosque said in a petition to the British government that the courtyard had been used by Hindus for hundreds of years[citation needed].
The Mahant Ram Case
In 1885, Mahant Raghubar Ram moved the courts for permission to erect a temple just outside the Babri Mosque premises. Despite validating the claim of the petitioner, the Faizabad District Judge dismissed the case citing the passage of time.[5] On 18 March 1886, the judge passed an order in which he wrote:I visited the land in dispute yesterday in the presence of all parties. I found that the Masjid built by Emperor Babar stands on the border of Ayodhya, that is to say, to the west and south it is clear of habitations. It is most unfortunate that a Masjid should have been built on land specially held sacred by the Hindus, but as that event occurred 356 years ago, it is too late now to agree with the grievances. (Court verdict by Col. F.E.A. Chamier, District Judge, Faizabad (1886)[6]
Post-independence
Several later mosques were built in Faizabad district, in which the pilgrim city of Ayodhya falls. Ayodhya itself has a small[7] Muslim population, though there are substantial numbers of Muslims 7 km away at District Headquarters - Faizabad. The Babri Mosque at Ayodhya, where Muslims had not offered Namaz since independence in 1947, became famous due to the importance of the disputed site where Hindus have been offering Pujas to Lord Ramlala from even before independence. Since 1948, by Indian Government order, Muslims were not permitted to be closer than 200 yards away to the site; the main gate remained locked, though Hindu pilgrims were allowed to enter through a side door. The 1989 Allahabad High Court ordered the opening of the main gate and restored the site in full to the Hindus. Hindu groups later requested modifications to the Babri Mosque, and drew up plans for a new grand Temple with Government permissions; riots between Hindu and Muslim groups took place as a result. Since, then the matter is sub-judice and this political, historical and socio-religious debate over the history and location of the Babri Mosque, is known as the Ayodhya Debate.Excavations
It was until about 1990 the standard view that an ancient Ram Janmabhoomi temple was demolished and replaced with the Babri Mosque[citation needed]. References such as the 1986 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica reported that "SriRama’s birthplace is marked by a mosque, erected by the Mughal emperor Babar in 1528 on the site of an earlier temple".[8]Archaeological excavations by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in 1970, 1992 and 2003 in and around the disputed site have indicated a large Hindu complex existed on the site[9]. In 2003, by the order of an Indian Court, The Archaeological Survey of India was asked to conduct a more indepth study and an excavation to ascertain the type of structure that was beneath the rubble.[10] The summary of the ASI report [11] indicated definite proof of a temple under the mosque. In the words of ASI researchers, they discovered "distinctive features associated with... temples of north India". The excavations yielded:
| “ | stone and decorated bricks as well as mutilated sculpture of a divine couple and carved architectural features, including foliage patterns, amalaka, kapotapali, doorjamb with semi-circular shrine pilaster, broke octagonal shaft of black schist pillar, lotus motif, circular shrine having pranjala (watershute) in the north and 50 pillar bases in association with a huge structure [12] | ” |
The title cases
In 1950, Gopal Singh Visharad filed a title suit with the Allahabad High Court seeking injunction to offer 'puja' (worship) at the disputed site. A similar suit was filed shortly after but later withdrawn by Paramhans Das of Ayodhya.[15] In 1959, the Nirmohi Akhara, a Hindu religious institution,[16] filed a third title suit seeking direction to hand over the charge of the disputed site, claiming to be its custodian. A fourth suit was filed by the Muslim Central Board of Wakf for declaration and possession of the site. The Allahabad high court bench began hearing the case in 2002, which was completed in 2010. However, the bench withheld its verdict till September 24. After the Supreme Court dismissed a plea to defer the high court verdict, the high court set September 30, 2010 as the final date for pronouncing the judgement.[17][18]Hindu nationalism
The Ayodhya debate has grown along with a revival of Hindu Nationalism.The issue of the disputed structure had remained inactive for four decades, until the mid-1980s.[19] The Hindu Nationalist movement pressed for reclamation of three of its most holy sites which it claimed had suffered at the hands of Islam, at Ayodhya, Mathura and Varanasi. L K Advani, the leader of the BJP in his memoirs argued, "If Muslims are entitled to an Islamic atmosphere in Mecca, and if Christians are entitled to a Christian atmosphere in the Vatican, why is it wrong for the Hindus to expect a Hindu atmosphere in Ayodhya?"
The legal case continues regarding the title deed of the land tract which is a government controlled property.[20] While the Muslim parties want the Babri Mosque to be reconstructed through a court order, the Hindu side wants a law in parliament to have a temple constructed,[21] saying faith in the existence of Ram Janmabhoomi cannot be decided in a court of law.
The situation regarding the Ram Janmabhoomi has been compared to the Temple Mount controversies and claims in Israel by right wing blogger Daniel Pipes. In particular, Pipes writes:
Ayodhya prompts several thoughts relating to the Temple Mount. It shows that the Temple Mount dispute is far from unique. Moslems have habitually asserted the supremacy of Islam through architecture, building on top of the monuments of other faiths (as in Jerusalem and Ayodhya) or appropriating them (e.g. the Ka'ba in Mecca and the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople).[22]Nobel Laureate V. S. Naipaul has praised Hindu Nationalists for "reclaiming India's Hindu heritage".[23] He further added that the destruction of Babri mosque was an act of historical balancing[24] and the repatriation of the Ramjanmabhoomi was a "welcome sign that Hindu pride was re-asserting itself."[25]
Demolition of the Babri Mosque
Main article: Demolition of Babri Masjid
By the middle of the 20th century, Hindus in the area were claiming that the mosque had not been used by Muslims since 1936, and they took over the 'unused' mosque in 1949. A movement was launched in 1984 by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP party) to reclaim the site for Hindus who want to erect a temple dedicated to the infant SriRama (Ramlala) at this spot.On 6 December 1992, the structure was demolished by karsevaks,[26] 150,000 strong, despite a commitment by the government to the Indian Supreme Court that the mosque would not be harmed.[27][28] More than 2000 people were killed in the riots following the demolition. Riots broke out in many major Indian cities including Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad[citation needed]
On 16 December 1992, the Liberhan Commission was set up by the Government of India to probe the circumstances that led to the demolition of the Babri Mosque.[29] It has been longest running commission in India's history with several extensions granted by various governments. Politicians like L.K.Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were alleged to be influential in the demolition. On 23 November 2009, the Liberhan commission report was leaked to the media. The leaked report concluded that the demolition may have been planned by top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party or All India Muslim League to terrorize the country .[30]
Many Muslim organizations have continued to express outrage at the destruction of the disputed structure and carried out the 2005 Ram Janmabhoomi attack in Ayodhya along with strong opposition to building of the proposed new temple even threatening the Head of current Ram Temple (at same spot since 1992).[31]
Timeline of the debate
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1528 | The Babri Mosque was built in Ayodhya in 1528. Hindu groups claim it was built after demolishing a temple. | |
| 1853 | The first recorded communal clashes over the site date back to this year. | |
| 1859 | The colonial British administration put a fence around the site, denominating separate areas of worship for Hindus and Muslims. And that is the way it stood for about 90 years. | |
| 1949 | In December of that year, idols were put inside the mosque. Both sides to the dispute filed civil suits. The government locked the gates, saying the matter was sub-judice and declared the area “disputed”. | |
| 1984 | The movement to build a temple at the site, which Hindus claimed was the birthplace of Lord Ram, gathered momentum when Hindu groups formed a committee to spearhead the construction of a temple at the Ramjanmabhoomi site. | |
| 1986 | A district judge ordered the gates of the mosque to be opened after almost five decades and allowed Hindus to worship inside the “disputed structure.” A Babri Mosque Action Committee was formed as Muslims protested the move to allow Hindu prayers at the site. | |
| 1989 | The clamour for building a Ram temple was growing. Fronted by organizations like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, foundations of a temple were laid on land adjacent to the "disputed structure." | |
| 1990 | The then BJP president Lal Krishna Advani took out a cross-country rathyatra to garner support for the move to build a Ram temple at the site. VHP volunteers partially damaged the Babri Mosque. Prime Minister Chandrashekhar intervened and tried to negotiate with the various groups. But talks failed. | |
| 1991 | Riding high on the success of Advani's rathyatra, the BJP became India's primary opposition party in Parliament and came to power in Uttar Pradesh. | |
| 1991 | The movement for building a temple gathered further momentum with Karsevaks or Hindu volunteers pouring into Ayodhya. Bricks were sent from across India. | |
| 1992 | December 6 | The Babri Mosque was demolished by Karsevaks. Communal riots across India followed. |
| 1992 | December 16 | Ten days after the demolition, the Congress government at the Centre, headed by PV Narasimha Rao, set up a commission of inquiry under Justice Liberhan. |
| 1993 | Three months after being constituted, the Liberhan Commission began investigations into who and what led to the demolition of the Babri Mosque. | |
| 2001 | Tensions rose on the anniversary of the demolition of the mosque as the VHP reaffirmed its resolve to build a temple at the site. | |
| 2002 | February 27 | At least 58 people were killed in Godhra, Gujarat, in an attack on a train believed to be carrying Hindu volunteers from Ayodhya. Riots followed in the state and over 1000 people were reported to have died in these. |
| 2003 | The court ordered a survey to find out whether a temple to Lord Ram existed on the site. In August, the survey presented evidence of a temple under the mosque. Muslim groups disputed the findings. | |
| 2003 | September | A court ruled that seven Hindu leaders, including some prominent BJP leaders, should stand trial for inciting the destruction of the Babri Mosque. |
| 2004 | November | An Uttar Pradesh court ruled that an earlier order which exonerated LK Advani for his role in the destruction of the mosque should be reviewed. |
| 2007 | The Supreme Court refused to admit a review petition on the Ayodhya dispute. | |
| 2009 | The Liberhan Commission, which was instituted ten days after the demolition of the Babri Mosque in 1992, submitted its report on June 30 - almost 17 years after it began its inquiry. Its contents were not made public. | |
| 2010 | The Allahabad High Court to pronounce its verdict on four title suits relating to the Ayodhya dispute on September 30, 2010[18] |
