This article has been written by- Sanchari Das, 2^nd year student of BB.A LL.B,  Department of Law, University of engineering & management.

INTRODUCTION

The issue of Ayodhya Mandir is the headlines of every news channels now. This issue an age-old mystery which tends to be a controversial ground in the religious communities. In India, there has been a protracted political, historical, and socioreligious discourse surrounding the Ayodhya land dispute for many years. The subject of the dispute is a piece of land in Ayodhya that Hindus believe to be the birthplace of the Hindu deity Ram. Some legends state that the location was once home to a Hindu temple that was destroyed to make way for the Babri Masjid mosque.

Muslims, on the other hand, assert that the land belonged to them and that Mir Baqi, acting under Babur’s orders as the first Mughal emperor, had the mosque constructed on it in 1528. The alteration or demolition of the temple has remained a contentious issue. According to some accounts, in 1949, a group of Muslims witnessed the placement of an idol of Ram inside a mosque. The location was ultimately placed under government lockdown as a result of claims to ownership made by both the Hindu and Muslim communities. The alteration or demolition of the temple has remained a contentious issue. According to some accounts, in 1949, a group of Muslims witnessed the placement of an idol of Ram inside a mosque. The location was ultimately placed under government lockdown as a result of claims to ownership made by both the Hindu and Muslim communities. Several cases, debated and discussions have finally led here to the construction of the Ram Mandir.[1]

SIGNIFICANCE AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

In Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, there is a Hindu temple called Shri Ram Mandir, also referred to as Ram Mandir. The temple, as its name implies, is devoted to Lord Shri Rama and is thought to have been constructed at Ram Janmabhoomi, the location of Lord Shri Rama’s birth. For Hindus, this Ram Temple is extremely important both religiously and culturally, as it represents the spiritual and cultural legacy connected to Lord Rama. The controversy surrounding the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya began when a crowd refused to let the Babri Masjid remain open during a violent protest organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is currently the largest and ruling political party in India. However, this was against the law, a very regrettable event that will live on in our memories for a very long time, and it shouldn’t be disregarded in any way. It was always an Indian vs. Invaders conflict rather than an Indian Hindu vs. Indian Muslim dispute. Any invader, wherever they may be in the world, permanently appropriates land and wealth while destroying the native customs, language, and culture. The Celtic nations, who were the original inhabitants of what is now Old Great Britain and France, were aware of this regrettable consequence from the Saxons and Romans and still struggle to speak and acquire their native tongue. We are aware of other instances that have had a similar effect, this being just one. Remembering the well-known Spanish colonists of the Americas and Latin America is important. The invasion of colonialism gave rise to pidgins and Creole dialects.(2)

In 1529, Babri Mosque was constructed by Mir Baqi. The dispute occurred when in the year 1885 Mahant Raghubir Das files the first suit seeking the permission to build a temple in a land that was adjoined to the Babri mosque. He is denied permission by the District Magistrate (DM) of Faizabad. Mahant Raghubir Das then files a title suit against the Secretary of State for India in the Faizabad Court, requesting approval to erect a temple on the Babri mosque’s courtyard, or chabutra. Court in Faizabad dismisses his plea. In the mosque on the evening of December 22, 1949, a Ram idol appears. While many Hindus contend that the idol was smuggled inside at night, others view the idol’s appearance as a divine revelation. Hindus begin to offer prayers. After designating the location as a “contested area,” the government locks the entrance.in the year, 1950, Two suits are filed in Faizabad Court by Gopal Simla Viharad and Paramhansa Ramachandra Das, seeking permission to conduct Hindu pujas to Ram Lalla. The parties were given permission by the court to perform pujas. The inner courtyard gates are to stay locked, per the Court’s order. Nirmohi Akhara filed a third lawsuit in 1959 in an attempt to reclaim the land. The UP Sunni Wakf Board files a lawsuit in 1961 to claim ownership of the site of the Babri Mosque. Additionally, they want the Ram Idols taken down from Babri Masjid.Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) constitutes a group to start the Ram Janmbhoomi Movement. The campaign is being led by BJP leader LK Advani. The Babri Mosque’s Inner Gate opened on February 1st, 1986. District Judge orders the locks to be removed to allow Hindu “pooja and darshan”. In protest, Muslims organise the Babri Mosque Action Committee (BMAC).

 PM Rajiv Gandhi gave the VHP permission to perform Shilanayas, or the laying of foundation stones, on November 9, 1989, close to the disputed area.

All title suits were transferred to the Allahabad High Court in 1989. A separate suit in the name of “Ram Lalla Virajman” was filed in the High Court, naming the parties in the Nirmohi Akhara (1959) and Sunni Waqf Board (1961) suits as defendants.

In an effort to rally support for the Movement, LK Advani begins a Rath Yatra on September 25, 1990, travelling from Somnath, Gujarat, to Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. Localised disturbances occur. The Liberhan Commission was established on December 16, 1992, and ten days after the mosque was destroyed, the prime minister appointed a committee, chaired by retired High Court Justice M. S. Liberhan, to investigate the events that preceded the Babri Mosque’s demolition and the ensuing communal unrest. Upon formation, the Commission was initially required to submit its report within three months. [3]The State purchased land in Ayodhya on January 7, 1993, when the Narsimha Rao Government issued an ordinance to purchase 67.7 acres of land (the site and its surrounding areas). In order to make it easier for the central government to acquire land, the Acquisition of Certain Areas at Ayodhya Act, 1993 was later passed into law. The contested 2.77-acre plot of land in Ayodhya was ordered by the Allahabad High Court on September 30, 2010, to be divided into three portions and given to the Muslims, Hindus, and Nirmohi Akhara. The Supreme Court stayed the HC verdict in response to a petitioner’s move. The court reopened the case’s hearing in 2016. The SC recommended that the case be settled out of court in 2017 after stating that the subject was delicate. Stakeholders were urged to communicate and come up with a cooperative solution. But no resolution was reached. A five-judge Constitution Bench was established by the Supreme Court in 2018 to hear the land dispute case. On November 9, 2019, a Supreme Court bench presided over by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi unanimously decided to award the disputed land to the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas so they could build a temple there. In exchange, the Muslim side was given five acres of land at a well-known location in Ayodhya so they could construct a mosque.

 The government has approved the proposal for the “Shri Ramjanmabhoomi Tirtha Kshetra” trust to handle the building of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya and other associated matters, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared in the Lok Sabha in February 2020. He travelled to Ayodhya six months later to lay the foundation stone—a 40 kg silver brick—for the Ram Mandir, which would be built at the site of Ram Janmbhoomi. With up to 175 invitees, the event was lavish despite the coronavirus pandemic’s shadow.[4]

CONCLUSION

The Supreme Court ordered the disputed property to be turned over to the Trust or other body while ruling in favour of the Hindu parties in the lawsuit. Furthermore, it was mandated that the Sunni Central Waqf Board receive a suitable five-acre plot of land. According to The Hindu, the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board has been given five acres to construct a mosque in Dhannipur village, which is located about 25 km away from the location of the former Babri Masjid in Sohawal tehsil of Ayodhya. With caution, Dr. Upendra Baxi stated, “it is perhaps best advisable to see the outcome of the case purely and dispassionately from the prism of law and constitutionalism.” Baxi is known for his aggressive criticism of court rulings. It is well known that the highest courts in democracies are frequently asked to rule on matters with significant political ramifications, and they are obligated to document the legal arguments made in favour of or against a given position.

Our Supreme Court has documented its justification, and it is a tenable legal opinion. The verdict is infallible when viewed objectively and impartially through the lenses of law and constitutionalism, as Dr. Upendra Baxi desired. Presently the Ayodhya Mandir is going to be inaugurated on 22^nd January, 2024.[5]

SOURCES:

[1] Ayodhya case available at- https://www.business-standard.com/about/what-is-ayodhya-case (last visited on January 15^th 11:03 am)

2 Why is the Ram Mandir of Ayodhya important to the religious and cultural history of India? Available at-https://medium.com/@shakunharris/why-is-the-ram-mandir-of-ayodhya-important-to-religious-and cultural-history-of-india-65d9eab20dbd(last visited on January 15^th 11:33 am)

3 Key events in the Babri Masjid- Ram Mandir Controversy available on- https://www.scobserver.in/journal/timeline-key-events-in-the-babri-masjid-ram-mandir-controversy/ ((last visited on January 15^th 12:16 am)

4. Ayodhya case available at- https://www.business-standard.com/about/what-is-ayodhya-case (last visited on January 15^th 11:03 am)

5 The leaflet, constitution first available at-  https://theleaflet.in/ayodhya-verdict-historical-legal-social-and-moral-implications/ (last visited on January 15^th 11:03 am)