 "Ram mandir consecration: Timeline of dispute, judgement and key moments")
Almost seven decades after the first court case was filed over the Ayodhya Ram mandir-Babri masjid dispute in post-independence India, in 2019, the Supreme Court delivered a landmark verdict paving the way for the construction of Ram mandir.
With the Ram mandir consecration ceremony in Ayodhya just a few days away, let’s take a look at the significant events leading up to the moment that millions across the country, if not the world, have been anticipating for years.
1853: The first recorded incident of religious violence took place in 1853, more than 230 years after the construction of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. A Hindu sect, during the rule of Nawab Wajid Shah of Awadh, claimed that the Hindu temple had been destroyed during the rule of Mughal ruler Babur.
1885: In January 1885, Mahant Raghubir Das petitioned the Faizabad district court for permission to construct a canopy on the Ramchabutra outside the mosque. However, the request was denied.
1949: Gopal Singh Visharad files a petition before a Faizabad court to worship the deity of Ram Janambhoomi after idols of Ram Lalla were found inside Babri Masjid. Muslims claim that Hindus placed idols of Lord Ram inside the mosque, leading to civil suits by both parties. The government proclaims the premises a disputed area and locks the gates.
1961: Mohammad Hashim filed a lawsuit seeking the restoration of the property to Muslims. The Sunni Central Waqf Board filed a suit in Faizabad civil court, declaring Babri Mosque as property of the board.
1984: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) spearheads a movement to ‘liberate’ the birthplace of Lord Ram and build a temple. Then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani takes over the leadership of the campaign.
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1986: Ayodhya District Judge orders the gates of the disputed mosque to be opened to allow Hindus to worship there on a plea by Hari Shankar Dubey. The Babri Mosque Action Committee is set up in protest.
1989: The VHP lays the foundations of a Ram temple on land adjacent to the disputed mosque. Four suits that were pending at the Faizabad court were transferred to a special bench of the High Court.
1990: The BJP, led by then-President LK Advani, ordered a nationwide Rath Yatra from Somnath in Gujarat to Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. The procession passed through hundreds of cities and villages and led to several communal riots. VHP volunteers partially damaged the mosque. Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar tries to resolve the dispute through negotiations.
1991: The BJP comes to power in Uttar Pradesh.
1992: On December 6, 1992, Babri mosque was torn down by VHP supporters, the Shiv Sena party, and the BJP, which resulted in riots leading to 2,000 deaths.
1998: The BJP forms a coalition government under Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
2001: Tensions rise on the anniversary of the demolition of the mosque. VHP pledges again to build a Hindu temple at the site. Vajpayee establishes an Ayodhya unit in his office and assigns a senior official, Shatrughna Singh, to conduct negotiations with Hindu and Muslim leaders.
2002: The BJP's election manifesto for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections excludes a commitment to build a temple. VHP confirms March 15 as the construction start date. Hundreds of volunteers arrive at the location. At least 58 people are killed in an attack on a train in Godhra carrying Hindu activists returning from Ayodhya.
March 2002: Following the train attack, rioting in Gujarat claim the lives of hundreds.
April 2002: Three high court judges begin proceedings to determine who owns the sacred site.
January 2003: Archaeologists conduct a court-ordered survey to find out whether a temple to Lord Ram existed on the site.
August 2003: The survey claims there is evidence of a temple beneath the mosque, but Muslims dispute the findings.
September 2003: A court rules that seven Hindu leaders should stand trial for inciting the destruction of the Babri Mosque. No charges are brought against LK Advani.
November 2004: A court in Uttar Pradesh rules that LK Advani’s role in the demolition of the Babri Masjid be reviewed.
July 2005: Suspected militants attack the makeshift Ram temple at the site, using a jeep laden with explosives. The CRPF shoots all five militants dead in a gunfight, while one civilian dies in the grenade attack that the terrorists launched in order to breach the cordoned wall.
June 2009: The Liberhan commission investigating the mosque’s demolition submits its report.
July 2010: The high court finishes hearing the title suit; a verdict is awaited.
September 2010: On September 30, 2010, the Allahabad High Court ordered that the 2.77-acre disputed site be divided into three parts among the Hindus, the Muslims, and the Nirmohi Akhara. Petitions filed by Mahant Suresh Das, the Sunni Central Board of Wakfs, Nirmohi Akhara, the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind, and others challenged the verdict. A petition was also filed on Ram Lalla's behalf to challenge the High Court decision.
2011: All three parties in the case, Nirmohi Akhara, Ram Lalla Virajman, and Sunni Waqf Board, filed an appeal against the Allahabad High Court's verdict. The Supreme Court stayed the high court order of splitting the disputed site into three parts.
2019: In November 2019, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court ordered the disputed land to be handed over to a trust to build the Ram Janmabhoomi temple. The court also directed the government to give the Sunni Waqf Board five acres of land in another location to build a mosque.
2020: On August 5, the foundation stone for the construction of the Ram Temple was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He performed Bhoomi Poojan and laid the foundation stone of the grand Ram temple. Modi became the first Prime Minister to have darshan at Ram Janmabhoomi and Hanumangarhi temples in Ayodhya.
May 2022: Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra announced that the construction of the Ram mandir in Ayodhya is being undertaken at a “fast pace.”
January 2024: Preparations are in full swing for the Ayodhya Ram temple 'Pran Patishtha' ceremony on January 22. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Ram temple in Ayodhya and will also be the chief guest of the event.
According to media estimates, the consecration ceremony would be attended by more than 7,000 people, including politicians, film personalities, and prominent industrialists, among others.
Schools across the country in various states have declared a holiday on the day of the Ram temple consecration ceremony. The Union government has also declared a 'half-day' closing of central government offices, central institutions, and other central industrial establishments on January 22.