Ayodhya
- This article is about the Indian city; see Ayutthaya for the Thai city, province and ancient kingdom.
Ayodhya is an ancient city of
India, the old capital of
Awadh, in the Faizabad district of
Uttar Pradesh. It is situated on the right bank of the Gogra, 345 miles east of
New Delhi. Ayodhya literally means
not to be warred against.
In remote antiquity, Ayodhya was one of the largest and most magnificent of Indian cities. It is said to have covered an area of 250 km² (96 square miles), and was the capital of the
Hindu kingdom of Kosala, the court of the great king
Dasaratha, the fifty-sixth monarch of the Solar line in descent from Raja Manu. The opening chapters of the
Ramayana, a religious epic of the Classical Hindu period, recount the magnificence of the city, the glories of the monarch and the virtues, wealth and loyalty of his people.
Dasaratha was the father of
Rama Chandra, more commonly known as Lord
Rama, an
avatar of the Hindu god
Vishnu, the representative of
Dharma and the hero of the epic.
A period of
Buddhist supremacy followed the death of the last king of the Solar dynasty. On the revival of
Brahmanism, Ayodhya was restored by King
Vikramaditya (c.
57 BC). Kosala is also famous as the early home of Buddhism, and of the kindred religion of
Jainism, and claims to be the birthplace of the founders of both these faiths. In the
7th century, the Chinese pilgrim
Xuan Zang observed there were 20 Buddhist temples with 3000 monks at Ayodhya, amongst a large
Hindu population. At the end of the
19th century, Ayodhya contained 96 Hindu temples and 36
Muslim mosques. Little local trade was carried on, but the great
Hindu fair of
Ram Navami held every year was attended by about 500,000 people.
Since the early
1990s, Ayodhya has become the reason for much violence between Muslims and Hindus in some areas at times. In
1992, Hindu devotees razed a
16th century Muslim mosque (q.v.
Babri Mosque), sparking nationwide riots between Hindus and Muslims that killed more than 2,000 people. One of the claims of the Hindus is that a Hindu temple originally stood where the mosque was erected by Mughal rulers. In
2001, the
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) announced, in defiance of court orders, that it would break ground on a Hindu temple by
March 15,
2002. Over 20,000 Hindu nationalists have since gathered at the site, which they refer to as
Ram Janmabhoomi (
the place of birth of Lord Rama). Recently, the Archeological Survey of India produced a report that stated, from digging and studies of materials and layers under the since destroyed mosque, there was evidence of a large Hindu temple having pre-existed the Babri, apparently destroyed by Mughal invaders.
Famed film maker
Mani Ratnam produced a film on the riots that occurred in
Mumbai over the Ayodhya issue. The film met with adverse criticism and censorship, though being a popular hit. After the movie's release, members of a communal group hurled a country bomb inside his home, which left him slightly injured.
(
Parts of this article come from an old encyclopedia.)
Summary of conflicts over Ayodhya
1528-1934
\n1. Babar's reign (1528-1530) - Hindus launched 4 attacks in which 100,000 people were killed.
2. Humayun's reign (1530-1556) - Hindus launched 10 separate initiatives to regain control.
3. Akbar's reign (1556-1605) - Hindus fought 20 battles.
4. Aurangzeb's reign (1658-1707)- Hindus fought 30 battles. One such battle was led by Guru Gobind Singh in which Aurangzeb’s army was defeated.
5. Four years later, Aurangzeb’s again attacked Ayodhya and regained control after killing 10,000 Hindus.
6. Sahdat Ali (1798-1814) - Hindus fought 5 battles.
7. Nasir-uddin Haidar (1814-1837) - Hindus fought 3 battles.
8. Wajid Ali Shah (1847-1857) - Hindus fought 2 battles.
9. British Rule (1912-1934) - Hindus fought 2 armed conflicts.
Hindus never gave up on one of their holiest places. Hence the only conflict free periods were when they were allowed to worship inside the disputed structure. For example, in order to avoid further conflict, during the latter part of his reign Akbar allowed Hindus to build a platform known as 'Ram Chabutra', and to install and worship images of Ram Parivar in the so called Babri compound. This practice was later opposed by Aurungzeb which resulted in most battles for the control of the shrine during his reign.
In 1751 Maratha Sardar Malhar Rao Holkar after defeating the Pathans in the plains of Ganga and Yamuna, asked Nawab Safderjang to hand over Ayodhya, Kashi and Prayag to the Peshwas. In a letter dated February 23, 1756, Nanasaheb Peshwa asked Sardar Scindia to annex Ayodhya and Kashi as\nthe handover of these holy places was already promised to Raghoba Dada by Suja-uddoula.
Later in 1789 Sardar MahadJi Scindia did annex Ayodhya, Mathura and Kashi, but due to his untimely demise was not able to restore the temples of Ram Janma Bhoomi, Krishna Janma Bhoomi and Kashi Vishweshwar back to Hindus.
Joseph Tieffenthaler (1710 - 1785), an Austrian Jesuit priest toured Oudh (Ayodhya) region between 1766 and 1771 His account of Indian History and geography was translated and published in French in 1786
Tieffenthaler states 'The Emperor Aurungzeb destroyed the fortress called Ramkot and built at the same place a Mohammedan temple with 3 domes. Others say that it has been built by Babar. One can see 14 columns made of black stone .. which bear carvings ... Subsequently Aurungzeb, and some say Babar destroyed the (heathen) place in order to prevent heathens from practicing their ceremonies.
However they have continued to practice their religious ceremonies in both the places(inside the 3 domed Babri structure and the compound), knowing this to have been birth place of Rama, by going around it 3 times and prostrating on ground".
According to the British records by Thornton (1854) and Carnegie (1870) till 1855 Hindus continued to worship Ram in the 3 domed structure. During the First War of Independence of 1857 the local Muslim leader Amir Ali persuaded the Muslims to finally hand over the disputed place to Hindus and jointly fight with the British.
However the British won the War of 1857 and Amir Ali and Hindu leader Baba Ram Charan Das were publicly hanged from a tree near the Ram Janma Bhoomi.
The British subsequently put a railing wall between Babri structure and the courtyard and separated the Muslim worshipers who got the Babri structure and Hindus had no choice but to do puja outside in the courtyard.
NET - Hindus continued to worship at the disputed structure and never gave up struggle to regain control of Ram Janma Bhoomi since 1528.
Recent History - 1934 through 1992
In 1934, during the armed conflict between Hindus and Muslims the Babri structure was damaged. Since 1936, the Babri structure was an abandoned building and did not function as a community mosque for local muslims. There is no evidence of any Mutawalli or Imam or Muazzin or Khatib or Khadim having functioned as the mosque management as such for the up keep and maintenance of the 'mosque'.
A Waqf report dated September 16, 1938 showed 'Syed Mohammad Zaki' as a Mutawalli. But later the District Waqf Commissioner found that Mutawalli Zaki was a Shia, an opium addict and most unsuited for the duties of a Mutawalli. Meanwhile the Sunni Waqf Board claimed that Babri mosque was under its control.
A report dated December 10, 1949 by the Waqf inspector Mohammad Ibrahim, to the U.P. Sunni Central Board of Waqf, states that 'due to the fear of Hindus and Sikhs’ no Muslims used to pray in the mosque.
On December 23, 1949 the image of 'Ramalalla' appeared in the disputed structure and Hindus resumed prayers and worship inside. On December 29, 1949 Additional Magistrate Markandey Singh confiscated the building and handed over the possession to Priya Dutta Ram as Receiver, who assumed charge of the same on January 5, 1950.
After almost 12 years, on December 18, 1961 the Sunni Waqf Board filed the law suit seeking the possession of the disputed structure. This law suit was liable to be dismissed since the then prevalent statute of limitation for property takeover of 6 years had already passed.
Since December 23, 1949 there have been daily Hindu prayers and worship at the Ram Janma Bhoomi Temple. Yet, Babri was not a functional Mosque, and it has been a functional temple for atleast 42 years.
"Mosques built after destroying temples are the sign of slavery and Muslims should hand over the same to Hindu Society" -Mahatma Gandhi in 'Navjeevan' dated July 17, 1937. "Hindus profess secularism because they are cowards and are afraid of Muslim countries." - Syed Shahabuddin - Convenor of Babri Masjid Coordination Committee (BMCC) in 'Sunday' dated March 20, 1983.
On April 7-8, 1984 the Dharma Sansad (religious congregation) took decision to launch a movement for replacement of the existing mosque-turned temple with a proper temple structure.
Options offered by Hindu Leadership:
Prior to December 6, 1992 Hindus had offered following options: Muslims should hand over the Babri structure as a goodwill gesture to Hindus. The unused Babri mosque has no religious significance to Muslims what so ever, (since as per the administrative officials in Faizabad, Of the 26 Mosques in Ayodhya region just half are in use for offering namaz and the rest are in a bad shape), hence this is not an unreasonable request. If that is not acceptable, then this nonfunctional mosque should be relocated.
External links
\n* Hindu Temples: What Happened to Them Vol. 1 By Sita Ram Goel\n* Hindu Temples: What Happened to Them Vol. 2 By Sita Ram Goel
