History Of Ayodhyadham

Ayodhya is a city situated on the banks of the Sarayu river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya was historically known as Saketa. The early Buddhist and Jain canonical texts mention that the religious leaders Gautama Buddha and Mahavira visited and lived in the city. The Jain texts also describe it as the birthplace of five tirthankaras namely, Rishabhanatha, Ajitanatha, Abhinandananatha, Sumatinath and Anantnath, and associate it with the legendary Bharata Chakravarti. From the Gupta period onwards, several sources mention Ayodhya and Saketa as the name of the same city.

The legendary city of Ayodhya, popularly identified as the present-day Ayodhya, is known as the birthplace of the Hindu deity Rama of Kosala and is the setting of the great epic Ramayana and its many versions. Owing to the belief as the birthplace of Rama, Ayodhya has been regarded as the first of the seven most important pilgrimage sites for Hindus.

Ancient Indian Sanskrit-language epics, such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata mention a legendary city called Ayodhya, which was the capital of the legendary Ikshvaku kings of Kosala, including Rama. Neither these texts, nor the earlier Sanskrit texts such as the Vedas, mention a city called Saketa. Non-religious, non-legendary ancient Sanskrit texts, such as Panini's Ashtadhyayi and Patanjali's commentary on it, do mention Saketa.The later Buddhist text Mahavastu describes Saketa as the seat of the Ikshvaku king Sujata, whose descendants established the Shakya capital Kapilavastu.

The inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya is on the horizon, with the consecration (Pran Pratishtha) of Ram Lalla set to take place between 12.15pm and 12.45pm on January 22. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will preside over the ceremony in the temple town. He will be joined by UP CM Yogi Adityanath, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, UP Governor Anandiben Patel, and president of the temple trust Mahant Nritya Gopal Das. Over 7,000 dignitaries including cricketers, people from the entertainment world and businessmen have been invited to attend the ceremony.

Temple demolished' to make way for mosque - 1528 

- According to the most popular version which finds mention in government gazettes, Mughal ruler Babur’s general Mir Baqi constructed a mosque after razing a temple at ‘Ram’s birthplace’ in Ayodhya’s Ramkot.

Dispute during British India - 

-Religious violence over the site of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya occurred for the first time in 1853. Under the rule of Nawab Wajid Shah of Awadh, the Nirmohis, a Hindu sect, asserted that a Hindu temple had been demolished during Babur's era to make way for the mosque.

- Six years later, the Britishers installed a fence to partition the site into two sections. Muslims were granted permission to pray within the mosque, while the outer court was designated for Hindu use.

- In January 1885, Mahant Raghubir Das submitted a request to the Faizabad district court, seeking approval to construct a canopy on the Ramchabutra, a raised platform situated outside the mosque. However, the plea was denied.

Ram Lalla idols inside Babri Mosque - 1949 

- Idol of Lord Ram surfaces inside Babri Masjid. One Gopal Singh Visharad filed a petition before a Faizabad court to worship the deity. Hashim Ansari, a resident of Ayodhya, approached the court saying the idols should be removed and it be allowed to remain a masjid. The government locked the place but priests were allowed to perform daily puja.

Plea seeks restoration of property to Muslims — 1961 

- A petitioner filed a suit pleading for restoration of the property to Muslims. The Sunni Central Wakf Board filed suit in Faizabad civil court declaring Babri Mosque as property of board.

Campaign launched to build Ram temple — 1980s 

- A committee, led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad party (VHP), was established with the objective of "liberating" the birthplace of Lord Ram and constructing a temple in his honour.

- Ayodhya court orders mosque to be opened for Hindus to offer prayers — 1986 

-Upon a plea by Hari Shankar Dubey, the district judge in Ayodhya issued an order to open the gates of the contested mosque, enabling Hindus to worship there. In response, Muslims formed the Babri Mosque Action Committee in protest. 

- In compliance with the court's directive, the government under Rajiv Gandhi ordered the unlocking of the gates of Babri Masjid. 

- Prior to the court's decision, only a Hindu priest had the authority to conduct an annual puja. Following the verdict, all Hindus were granted access to the site, leading to the mosque assuming a dual role as a Hindu temple.

VHP lays the foundation of Ram Temple — 1989 

- VHP initiated the construction of a Ram temple on the adjacent land to Babri Masjid. Justice Deoki Nandan Agarwal, former VHP Vice-President, filed a case requesting the relocation of the mosque. Subsequently, four pending suits in the Faizabad court were transferred to a special bench of the High Court.

The Rath Yatra — 1990 

- Under the leadership of its then president, LK Advani, the BJP organized a national Rath Yatra from Somnath in Gujarat to Ayodhya. The primary objective of this rally was to express support for the Ram Temple agitation, which was being led by the VHP at that time.

- The procession included thousands of kar sevaks, or volunteers, affiliated with the Sangh Parivar. Commencing in Somnath, Gujarat, on September 25, 1990, the yatra traversed numerous villages and cities. Covering an approximate distance of 300 kilometers each day, LK Advani, leading the yatra, frequently addressed as many as six public rallies in a single day.

- On October 23, 1990, then Prime Minister VP Singh granted authorization to Lalu Prasad Yadav, the Chief Minister of Bihar, to arrest LK Advani. The then BJP president was taken into preventive custody as his procession crossed the border between Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

The mosque is demolished -1992 

- On December 6, 1992 the disputed Babri Mosque was demolished by the kar sevaks in the presence of leaders from Shiv Sena, VHP, and BJP. The destruction of the mosque triggered widespread communal riots throughout the country, resulting in the loss of at least 2,000 lives during the violence.

Godhra train fire and Gujarat riots - 2002 

- Coach no. S-6 of Sabarmati Express carrying kar sevaks from Ayodhya to Gujarat was burnt near Godhra station. Fifty-eight people were burnt alive, leading to Gujarat riots which claimed more than 1,000 lives.

ASI conducts survey - 2003 

- In 2003, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) surveyed the disputed site and reported evidence of a significant Hindu complex beneath the mosque. However, Muslim organizations disputed these findings, leading to ongoing disagreements regarding the historical interpretation of the site.

Allahabad HC divides the disputed site in three parts — 2010 

- In 2010, the Allahabad high court delivered its judgment on the four title suits about the dispute. The High Court ruled that the disputed land should be divided into three parts: one-third allocated to Ram Lalla, represented by the Hindu Mahasabha; one-third to the Islamic Waqf Board; and the remaining third to the Nirmohi Akhara. Subsequently, in December, both the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha and the Sunni Waqf Board approached the Supreme Court, challenging the High Court's decision.

All three sides approach Supreme Court — 2011 

- All three parties—the Nirmohi Akhara, Ram Lalla Virajman, and Sunni Waqf Board—appealed against the Allahabad High Court verdict. - The Supreme Court stayed the HC order of splitting the disputed site in 3 parts.

Supreme Court asks govt to handover land for Ram Temple construction — 2019 

- On November 9, 2019, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court issued a verdict ordering the disputed land of 2.77 acres to be transferred to a trust, to be established by the Government of India, for the construction of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple. Additionally, the court directed the government to allocate an alternative five acres of land at a different location to the Sunni Waqf Board for the construction of a mosque.

- The five-judge bench that issued the order was led by the then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi. Notably, he retired just eight days after delivering the judgment on November 17. The other four judges on the bench were Justice SA Bobde, Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Ashok Bhushan, and Justice S Abdul Nazeer. - The trust formed for the construction of the Ram temple was named Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Shetra. This trust comprises 15 members.

Foundation stone laying ceremony — 2020 - On August 5, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the construction of the Ram Temple. The Prime Minister also unveiled a plaque and released a commemorative postal stamp.

Consecration ceremony (Pran Pratishtha) of Ram Lalla - January 22, 2024.