Ghastly history of Ram Temple and Babri Masjid

The 16th-century Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India has been a bitter dispute between Hindus and Muslims for decades. There is a huge difference between the demands and complaints of the two communities regarding the construction of the mosque. There are many discrepancies in the history. Ignoring various controversies, the Ram Mandir was built in the name of the Hindu god Rama in the place of the Babri Masjid which was destroyed by Hindus 32 years ago in the city of Ayodhya.

On 21 April, 1526. Ibrahim Lodi, ruler of Delhi, was defeated by Zahiruddin Mohammad Babur in the first battle of Panipat. Mughal rule began in India. A mosque was built in Ayodhya a couple of years later. It was built by Babur‍‍`s commander, Mir Baqi. And Ayodhya, is known as the birthplace of Lord Ramachandra in Ramayana. 

It went on like this for about four hundred years. Besides prayers in the mosque, people used to worship and perfrom kirtan in the nearby chabutra (a tower-like structure found that provides nesting sites for birds, especially pigeons). This did not create any differences between people in Ayodhya. But no one can say for sure when this mosque was named Babri Masjid. However, the popular belief is that founder Mir Baqi named this mosque after his emperor.

The commotion began in 1853. At the time, Mughal rule in Delhi was on peak but, much at the mercy of the British. At the time, the local Hindu community first demanded that the temple was demolished during Babur‍‍`s reign and a mosque was built in its place.

The Sepoy Mutiny started in between. After that, the British built a fence around the Babri Masjid in 1859. They made a rule that, Muslims will pray in the mosque and Hindus can worship from outside the fence.

90 years went on like this. By that time, Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was labeled as controversial. On December 22, 1949, two years after the independence of India, which was divided on the basis of religion, a Hindu priest placed idols of Ram and Sita inside the mosque.

The then Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru and Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel were very upset by this incident. The statue was ordered to be removed. But the individual decision of the local magistrate was not adhered by the Prime Minister. 

Finally, the government locked the mosque to avoid controversy. After more than 100 years of controversy, in 1992 a group of radical Karsevaks (RSS cadres) led by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the parent body of the BJP, demolished the Babri Masjid. Due to this incident, terrible riots started in India and at least two thousand people were killed in that riot. Among these victims were people from both Hindu and Muslim communities.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22, 2024. Although the work of the temple is not finished yet. It will take more than a year. But with this the history of independent India took a new turn.