Demolition of the Babri Masjid: A Historic Timelines

 

1528: Babri Masjid constructed

Mir Baqi, a commander at the court of Emperor Babur, is supposed to have constructed the Babri Masjid in 1528, during the Mughal dynasty. Many scholars, politicians, and historical records claim that Babur constructed the mosque after demolishing a temple in Ayodhya, which was thought to be the capital of Rama's father Dashrath. But many historians say Babur never visited Ayodhya and so couldn't have ordered the temple's demolition and construction. 

1885 - The First Petitions

The legal controversy at Ayodhya dates back to the 1880s, when the site became a religious flashpoint between Hindus and Muslims, following an alleged conflict in 1855 in which Sunni Muslims claimed that the temple in nearby Hanumangarh was built after demolishing a mosque. Muslims and Bairagis fight over the situation, and it is thought that Wajid Ali Shah sided with the Hindus in the end. Both groups suffer from the fights.

In 1859, the British authorities erected a wall around Babri masjid amid rising belief that the site was Lord Rama's birthplace. Mahant Raghubir Das filed a land dispute suit in Faizabad in 1885. The petition, which requested authorization to construct a canopy outside the challenged structure, was denied.

1900- 1960s: Hindus, Muslims Stake Claim

Hindu-Muslim conflicts in 1934 caused damage to the mosque's dome and exteriors. As tensions rose, the first Ram Lalla idol was put outside the deformed mosque in 1949, beneath the central dome. Akhil Hindu Ramayana Mahashabha, a Hindu extremist group, organised a nine-day Ramacharitmanas recitation event outside the mosque, at the conclusion of which a mob of fifty to sixty men invaded the mosque and installed the Rama statues inside.

In 1950, Gopal Simla Visharad went to Faizabad district court to ask for permission to worship the idol. Paramahansa Ramachandra Das filed a similar petition in the same year.

The Nirmohi Akhara lodged a claim for ownership of the site in 1959. The suit is followed by one filed in 1961 by the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board claiming control of the site.

1980s -2000: Babri Demolition

Babri politics flared up again in the 1980s after a local UP court ordered the Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress government to open the disputed site for Hindu pilgrims in 1986. This caused religious conflicts in UP and elsewhere. In August 1989, the Allahabad HC stopped the contested structure.

On December 6, 1992, a group of people called "kar sevaks" destroyed the Babri Masjid. This was the last day of the BJP's Rath Yatra. Several BJP leaders were accused in the demolition case that sparked Hindu-Muslim riots.

2000-2010: Three-way Division

In 2002, the Allahabad High Court started hearings about the Babri masjid property dispute. As of 2003, the SC has banned all forms of worship on the acquired land. In 2010, the Allahabad High Court ruled that the disputed area should be split three ways with a 2:1 majority. But the Sunni Waqf Board, Nirmohi Akhara, and Ram Lalla petitioners wanted the land.

2010-2020s: Supreme Court Judgement Favouring Ram Mandir

In 2011, the SC stops the verdict from the Allahabad High Court. In 2017, Chief Justice of India JS Khehar advises an out-of-court settlement between contending parties. In the same year, the SC forms a three-judge bench to hear civil appeals of the 1994 Allahabad HC judgement. Hearings will begin the following year. There was no decision from the Supreme Court on this subject in 2018.

In 2019, the Supreme Court establishes a five-judge constitution bench to consider the issue. The same year, the Centre asked SC to release 67 acres around the contested location to its original owners. The Supreme Court ordered the dispute to be handled by former judge FMI Kallifulla. After mediation fails in August 2019, daily SC hearings begin.

On November 9, the Supreme Court gave all 2.77 acres of disputed Ayodhya land to Ram Lalla and decided that the central government receiver shall keep custody. Additionally, it was mandated that the Muslim community receive a 5-acre plot of land in a prominent location from the Centre and the UP government.

2019: Highlights from Supreme Court verdict

1. SC stated that the Babri Masjid was not built on vacant land and there was a Non-Islamic structure beneath the demolished mosque.
2. Supreme Court accepts HC findings that idols were placed inside Babri Masjid dome at midnight of 22-23 December 1949.
3. No dispute on the belief of Hindus that Ayodhya was the birthplace of Lord Ram, says Supreme Court
4. ASI report can't be dismissed as a conjecture, says Supreme Court in final Ayodhya verdict
5. SC has said that the damage to Babri Masjid was a violation of the law.
6. Iron railing was set up at the site in 1856-1857, it suggests Hindus kept worshipping at the site. Despite obstruction caused in offering prayers at Mosque, evidence suggests that there was no abandonment: SC.
7. There is no evidence that Muslims abandoned mosque. Hindus always believed the birthplace of Lord Ram was in the inner courtyard of the mosque, says Supreme Court.
8. Supreme Court has directed the government to form a trust within three months that will be responsible for the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
9. The original disputed land of area 2.77 acre has been given to the Centre by the SC for the construction of the Ram Mandir.
10. SC has said that 5-acre land will be allotted to the Sunni Waqf Board for the construction of the mosque.

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