By Aditya Burra
On August 5, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid down a 40-kilo silver brick, to begin the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, marking the end of a religious drama lasting more than 30 years, that has reshaped the politics of our country.
One of the major markers of this movement was the Ram Rath Yatra, a Hindu political and religious rally organized by the BJP and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and spearheaded by then BJP president L.K Advani. The movement saw political involvement by Hindus that was unseen before and culminated in the demolition of the Babri Masjid on the 6th of December, 1992. The Hindu-Muslim violence triggered by this led to more than 2000 deaths across the country, mostly Muslim.
This movement led the BJP to emerge prominently nationally, and eventually upended the domination of the Congress in post-partition India. The reverberations of this attack continue to shape and dominate the politics in our country.
The Liberhan Ayodhya Commission of inquiry was set up less than a fortnight after the demolition of the Babri Masjid and was tasked with submitting a report within 3 months of the incident. After a 17 year delay and 48 extensions, the 10,000-page report was finally submitted on the 30th of January, 2009.
In 2003, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) found evidence of the presence of a temple under the mosque. In September 2010, the Allahabad High Court took the ASI’s findings and other evidence into consideration and ruled that the disputed land be divided into 3 parts, with a third each going to the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha, the Sunni Waqf Board, and the Nirmohi Akhara. In May 2011, this order was stayed by the Supreme Court.
On November 9, 2019, a five-judge Supreme Court bench led by the then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi ruled in favour of the Hindu Mahasabha and said that the entirety of the disputed land was to be handed to a trust formed by the Government which will monitor the construction of the Ram temple at the site.
This trust named the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirtha Kshetra is to take decisions on the temple construction and other related issues. It has control over close to 68 acres of land to construct the temple, taking into account an estimated footfall in the crores.
The construction of the temple will be made according to plans suggested by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad 30 years ago. The ceremony started on the morning of August 4, with the worship of Lord Hanuman. The ceremony on August 5 was attended by Saints, RSS, VHP, and BJP leaders from across the country.