Sudanti Sapru
The Ayodhya dispute was once a historical and socio-religious debate in India, centred on a plot of land in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. The issue basically revolved around the control of a site traditionally regarded among Hindus to be the birthplace of their revered deity, Lord Ram.
The D-Day
While ending a dispute spanning over the centuries, the Honorable Supreme Court of India in a historic judgement pronounced Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri masjid land to the Hindu parties, making way for Hindu devotees to have a grand Ram Mandir at the birthplace of Lord Ram.
This was last year’s historic judgement after the abrogation of Article 370 in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. Remember that the first court case on Ram Janmabhoomi was filed in 1855-56.
Historical chronicles
The land on which the 16-century mosque, Babri Masjid, stood is traditionally considered by Hindus to be the birthplace of the Hindu deity Ram. Hindus believed that the Babri Masjid was actually constructed on the ruins of a Hindu temple that was demolished by Muslim invaders – Babar.
Babri’s demolition
The Babri masjid was vandalised on December 6, 1992. The day turned into riot killing more than 2,000 people in Hindu-Muslim communal violence including several kar sevaks.
Allahabad HC verdict
The Allahabad High Court before the matter raised up in Supreme Court, in a three bench judgement on September 30, 2010, pronounced that the 2.77 acres of Ayodhya land be divided into three parts with 1/3 going to the Ram Lalla, 1/3 going to the Sunni Waqf Board and the remaining 1/3 going to the Nirmohi Akhara. The judgement proclaimed that the disputed land was the birthplace of Lord Ram as per the faith and beliefs, and the Babri masjid was built after the demolition of Hindu temple- noticing that it has not built in accordance with the tenets of Islam.
VHP’s take
Vishav Hindu Parishad (VHP) spokesperson Vinod Bansal recently took to the twitter and said: “Work is continuing at a slow pace due to strict regulations. We will be providing updates regularly”.
Recent land levelling at the site
In a recent excavation carried out at a site, carvings on sandstone and a Shivling has been found. The remains of Hindu stone sculptures, broken-idols of Hindu deities, and carved pillars have been found at the Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya.
According to Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, which was set up to oversee the construction of the temple claimed that the work for levelling of land and removal of the gangway in Shri Ram Janmabhumi Complex was resumed after the coronavirus lockdown, the workers at the site unearthed the remains of pillars adorned with old Hindu carvings, likely of a temple during the excavation.
The objects included various archaeological artefacts and stone pillars with carvings of flowers, Kalash, Aamalak etc., said the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust.
‘Bhoomi pujan’ on August 5
The trust which has made a three year deadline to complete the temple, is all set to perform a ‘bhumi phujan’ – a vedic ritual of Hindus on August 5. One of the senior member of the trust claimed that prime minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Ayodhya for the pious ceremony.
As per the trust, the visit of the prime minister is not being made public due to the security reasons.
Political connotation
The date fixed for Ram Mandir ‘Bhoomi Pujan’, 5 August, also happens to be the first anniversary of the scrapping of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
Many intellectuals believed the move as a political connotation.
Article 370 and Ram Mandir was BJP’s prime agenda spanning over several decades. The duo of Modi-Shah delivered them and in the first year of Modi 2.0, these both were also the BJP’s biggest hit.
