Babri Masjid

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Babri Masjid
Masjid-i-Janmasthan
Babri Masjid.jpg
19th century photo by Samuel Bourne
Religion
Affiliation Islam
Status Demolished
FateSite now occupied by the Ram Mandir temple
Location
Municipality Ayodhya
State Uttar Pradesh
Country India
India location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location in India
Geographic coordinates 26°47′44″N82°11′40″E / 26.7956°N 82.1945°E / 26.7956; 82.1945
Architecture
Style Tughlaq
Demolished6 December 1992;31 years ago (1992-12-06)

Babri Masjid (IAST: Bābarī Masjid; meaning Mosque of Babur ) was a mosque in Ayodhya, India. It has been claimed to have been built upon the site of Ram Janmabhoomi, the legendary birthplace of Rama, a principal deity of Hinduism. [1] It has been a focus of dispute between the Hindu and Muslim communities since the 19th century. [2] According to the mosque's inscriptions, it was built in 1528–29 (935 AH) by Mir Baqi, a commander of the Mughal emperor Babur. Before the 1940s, the masjid was officially known as "Masjid-i-Janmasthan" ("the mosque of the birthplace"). [3] [4] The mosque was attacked and demolished by a Hindu nationalist mob in 1992, which ignited communal violence across the Indian subcontinent.

Contents

The mosque was located on a hill known as Ramkot ("Rama's fort"). [5] According to Hindu nationalists, Baqi destroyed a pre-existing temple of Rama at the site. The existence of this temple is a matter of controversy. [6] [7] The Archaeological Survey of India conducted an excavation of the disputed site on the orders of the Allahabad High Court. The excavation period was short due to court time constraints, lasting only 15 days. The report of the excavation concluded that there were ruins of "a massive structure" beneath the ruins of the mosque which was "indicative of remains which are distinctive features found associated with the temples of north India", but found no evidence that the structure was specifically demolished for the construction of the Babri Masjid. The report received both praise and criticism, with some other archaeologists contesting the results of the report. [8] [9]

Starting in the 19th century, there were several conflicts and court disputes between Hindus and Muslims over the mosque. In 1949, idols of Rama and Sita were placed inside the mosque, after which the government locked the building to avoid further disputes. [10] Court cases were filed by both Hindus and Muslims asking for access. [11]

On 6 December 1992, a large group of Hindu activists belonging to the Vishva Hindu Parishad and allied organisations demolished the mosque, triggering riots all over the Indian subcontinent, resulting in the death of around 2,000–3,000 people. [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]

In September 2010, the Allahabad High Court upheld the claim that the mosque was built on the spot believed to be Rama's birthplace and awarded the site of the central dome for the construction of a Rama temple. Muslims were also awarded one-third area of the site for the construction of a mosque. [18] [19] The decision was subsequently appealed by all parties to the Supreme Court, wherein a five judge bench heard a title suit from August to October 2019. [19] [20] On 9 November 2019, the Supreme Court quashed the lower court's judgement and ordered the entire site (1.1 hectares or 2+3⁄4 acres land) to be handed over to a trust to build the Hindu temple. It also ordered the government to give an alternative 2-hectare (5-acre) plot to the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board to replace the Babri Masjid that was demolished in 1992. [21] The government allotted a site in the village of Dhannipur, in Ayodhya District, 18 kilometres (11 mi) from Ayodhya City and 30 kilometres (19 mi) by road from the site of the original Babri Masjid. [22] [23] The construction of the mosque started on 26 January 2021. [24] [25]

Etymology

The name "Babri Masjid" comes from the name of the Mughal emperor Babur, who is said to have ordered its construction. [26] Before the 1940s, it was called Masjid-i Janmasthan ("mosque of the birthplace") including in official documents. [27]

Architecture

Background

The rulers of the Delhi Sultanate and their successors, the Mughals, were great patrons of art and architecture and constructed many fine tombs, mosques and madrasas. These have a distinctive style which bears influences of "later Tughlaq" architecture. Mosques all over India were built in different styles; the most elegant styles developed in areas where indigenous art traditions were strong and local artisans were highly skilled. Thus regional or provincial styles of mosques grew out of local temple or domestic styles, which were conditioned in their turn by climate, terrain, materials, hence the enormous difference between the mosques of Bengal, Kashmir and Gujarat. The Babri Mosque followed the architectural school of Jaunpur Sultanate. When viewed from the west side, it resembled the Atala Masjid in Jaunpur. [28] [ full citation needed ]

Architectural style

Site map of Babri Masjid Ayodhya disputed site map.png
Site map of Babri Masjid

The architecture of the mosque is completely a replica of the mosques in the Delhi Sultanate. Babri was an important mosque of a distinct style, preserved mainly in architecture, developed after the Delhi Sultanate was established, seen also in the Babari Mosque in the southern suburb of the walled city of Gaur, and the Jamali Kamili Mosque built by Sher Shah Suri. This was the forerunner of the Mughal architecture style adopted by Akbar. [29]

Acoustics

"A whisper from the Babri Masjid mihrab could be heard clearly at the other end, 200 feet [60 m] away and through the length and breadth of the central court" according to Graham Pickford, architect to Lord William Bentinck (1828–33). The mosque's acoustics were mentioned by him in his book Historic Structures of Oudhe where he says "for a 16th-century building the deployment and projection of voice from the pulpit is considerably advanced, the unique deployment of sound in this structure will astonish the visitor". [30] [31]

History

Construction

The date of construction of the Babri Masjid is uncertain. The inscriptions on the Babri Masjid premises found in the 20th century state that the mosque was built in 935  AH (1528–29) by Mir Baqi in accordance with the wishes of Babur. [32] However, these inscriptions appear to be of a more recent vintage. [33]

There are no records of the mosque from this period. The Baburnama (Chronicles of Babur) does not mention either the mosque or the destruction of a temple. [34] The Ramcharitamanas of Tulsidas (1574) and Ain-i Akbari of Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak (1598) made no mention of a mosque either. [35] [36] William Finch, the English traveller who visited Ayodhya around 1611, wrote about the "ruins of the Ranichand [Ramachand] castle and houses" where Hindus believed the great God "took flesh upon him to see the tamasha of the world." He found pandas (Brahmin priests) in the ruins of the fort, recording the names of pilgrims, but there was no mention of a mosque. [37] Thomas Herbert described in 1634 the "pretty old castle of Ranichand built by a Bannyan Pagod of that name" which he described as an antique monument that was "especially memorable". He also recorded the fact of Brahmins recording the names of pilgrims. [38]

The earliest map of Ram Janmasthan at Ayodhya (1717 CE) Ram Janmsthan in Tarah 179 Ayodhya.jpg
The earliest map of Ram Janmasthan at Ayodhya (1717 CE)

The earliest record of a mosque at the site traditionally believed by Hindus to be the birthplace of Rama comes from Jai Singh II (or "Sawai Jai Singh") – a Rajput noble in the Mughal court who purchased land and established a Jaisinghpura in the area surrounding the mosque in 1717 (as he had also done in several other Hindu religious places). The documents of Jai Singh preserved in the Kapad-Dwar collection in the City Palace Museum of Jaipur, [lower-alpha 1] include a sketch map of the Babri Masjid site. The map shows an open court yard and a built structure with three temple spires (sikharas) resembling today's Babri Masjid with three domes. The courtyard is labelled janmasthan and shows a Ram chabutra. The central bay of the built structure is labelled chhathi, which also denotes birthplace. [40]

Babri Masjid at the top of the hill, seen from the Ghaghara River in 1783, drawn by William Hodges Ayodhya seen from the river Ghaghara, Uttar Pradesh. Coloure Wellcome V0050436.jpg
Babri Masjid at the top of the hill, seen from the Ghaghara River in 1783, drawn by William Hodges

Joseph Tiefenthaler, a European Jesuit missionary who lived and worked in India for 38 years (1743–1785), visited Ayodhya in 1767. He noted one Ramkot fortress — comprising the house that was considered as the birthplace of Rama by Hindus — to have been demolished by Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707); however, "others" said it to have been demolished by Babar. A mosque with three domes was constructed in its place but Hindus continued to offer prayers at a mud platform that marked the birthplace of Rama. [41] [lower-alpha 2]

Inscriptions

Francis Buchanan-Hamilton (Buchanan) did a survey of the Gorakhpur Division in 1813–14 on behalf of the British East India Company. His report was never published but partly reused by Montgomery Martin later. Kishore Kunal examined the original report in the British Library archives. It states that the Hindus generally attributed destruction "to the furious zeal of Aurangzabe". Yet, it was ascertained to have been built by Babur by reying upon "an inscription on its walls". The said inscription in Persian was said to have been copied by a scribe and translated by a Maulvi friend of Buchanan. The translation however contained five pieces of text, including two inscriptions. The first inscription said that the mosque was constructed by Mir Baqi in the year 935 AH or 923 AH. [lower-alpha 3] The second inscription narrated the genealogy of Aurangzeb. [lower-alpha 4] In addition to the two inscriptions and their monograms (tughras), a fable concerning a dervish called Musha Ashiqan was also included. The translator doubted that the fable was part of the inscription but recorded that the scribe "positively says that the inscription was executed at the erection of this building". The translator also had a difficulty with the anagram for the date, because one of the words was missing, which would have resulted in a date of 923 AH rather than 935 AH. These incongruities and mismatches made no impression on Buchanan, who maintained that the mosque was built by Babur. [33]

In 1877, Syed Mohammad Asghar the Mutawalli (guardian) of the "Masjid Baburi at Janmasthan" filed a petition with the Commissioner of Faizabad asking him to restrain the Hindus that raised a chabutara on the spot regarded as the birthplace of Rama. In the petition, he stated that Babur had inscribed one word "Allah" above the door. The district judge and the sub-judge visited the mosque in the presence of all parties and their lawyers and confirmed this fact. No other inscriptions were recorded. [33] In 1889, archaeologist Anton Führer visited the mosque and found three inscriptions. One was a Quranic verse. The inscription XLI was Persian poetry in the metre Ramal, which stated that the mosque was erected by a noble 'Mir Khan' of Babur. [lower-alpha 5] The inscription XLII was also Persian poetry in metre Ramal, and said that the mosque was founded in year 930 AH by a grandee of Babur, who was (comparable to) "another King of Turkey and China". [lower-alpha 6] The year 930 AH corresponds to 1523, three years before Babur's conquest of Hindustan. Despite the apparent contradiction, Führer published the date of "A. H. 930 during the reign of Babar", in his book of 1891. [33]

Writer Kishore Kunal states that all the inscriptions claimed were fake. They were affixed almost 285 years after the supposed construction of the mosque in 1528, and repeatedly replaced. [43] His own assessment is that the mosque was built around 1660 by governor Fedai Khan of Aurangzeb, who demolished many temples in Ayodhya. Lal Das, who wrote Awadh-Vilasa in 1672 describes the janmasthan (Rama's birthplace) accurately but does not mention a temple at the site. [44]

These developments were apparently known to local Muslims. In mid-nineteenth century, the Muslim activist Mirza Jan quoted from a book Sahifa-I-Chihil Nasaih Bahadur Shahi, which was said to have been written by a daughter of the emperor Bahadur Shah I (and granddaughter of Aurangzeb) in the early 18th century. The text mentions mosques having been constructed after demolishing the "temples of the idolatrous Hindus situated at Mathura, Banaras and Awadh etc." Hindus are said to have called these demolished temples in Awadh "Sita Rasoi" (Sita's kitchen) and "Hanuman's abode." [45] [46] While there was no mention of Babur in this account, the Ayodhya mosque had been juxtaposed with those built by Aurangzeb at Mathura and Banaras. The manuscript, Sahifa-I-Chihil Nasaih Bahadur Shahi, has not yet been found, and scholar Stephan Conermann has stated that Mirza Jan book, Hadiqa-yi shuhada, is not reliable. [47]

1880s temple construction attempts

In 1853, a group of armed Hindu ascetics from Hanuman Garhi temple occupied the Babri Masjid. [48] Periodic violence erupted in the next two years, and the civil administration had to step in, refusing permission to build a temple or to use it as a place of worship. Gulam Hussain led a group of Sunni Muslims who asserted that the mosque site was home to the Hanuman temple in 1855. After a Hindu-Muslim clash, a boundary wall was constructed to avoid further disputes. It divided the mosque premises into two courtyards; the Muslims offered prayers in the inner courtyard. In 1857, the mahant of the Hanuman Garhi temple erected a raised platform and marked the site of Rama's birth. [49] The Hindus offered their prayers on a raised platform, known as "Ram Chabutara", in the outer courtyard. [48] [50]

In 1883, the Hindus launched an effort to construct a temple on the platform. After Muslim protests, the deputy commissioner prohibited any temple construction on 19 January 1885. On 27 January 1885, Raghubar Das, the Hindu mahant (priest) of the Ram Chabutara filed a civil suit before the Faizabad Sub-Judge. In response, the mutawalli (Muslim trustee) of the mosque argued that the entire land belonged to the mosque. [48] On 24 December 1885, the Sub Judge Pandit Hari Kishan Singh dismissed the suit. On 18 March 1886, the District Judge F.E.A. Chamier also dismissed an appeal against the lower court judgment. He agreed that the mosque was built on the land considered sacred by the Hindus, but ordered maintenance of status quo, since it was "too late now to remedy the grievance". A subsequent appeal before the Judicial Commissioner W. Young was also dismissed on 1 November 1886. [50]

On 27 March 1934, a Hindu–Muslim riot occurred in Ayodhya, triggered by cow slaughter in the nearby Shahjahanpur village. The walls around the Masjid and one of the domes of the Masjid were damaged during the riots. These were reconstructed by the British Indian government.[ citation needed ]

Shia–Sunni dispute

In 1936, the United Provinces government enacted U.P. Muslim Waqf Act for the better administration of waqf properties in the state. In accordance with this act, the Babri Masjid and its adjacent graveyard (Ganj-e-Saheedan Qabristan) were registered as Waqf no. 26 Faizabad with the UP Sunni Central Board of Waqfs. The Shias disputed the Sunni ownership of the mosque, claiming that the site belonged to them because Mir Baqi was a Shia. [48] The Commissioner of Waqfs initiated an inquiry into the dispute. The inquiry concluded that the mosque belonged to the Sunnis, since it was commissioned by Babur, who was a Sunni. The concluding report was published in an official gazette dated 26 February 1944. In 1945, the Shia Central Board moved to court against this decision. On 23 March 1946, Judge S. A. Ahsan ruled in favour of the UP Sunni Central Board of Waqfs. [50]

Placement of Hindu idols

In December 1949, the Hindu organisation Akhil Bharatiya Ramayana Mahasabha organised a non-stop nine-day recitation of the Ramacharitamanas just outside the mosque. At the end of this event, on the night of 22–23 December 1949, a group of 50–60 people entered the mosque and placed idols of Rama there. On the morning of 23 December, the event organisers asked Hindu devotees to come to the mosque for a darshan . As thousands of Hindus started visiting the place, the Government declared the mosque a disputed area and locked its gates. [50]

Home Minister Vallabhbhai Patel and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru directed the state's Chief Minister Govind Ballabh Pant to remove the idols, however Pant was not willing to remove the idols. Pant wrote in response that "there is a reasonable chance of success, but things are still in a fluid state and it will be hazardous to say more at this stage". [51] [52] By 1950, the state took control of the structure under section 145 CrPC and allowed Hindus, not Muslims, to perform their worship at the site. [53]

On 16 January 1950, Gopal Singh Visharad filed a civil suit in the Faizabad Court, asking that Hindus be allowed to worship Rama and Sita at the place. In 1959, the Nirmohi Akhara filed another lawsuit demanding possession of the mosque. On 18 December 1961, the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board also filed a lawsuit, demanding possession of the site and removal of idols from the mosque premises. [50]

Demolition

In April 1984, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) initiated a campaign to gather public support for Hindu access to the Babri Masjid and other structures that had been allegedly built over Hindu shrines. To raise public awareness, VHP planned nationwide rath yatras (chariot processions [54] ), the first of which took place in September–October 1984, from Sitamarhi to Ayodhya. The campaign was temporarily suspended after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, but was revived in 25 places on 23 October 1985. On 25 January 1986, a 28-year-old local lawyer named Umesh Chandra Pandey appealed to a court to remove the restrictions on Hindu worship in the Babri Masjid premises. [50] Subsequently, the Rajiv Gandhi government ordered the locks on the Babri Masjid gates to be removed. Earlier, the only Hindu ceremony permitted at the site was a Hindu priest performing an annual puja. After the ruling, all Hindus were given access to the site, and the mosque gained some function as a Hindu temple. [55]

Communal tension in the region worsened when the VHP received permission to perform a shilanyas (stone-laying ceremony) at the disputed site before the national election in November 1989. A senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, L K Advani, started a rath yatra , embarking on a 10,000 km journey starting from the south and heading towards Ayodhya. On 6 December 1992, BJP, VHP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders gathered at the site to offer prayers and perform a symbolic kar seva . At noon, a teenage Kar Sevak (volunteer) was "vaulted" on to the dome and that signalled the breaking of the outer cordon. Soon after, a large number of kar sevaks demolished the mosque.

Aftermath

Communal riots between Hindus and Muslims ensued across India immediately following demolition of the mosque. Rioting in the immediate aftermath resulted in the deaths of an estimated 2,000–3,000 people. [12] [13] [56] Six weeks of riots further erupted in Bombay, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 900 people. [57] [58]

Jihadist outfits like Indian Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Taiba have cited the demolition of Babri Masjid as justification for attacks directed against India. [59] [60] [61] D-Company Crime Boss Dawood Ibrahim, wanted in India for his alleged ties to the 1993 Bombay bombings which killed 257 people, is believed to have been infuriated by Babri Masjid's demolition. [61]

The site has since become a magnet for pilgrims. [62] According to The Economist , "Among its souvenir stalls, those doing the briskest trade are the ones playing videos on a loop of Hindu fundamentalists demolishing the mosque." [62]

Regional impact

Riots in the aftermath of Babri Masjid's demolition extended to Bangladesh, where hundreds of shops, homes and temples of Hindus were destroyed. [63] Widespread retaliatory attacks against scores of Hindu and Jain temples also took place across neighbouring Pakistan, with police not intervening. [64] [61] Reprisal attacks against Hindus in both countries, in turn, entered the discourse of right-wing Hindu nationalists – for example, in 1995, the VHP appealed to the United Nations to protect Hindus in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Kashmir. [61] Babri Masjid's demolition and its violent repercussions have negatively affected relations between India and Pakistan, and remain strained until the present day. [61]

Liberhan Commission

The Liberhan Commission set up by the Government to investigate the demolition later blamed 68 people including senior BJP, RSS and VHP leaders for the demolition. [65] Among those criticised in the report were Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the party's chief LK Advani, and chief minister Kalyan Singh. [66] A 2005 book by the former Intelligence Bureau (IB) Joint Director Maloy Krishna Dhar claimed the senior leaders of RSS, BJP, VHP and Bajrang Dal had planned the demolition 10 months in advance. He also suggested that the Indian National Congress leaders, including prime minister P V Narasimha Rao and home minister S B Chavan, had ignored warnings about the demolition for deriving political benefits. [67]

Archaeological excavations

In 2003, by the order of an Indian court, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was asked to conduct a more in-depth study and an excavation to ascertain the type of structure that was beneath the rubble. [68] The excavation was conducted from 12 March 2003 to 7 August 2003, resulting in 1360 discoveries. The ASI submitted its report to the Allahabad high court. [69]

The summary of the ASI report indicated what appears to be the presence of a 10th-century shrine under the mosque. [70] [71] According to the ASI team, the human activity at the site dates back to the 13th century BC. The next few layers date back to the Shunga period (2nd-1st century BC) and the Kushan period. During the early medieval period (11–12th century), a short-lived structure of nearly 50 metres with north–south orientation was constructed. On the remains of this structure, another massive structure was constructed: this structure had at least three structural phases and three successive floors attached with it. The report concluded that it was over this construction that the disputed structure was constructed during the early 16th century. [72]

Muslim groups immediately disputed the ASI findings. The Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (Sahmat) criticised the report saying that it said that "presence of animal bones throughout as well as of the use of 'surkhi' and lime mortar" that was found by ASI are all characteristic of Muslim presence "that rule out the possibility of a Hindu temple having been there beneath the mosque." The report claimed otherwise on the basis of 'pillar bases' was contested since no pillars were found, and the alleged existence of 'pillar bases' has been debated by archaeologists. [73] Syed Rabe Hasan Nadvi, chairman of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) alleged that ASI failed to mention any evidence of a temple in its interim reports and only revealed it in the final report which was submitted during a time of national tension, making the report highly suspect. [74]

The Allahabad High Court, however, upheld the ASI's findings. [75]

Title cases verdict

A land title case on the site was lodged in the Allahabad High Court, the verdict of which was pronounced on 30 September 2010. In their verdict, the three judges of The Allahabad High Court ruled that the 1.1 hectares (2+3⁄4 acres) of Ayodhya land be divided into three parts, with one-third going to the Ram Lalla or Infant Lord Rama represented by the Hindu Maha Sabha for the construction of the Ram temple, one-third going to the Islamic Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board and the remaining one-third going to Nirmohi Akhara, a Hindu religious denomination. While the three-judge bench was not unanimous that the disputed structure was constructed after demolition of a temple, it did agree that a temple or a temple structure predated the mosque at the same site. [76] The excavations by the Archaeological Survey of India were heavily used as evidence by the court that the predating structure was a massive Hindu religious building. [77]

The five judge Supreme Court bench heard the title dispute cases from August to October 2019. The Court observed that archaeological evidence from ASI shows that the Babri Masjid was constructed on a "structure", whose architecture was distinctly indigenous and non-Islamic. [19] [20] The court concluded that no evidence was found that the structure was specifically demolished for the construction of the Babri Masjid. [78] On 9 November 2019, the Supreme Court ordered the land to be handed over to a trust to build the Hindu temple. It also ordered the government to allot an alternative 2-hectare (5-acre) plot to the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board to build a mosque, [21] which the government allotted in Dhannipur, Ayodhya. [22] [23]

See also

Explanatory notes

  1. ↑ Professor R. Nath, who has examined these records, concludes that Jai Singh had acquired the land of Rama Janmasthan in 1717. The ownership of the land was vested in the deity. The hereditary title of the ownership was recognised and enforced by the Mughal State from 1717. He also found a letter from a gumastha Trilokchand, dated 1723, stating that, while under the Muslim administration people had been prevented from taking a ritual bath in the Saryu river, the establishment of the Jaisinghpura has removed all impediments. [39]
  2. ↑ Kunal, Ayodhya Revisited 2016, pp. xvi quotes from Tiefenthaler's Descriptio Indiae (c. 1772): "Emperor Aurangzeb got the fortress called Ramcot demolished and got a Muslim temple, with triple domes, constructed at the same place. Others say that it was constructed by 'Babor'. Fourteen black stone pillars of 5 span high, which had existed at the site of the fortress, are seen there. Twelve of these pillars now support the interior arcades of the mosque. Two (of these 12) are placed at the entrance of the cloister. The two others are part of the tomb of some 'Moor'.... On the left is seen a square box, raised five inches from the ground, with borders made of lime, with a length of more than 5 ells and a maximum width of about 4. The Hindus call it Bedi, i.e., 'the cradle'. The reason for this is that once upon a time, here was a house where Beschan [Vishnu] was born in the form of Ram. It is said that his three brothers too were born here. Aurangzeb or Babor, according to others, got this place razed in order to deny them the noble people, opportunity of practising their superstitions..." [42]
  3. ↑ Kunal, Ayodhya Revisited 2016, Chapter 5: "By order of King Babur whose justice is a building reaching to the mansions of heaven, this alighting place of the angels was erected by Meer Baquee a nobleman impressed with the seal of happiness. This is lasting Charity in the year of its construction what declares in manifest "that good works are lasting." The anagram "good works are lasting" represented the year 935. "From the Tughra: There is no God but God, and Mohammad is the Prophet of God. Say, O'Mohammad, that God is one, that God is holy, unbegetting and unbegotten, and that he hath no equal."
  4. ↑ Kunal, Ayodhya Revisited 2016, Chapter 5:"The victorious lord, Mooheyoo Din, Aulumgir, Badshah, the destroyer of infidels, the son of Shah Juhan, the son of Juhangeer Shah; the son of Ukbar Shah; the son of Humayoon Shah, the son of Babur Shah; the son Oomer Sheikh Shah; the son of Soolatan Uboo Saeed; the son of Soolatan Moohammad Shah; the son of Meeran Shah, the son of Shaib-i-Qiran Meer Tymoor." "From the Tughra: In the name of God, most merciful I testify that there is no God but God. He is one, and without equal. I also testify that Mohammad is his Servant and Prophet." "Upon the propitious date of this noble erection, by this weak slave Moohummud Funa Ullah."
  5. ↑ Kunal, Ayodhya Revisited 2016, p. 168:
    1. By the order of Babur, the king of the world;
    2. This firmament-like, lofty;
    3. Strong building was erected;
    4. By the auspicious noble Mir Khan;
    5. May ever remain such a foundation;
    6. And such a king of the world.
  6. ↑ Kunal, Ayodhya Revisited 2016, p. 169:
    1. In the name of God, the merciful, the clement.
    2. In the name of him who...; may God perpetually keep him in the world.
    3. ....
    4. Such a sovereign who is famous in the world and in person of delight for the world.
    5. In his presence one of the grandees who is another King of Turkey and China.
    6. Laid this religious foundation in the auspicious Hijra 930.
    7. O God! May always remain the crown, throne and life with the king.
    8. May Babar always pour the flowers of happiness; may remain successful.
    9. His counsellor and minister who is the founder of this fort masjid.
    10. This poetry, giving the date and eulogy, was written by the lazy writer and poor servant Fath-Allah-Ghori, composer.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayodhya dispute</span> Political, historical and socio-religious debate in India, centred on land in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh

The Ayodhya dispute is a political, historical, and socio-religious debate in India, centred on a plot of land in the city of Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. The issues revolve around the control of a site regarded since at least the 18th century among many Hindus to be the birthplace of their deity Rama, the history and location of the Babri Masjid mosque at the site, and whether a previous Hindu temple was demolished or modified to create the mosque.

Baqi Tashqandi, also known as Mir Baqi, was a Mughal commander (beg) originally from Tashkent during the reign of the first Mughal emperor Babur. He is widely believed to have been made the governor of the province of Awadh. He is believed to have demolished a Ram temple and constructed the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya in 1528, which later became the focal point of the Babri Masjid–Ram Janmabhoomi dispute.

Kishore Kunal is a former officer of the Indian Police Service from the state of Bihar, India. During his police career, he was appointed as the Officer on Special Duty (Ayodhya) by the prime minister V. P. Singh to mediate between the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Babri Masjid Action Committee on the Ayodhya dispute. He continued to serve in this position during the premierships of Chandra Sekhar and P. V. Narasimha Rao.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demolition of the Babri Masjid</span> 1992 religious riot in India

The demolition of the Babri Masjid was carried out on 6 December 1992 by a large group of activists of the Vishva Hindu Parishad and allied organisations. The 16th-century Babri Masjid in the city of Ayodhya, in Uttar Pradesh, India, had been the subject of a lengthy socio-political dispute, and was targeted after a political rally organised by Hindu nationalist organisations turned violent.

Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas is an organisation which was formed as a trust to promote and oversee the construction of a temple in Ayodhya, India at the Ram Janmabhoomi, the reputed site of the birth of the Hindu deity Rama. The Nyas was formed by members of the Vishva Hindu Parishad.

<i>Ram Rath Yatra</i> 1990 political–religious rally in India

The Ram Rath Yatra was a political and religious rally that lasted from September to October 1990. It was organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its Hindu nationalist affiliates, and led by the then-president of the BJP, L. K. Advani. The purpose of the yatra was to support the agitation, led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and its affiliates in the Sangh Parivar, to erect a temple to the Hindu deity Rama on the site of the Babri Masjid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suraj Bhan (archaeologist)</span> Indian archaeologist

Suraj Bhan (1931–2010) was an Indian archaeologist and professor of archaeology. His academic work was said to bear a deep imprint of Marxism. He was also involved with the work of Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Haryana and took particular interest in the People's Science movement.

<i>Ram ke Naam</i> 1992 Indian film

Ram ke Naam is a 1992 documentary by Indian filmmaker Anand Patwardhan. The film explores the campaign waged by the right-wing Hindu nationalist organisation Vishva Hindu Parishad to build a temple to the Hindu deity Ram at the site of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, as well as the communal violence that it triggered. A couple of months after Ram ke Naam was released, activists of the VHP and other Hindu nationalist groups demolished the Babri Masjid in 1992, provoking further violence. The film earned Patwardhan a wide recognition, and received several national and international awards.

Dhaneshwar Mandal is a retired Professor in Ancient History, Culture and Archaeology at Allahabad University. He is widely known for his strong position against the excavations at the Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India.

The Vishnu Hari inscription is the name given to a Sanskrit language inscription found in the Uttar Pradesh state of India. It records the construction of a temple by Anayachandra, a feudatory of the king named Govindachandra, and also contains a eulogy of Anayachandra's dynasty. Its date portion is missing, and its authenticity has been a matter of controversy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Supreme Court verdict on Ayodhya dispute</span> Indian land dispute ruling

The final judgement in the Ayodhya dispute was declared by the Supreme Court of India on 9 November 2019. The Supreme Court ordered the disputed land to be handed over to a trust to build the Ram Janmabhoomi temple. The court also ordered the government to give an alternative 5 acres of land in another place to the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board for the purpose of building a mosque as a replacement for the demolished Babri Masjid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ram Mandir</span> Temple of the Hindu deity Rama in Ayodhya, India

The Ram Mandir is a partially constructed Hindu temple complex in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India. Many Hindus believe that it is located at the site of Ram Janmabhoomi, the mythical birthplace of Rama, a principal deity of Hinduism. The temple was inaugurated on 22 January 2024 after a prana pratishtha (consecration) ceremony. On the first day of its opening, following the consecration, the temple received a rush of over half a million visitors, and after a month, the average number of visitors was reported to be "1 to 1.5 lakh on a daily basis".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nritya Gopal Das</span> Hindu temple chief (born 1938)

Mahant Nritya Gopal Das is the head of Ayodhya's largest temple, the Mani Ram Das Ki Chavani, and the chief of the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas and Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, bodies formed to undertake the construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. He is also the head of the Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan.

The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board is a body constituted under The Wakf Act, 1995 of the Government of India, for general superintendence of the affairs of Sunni Muslim waqf (charity) properties, waqf institutions of the Sunni Muslim community of the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. Its chairman is Zufar Ahmad Faruqi. The Sunni Waqf Board has been the main Muslim litigant in the Babri Masjid–Ram Janmabhoomi title dispute.

Muhammad Bin Abdullah Masjid or Ayodhya Mosque is being constructed in Dhannipur, Ayodhya district, Uttar Pradesh, at the Supreme Court of India designated site following the verdict related to the Ayodhya dispute case.

References

Citations

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