The "Ramayana" stays very dear to the people of India. It blesses people with the ideal person Rama who stores inspiration and shows the path to lead a fruitful life. Owing to his characteristics and his conduct, India has tremendous faith in Rama and so, worships him with great joy.
According to Ramayana, Ayodhya, situated on the bank of River Sarayu, was the birthplace of Rama, which is where the entire conflict begins.
The Conflict-
The construction of Babri Masjid was completed in 1528-29 by general Mir Baqi, on the orders of Mughal Empire Babur. The scriptures and the writings on the pillars of the mosque were the proofs for the argument.
As it was the site of faith for the Hindus in India, the stakeholders for the same piece of land increased. Thus, it had been a focus of a dispute between the Hindu and Muslim communities since the 18th century.
In the year 1853, a massive riot broke in the city of Ayodhya under the British raj. As a result, the supreme court gave judgment and allowed Muslims to offer prayers inside the premise, and Hindus were permitted to worship in the outside premise.
In the year 1855-
A Sunni Leader Ghulam Hussain led a mob of 500 to destroy the Hanuman Fortress, in Ayodhya. He claimed that a temple was built by demolishing a pre-existing mosque, by Hindus. As there was no basis for his arguments, the temple was defended by the Bairagis. The temple was protected by Hindus, as all the claims were proven false.
In 1856-57, Hindus led by Baba Ram Charan Das and Muslims led by a local Muslim landlord of Ayodhya, Achhan Khan, decided to maintain communal harmony and made a pact to pray within the temple-mosque site in two demarcated portions.
The pact was followed well by both the communities until 1934 when on the occasion of Bakri-Eid, a riot broke in the city in the suspicion of cow slaughter. In this particular event, an angry mob destructed some parts of the Babri Masjid structure. British government reconstructed and rebuilt the structure.
In 1936- A dispute broke among the Shia and Sunni Muslims for the ownership of the Babri Masjid, as Mir Baqi was a Shia Muslim and Babur was a Sunni Mussalman. The judgment went in the favour of Sunni Muslims.
In 1949-The Hindu Organization Akhil Bharatiya Ramayana Mahasabha, after reciting Ramcharitramanus for 9 straight days, placed the idols of Rama and Sita, in the mosque. The next day, devotees were called in a large number by the organization.
To maintain law and order, then prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru asked to displace the idols out of the premise. But the District Magistrate KK Nair refused to comply with the state and national orders as he thought this act would further tense the movement.
This act of K.K Nair is seen through various conspirational prisms.
As a result of serious tensions, the land was locked and declared as a disputed land.
After this, a series of petitions were filed by Hindu saints and organizations as well as by Sunni Waqf board, to allow their demands. Hindus wanted to start the worship rituals and Muslims wanted the idols to be displaced.
Nobody got fulfilled by the court.
Now, several Hindu organizations started to form and begin the movement for Ram temple. Slowly, the movement spanned the entire nation. Donations and Bricks reached Ayodhya for the temple construction.
The politics over the temple had begun...
A political outsider, Rajiv Gandhi reluctantly plunged into politics at the behest of his mother, overruled the famous supreme court judgment on Shah Bano's case. The move was cited as an appeasement to the minority and faced the heat from Hindus and opposition.
At the same time, BJP and its affiliates started nation-wide movements to gather Hindu-sentiments and support for the temple movement. Hindu activists had been claiming that the mosque stood at the exact spot which is believed to be the birthplace of Lord Rama.
A campaign to unlock the gates of the mosque and for the construction of a Rama temple at Ayodhya was launched by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in 1984. The move got support and political inclinations from BJP and RSS.
On 1 February 1986, to neutralize the damage done, Rajiv Gandhi through courts unlocked the temple premise allowing Hindus to worship.
In 1987, Doordarshan started to broadcast the Ramayan serial. It is believed that the serial strengthened the temple movement.
By the autumn of 1989, the atmosphere was supercharged as VHP aimed for the shilanyas of the Ram Temple.
With Parliamentary elections underway, to consolidate the votes, the Rajiv Gandhi government gave a nod for shilanyas without disturbing the mosque structure. The consolidation did not happen because the BJP, VHP, and RSS launched a campaign to convince Hindus that the shilanyas had been the result of their efforts to compel the Uttar Pradesh government to concede to their demand.
Congress suffered a big jolt in that parliamentary election...
In 1990, BJP arranged a rath-yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya. The movement mobilized the masses towards BJP. The arrest of BJP leader L.K. Advani created instabilities in the central government but yatra did not stop.
In Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party government's hostile behavior towards karsevaks was not taken well by the state people.
Subsequently, in the next election BJP emerged as the main opposition party and managed to establish state government in Uttar Pradesh under the leadership of Kalyan Singh.
In 1992, the Kar Seva was announced in Ayodhya. Despite the state government assurances, the presence of stalwart leaders in Ayodhya, the mob managed to climb the fence and demolish the structure.
The nation was pushed into the chambers of communal riots once again.
The percussions of riots led to serial bomb blasts in Bombay, the situation in the country worsened.
In 2002, a coach of the train coming from Ayodhya was burnt down in Godhra, Gujrat. The incident killed 58 karsevaks which led to massive riots in Gujrat.
In 2003, Allahbad High court ordered an excavation of the disputed land to scrutinize the arguments. Excavation did hint the existence of a pre-existing temple and an attempt of building a mosque above the temple.
In 2010, Allahbad High court delivers a judgment that decided to divide the land into three parts i) Sunni Waqf board ii) Nirmohi Akhada iii) Ram Lalla. The court asked each side to give entry and exit rights to the other. However, all three parties moved up to the Supreme court.
In 2011, The supreme court stays High Court decision and decided to maintain the same status quo.
In 2014, BJP came into power for the first time with the complete majority under the leader Narendra Modi. The movement got thrust once again.
In 2017, Uttar Pradesh elected a BJP government with Yogi Adityanath as chief minister. He had a special affection with this movement as his gurus were the ones who had initiated this entire movement.
With the majority in both state and center, BJP and its affiliates were able to see their goal realizable.
In 2018, The supreme court dismissed Ismail Faruqui's report.
In 2019, With a 5-member special bench in the Supreme court and the panel of religious leaders for mediation, Ayodhya's case gained traction. But the panel members could not mediate the case. The case started to run on an everyday hearing basis.
Finally, the entire movement which started in the 19th century was about to conclude.
On 9 November 2019, the Supreme court delivered the historical judgment. Hindus were allowed to acquire entire land to build a temple and an additional 5 acres were provided to our Muslim community for building a mosque.
Finally, the entire movement concludes without producing any tensions in society. Supreme court judgment makes sure that the secular fabric of our country does not get disturbed.
Is this the victory of majoritarianism?
No, It is the faith that has driven Hindus to achieve this moment, and not hatred. The observers sitting with the spectacles of hate will see everyone around them, hating. Hindus did not fight for the sake of victory or supremacy, it was their respect and faith for Shri Ram which did not stop them even in the hardest times. And today when their efforts are blessed, yes they will celebrate with their heart out, unapologetically.
The mandir holds the faith of millions, not only Hindus. I feel it is our privilege to be able to witness this movement of building a temple on the birthplace of Rama.
But are we done? No, India also aspires for the Ram Rajya. We have just set up the epicenter of transformation. It's high time to realize and manifest the qualities for which we consider Rama as our god. Let us pledge that with the Temple building, we will change our attitude towards society. We will be more compassionate towards everyone, we will be truthful, we will be rightful, and we will be dutiful. Of course, we can not match Rama, even remotely, but the temple creation must bring a paradigm shift in our behaviors and our society.
Today i.e on 5th August 2020, on the auspicious occasion of Bhumi poojan on the sacred land of Ayodhya, I pray for that paradigm shift, cultural prosperity, and brotherhood.
It was an unquenchable thirst to get justice for our ancestors, and correct errors of the past. We altogether have achieved it. Jai Shree Ram!!!
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