Ram Janmabhoomi From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ram Janmabhoomi राम जन्मभूमि Ram Janmabhoomi is located in Uttar Pradesh Ram JanmabhoomiRam Janmabhoomi Ram Janmabhoomi (Uttar Pradesh) The location of the disputed site Location Ayodhya Region Uttar Pradesh Coordinates 26.7956°N 82.1943°ECoordinates: 26.7956°N 82.1943°E Site notes Ownership Disputed Ram Janmabhoomi is believed by many Hindus to be the birthplace of Rama, the 7th avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism. The Ramayana states that the location of Ramas birthplace is on the banks of the Sarayu river in the city of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. There is a paucity of actual historical evidence to support the claim regarding the precise location but excavation found pre-Islamic Massive Hindu Structure underneath the demolished mosque. In 1528 the Mughal emperor Babur built a mosque at the aforementioned site.[1] From 1528 to 1853 (the year of the first riot regarding the birthplace), the Babri Mosque became a place of worship for Muslims.[2] From 1853 to 1949, separate areas were earmarked for both Hindus and Muslims to worship. The Mosque was destroyed in 1992 when a political rally developed into a riot involving 150,000 people. The genesis of the rally existed in the movement that was launched in 1984 by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to reclaim the site for Hindus by erecting a temple dedicated to the infant Rama (Ramlalla), at this spot. Many Muslim organisations have continued to express outrage at the destruction of the disputed structure. Since then, the matter is sub-judice and this political, historical and socio-religious debate over the history and location of the Babri Mosque, is known as the Ayodhya Debate. In 2003 it was discovered that there are Buddhist ruins underlying what used to be the masjid, as well as some evidence of a Hindu layer more recent than the Buddhist one.[3] Contents [hide] 1 History of the Babri Masjid 2 Archaeology of the site 2.1 Joseph Tieffenthaler 2.2 Shykh Muhammad Azamat Ali Kakorawi Nami 2.3 Other sources 2.4 Alleged censorship 3 Allahabad High Court verdict 4 Supreme Court Verdict 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 7.1 In fiction 8 External links History of the Babri Masjid[edit] In 1528, the Babri Mosque was constructed by Baburs general, Mir Baqi on the orders of Babur after the alleged demolition of a Ram Mandir.[4] From the time of its construction until 1859, the mosque was a place of worship for Muslims. That decade saw the first instances of religious violence at the site. In response, the British colonial administration in 1859 extended access to a portion of the outer courtyard of the Masjid to Hindus who wished to conduct religious ceremonies there.[5] The semi-governmental Waqf Board, an Indian Muslim trust, owned the land on which the mosque stood. This state of affairs persisted until 1949, when activists of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) desecrated the mosque by placing idols of Rama inside.[6] The VHP then claimed that the idol had miraculously appeared within the mosque. [7] This resulted in an uproar, and both the Sunni Wakf Board and the VHP filed civil suits staking their respective claims to the site. The land was declared to be under dispute, and the gates of the Masjid were locked.[5] In 1989-90, the VHP intensified its activities by laying foundations for a Ram temple on the adjacent property.[8][9] [10][10]On 6 December 1992, the VHP and its associates, including the BJP, organised a rally involving 150,000 VHP and BJP kar sevaks at the site of the mosque. The ceremonies included speeches by BJP leaders such as Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti.[11] The mob grew restive through the duration of the speeches, and stormed the mosque shortly after noon. A police cordon placed there to protect the mosque was heavily outnumbered. The mosque was attacked with a number of improvised tools, and brought to the ground in a few hours.[12][13] This occurred despite a commitment from the state government to the Indian Supreme Court that the mosque would not be harmed.[14][15] The demolition of the mosque triggered large-scale rioting across the country, with more than 2000 people, mostly Muslim, perishing in the violence.[16][17] On 3 April 2009, the BJP released their manifesto again promising to construct a temple to Rama at the site.[18][19] Archaeology of the site[edit] Main article: Archaeology of Ayodhya Archaeological excavations by the Archaeological Survey of India in and around the disputed site in 1970, 1992 and 2003 have indicated a large ancient complex existed there prior to the Babri structure. Joseph Tieffenthaler[edit] The Austrian Jesuit Joseph Tieffenthaler wrote in 1768: Emperor Aurangzeb demolished the fortress called Ramcot, and erected on the same place a Mohammedan temple with three cupolas. Others believe that it was constructed by Babor.[20] Tieffenthaler also writes that Hindus celebrated Ram Navami (Ramas birth festival) in front of the mosque, and that the mosque was built on a temple.[21] He wrote: The reason is that here existed formerly a house in which Beschan (Vishnu) took birth in the form of Rama and where it is said his three brothers were also born. Subsequently Aurangzeb and some say Babur destroyed the place in order to prevent the heathens from practising their ceremonies. However, they have continued to practice their religious ceremonies in both the places knowing this to have been the birth place of Rama by going around it three times and prostrating on the ground.[22] The earliest suggestion that the Babri Mosque is in proximity to the birthplace of Ram was made by the Jesuit priest Joseph Tieffenthaler, whose work in French was published in Berlin in 1788. It says: Emperor Aurangzeb got demolished the fortress called Ramkot, and erected on the same place a Mahometan temple with three cuppolas. Others believe that it was constructed by Babur. We see 14 columns of black stone 5 spans high that occupy places within the fortress. Twelve of these columns now bear the interior arcades of the Masjid; two (of the 12) make up the entrance of the cloister. Two others form part of the tomb of a certain Moor. It is related that these columns, or rather the debris of these columns, were brought from Lanka (called Ceylon by the Europeans) by Hanuman, chief of the monkeys. which in French reads as lempereur Aurungzeb détruisit la forteresse appelée Ramkot et construisit sur le même emplacement un temple musulman avec 3 dômes. Dautres pensent quil a été construit par Babur. On peut voir 14 colonnes faites en pierre noire qui soutiennent des découpages ... ... Plus tard Aurungzeb, ou, selon certains, Babur, détruisit lendroit afin dempêcher des païens de pratiquer leurs cérémonies. Toutefois ils continuèrent à pratiquer leurs cérémonies religieuses dans ce lieu, le connaisant comme celui de la naissance de Rama, en en faisant 3 fois le tour et en se prosternant à terre.. We see on the left a square platform 5 inches above ground, 5 inches long and 4 inches wide, constructed of mud and covered with lime. The Hindus call it bedi, that is to say, the birthplace. The reason is that here there was a house in which Beschan, (Bishan-Vishnu) took the form of Rama, and his three brothers are also said to have been born. Subsequently, Aurangzeb, or according to others, Babur razed this place down, in order not to give the Gentiles (Hindus) occasion to practice their worship. However, they continued to follow their practices in both places, believing it to be the birthplace of Rama. This record reveals that Aurengzeb demolished the Ramkot fortress; that either he, or Babur constructed a Mosque there; the 12 columns of black stone pillars were brought from Lanka; and when veneration of Rama became prevalent after the 17th century, a small rectangular mud platform was built to mark the birthplace of Rama. Shykh Muhammad Azamat Ali Kakorawi Nami[edit] Shykh Muhammad Azamat Ali Kakorawi Nami (1811–1893) wrote: ‘According to old records, it has been a rule with the Muslim rulers from the first to build mosques, monasteries, and inns, spread Islam, and put (a stop to) non-Islamic practices, wherever they found prominence (of kufr). Accordingly, even as they cleared up Mathura, Bindraban, etc., from the rubbish of non-Islamic practices, the Babari mosque was built up in 923(?) A.H. under the patronage of Sayyid Musa Ashiqan in the Janmasthan temple in Faizabad-Avadh, which was a great place of (worship) and capital of Rama’s father’ (p. 9). ‘Among the Hindus it was known as Sita ki Rasoi’ (p. 10).[23] Zak Kakorawi, in his publication of the work of Shykh Azamat Ali Kakorawi Nami, also includes an excerpt written by Mirza Rajab Ali Beg Surur. Mirza Rajab Ali Beg Surur (1787–1867) wrote in Fasanah-i Ibrat that ‘a great mosque was built on the spot where Sita ki Rasoi is situated. During the regime of Babar, The mosque was built in 923(?) A.H. under the patronage of Sayyid Mir Ashiqan… Aurangzeb built a mosque on the Hanuman Garhi… The Bairagis raised the mosque and erected a temple in its place. Then idols began to be worshipped openly in the Babari mosque where the Sita ki Rasoi is situated,’ (pp. 71–72). Other sources[edit] A. Führer wrote that: Mir Khan built a masjid in A.H. 930 during the reign of Babur, which still bears his name. This old temple must have been a fine one, for many of its columns have been utilised by the Musalmans in the construction of Baburs Masjid.[24] H.R. Neville wrote that the Janmasthan temple was destroyed by Babur and replaced by a mosque.[25] He also wrote The Janmasthan was in Ramkot and marked the birthplace of Rama. In 1528 A.D. Babur came to Ayodhya and halted here for a week. He destroyed the ancient temple and on its site built a mosque, still known as Baburs mosque. The materials of the old structure [i.e., the temple] were largely employed, and many of the columns were in good preservation.[26] The British merchant William Finch, who travelled in India during AD 1608–11, recorded a detailed description of Ayodhya and the castle of Ramchand (Ramkot), extensive enough to undertake a search for gold. Though he does not mention the birthplace of Rama, he gives a detailed account of the place where the ashes of Ram are kept. Some two miles on the further side of the river in a cave of his with a narrow entrance, but so spacious and full of turnings within that a man may well loose himself there if he taketh not better heed; where it is thought his ashes were buried. Hither resort many from all parts of India, which carry from thence in remembrance certain grains of rice as black as gunpowder which they say have been preserved ever since.[27][28] In his Communal History and Ramas Ayodhya, Professor Ram Sharan Sharma writes, Ayodhya seems to have emerged as a place of religious pilgrimage in medieval times. Although chapter 85 of the Vishnu Smriti lists as many as fifty-two places of pilgrimage, including towns, lakes, rivers, mountains, etc., it does not include Ayodhya in this list.[29] Sharma also notes that Tulsidas, who wrote the Ramcharitmanas in 1574 at Ayodhya, does not mention it as a place of pilgrimage. According to Romila Thapar If we do not take Hindu mythology in account the first historical description of the city dates back recently to the 7th century, when the Chinese pilgrim Xuan Zang observed there were 20 Buddhist temples with 3000 monks at Ayodhya, amongst a large Hindu population. In 1528, nobles under Mughal emperor Babur constructed a mosque over the disputed site. The mosque, called the Babri Masjid, has become a source of contention for some Hindus. 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.[30] Alleged censorship[edit] The book Muruqqa-i Khusrawi by Sheikh Mohammed Azamat Ali Nami, published by Zaki Kakorawi with the financial aid of the F.A. Ahmad Memorial Committee, has a chapter describing the destruction of the Ram Janmabhoomi censored out. Zaki Kakorawi later published the relevant chapter independently. He wrote about this incident that the ‘suppression of any part of any old composition or compilation like this can create difficulties and misunderstandings for future historians and researchers.[31] Allahabad High Court verdict[edit] On 30 September 2010, Allahabad High Court ruled that the 2,400 square feet (220 m2) disputed land in Ayodhya, on which the Babri Masjid stood before it was demolished on 6 December 1992, will be divided into three parts: the site of the Ramlala idol to Lord Ram, Sunni Wakf Board gets one third and Nirmohi Akhara gets Sita Rasoi and Ram Chabutara.[32] Supreme Court Verdict[edit] The Supreme Court of India in its order dated 27 Jan 2013, has allowed status quo in the area governing the disputed site. There are already several petitions challenging the Allahabad High Courts decision.[33] See also[edit] Prahladpuri Temple Ram Karmabhoomi Conversion of non-Muslim places of worship into mosques Notes[edit] Jump up ^ Allahabad High Court. Jump up ^ The Ayodhya dispute: A timeline. Ndtv. 27 September 2010. Retrieved 6 March 2012. Jump up ^ Padma, Sree. Barber, Anthony W. Buddhism in the Krishna River Valley of Andhra. 2008. pp. 207.The impact of the 2003 discovery of Buddhist ruins underlying both Hindu and Muslim layers at Ayodhya remains to be seen. Jump up ^ Proof of temple found at Ayodhya: ASI report. Rediff. 25 August 2003. Retrieved 27 July 2013. ^ Jump up to: a b Timeline: Ayodhya holy site crisis. BBC News. Retrieved 19 March 2014. Jump up ^ Subject matter of the decided cases (PDF). Retrieved 11 June 2012. Jump up ^ Chandhoke, Neera. The Tragedy of Ayodhya. Frontline. Retrieved 22 March 2014. Jump up ^ Timeline: Ayodhya holy site crisis. BBC News. 6 December 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2013. Jump up ^ Eyewitness: Ayodhya mosque destruction. BBC News. 5 July 2005. Retrieved 27 July 2013. ^ Jump up to: a b Anju Gupta cross examined in Babri demolition case. The Hindu. 29 April 2010. Retrieved 18 August 2013. Jump up ^ Tully, Mark (5 December 2002). Tearing down the Babri Masjid. BBC News. Retrieved 29 September 2010. Jump up ^ Guha, Ramachandra (2007). India After Gandhi. MacMillan. pp. 582–598. Jump up ^ Report: Sequence of events on December 6. Ndtv. Retrieved 20 June 2012. Jump up ^ Tearing down the Babri Masjid – Eye Witness BBCs Mark Tully BBC – Thursday, 5 December 2002, 19:05 GMT Jump up ^ Babri Masjid demolition was planned 10 months in advance – PTI. Newindpress. Archived from the original on 7 October 2010. Retrieved 26 September 2010. Jump up ^ Article – Untitled Article. Archive.guardian.co.uk. 8 December 1992. Retrieved 11 June 2012. Jump up ^ Timeline: Ayodhya holy site crisis. BBC News. 30 September 2010. Jump up ^ BJP Lok Sabha Election, 2009 Manifesto – Naresh Kadyan – Care2 News Network. Care2. Retrieved 6 March 2012. Jump up ^ Bhartiya Janta Party: Manifesto (Lok Sabha Election 2009) (PDF). Bhartiya Janta Party official website. 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2013. Jump up ^ (Quoted by R.S. Sharma et al.: Historians Report, p.19) Jump up ^ (A.K. Chatterjee: “Ram Janmabhoomi: some more evidence”, Indian Express, 27 March 1990 and History and Geography of India, by Joseph Tieffenthaler, (published in French by Bernoulli in 1785)) Jump up ^ Joseph Tieffenthaler, History and Geography of India, 1785, publisher: Bernoulli, France, cited by Harsh Narain The Ayodhya Temple Mosque Dispute: Focus on Muslim Sources, 1993, New Delhi, Penman Publications. ISBN 81-85504-16-4 p.8-9, and by Peter Van der Veer Religious Nationalism, p.153 Jump up ^ Shykh Azamat Ali Kakorawi Nami, Muraqqah-i Khusrawi or Tarikh-i Avadh cited by Harsh Narain The Ayodhya Temple Mosque Dispute: Focus on Muslim Sources, 1993, New Delhi, Penman Publications. ISBN 81-85504-16-4 Jump up ^ ( A. Führer: The Monumental Antiquities and Inscriptions in the North-Western Provinces and Oudh, Archaeological Survey of India Report, 1891, pp 296–297) cited by Harsh Narain The Ayodhya Temple Mosque Dispute: Focus on Muslim Sources, 1993, New Delhi, Penman Publications. ISBN 81-85504-16-4 Jump up ^ (H.R. Neville in the Barabanki District Gazetteer, Lucknow, 1905, pp 168–169) Jump up ^ H.R. Neville, Fyzabad District Gazetteer, Lucknow, 1905, pp 172–177) cited by Harsh Narain The Ayodhya Temple Mosque Dispute: Focus on Muslim Sources, 1993, New Delhi, Penman Publications. ISBN 81-85504-16-4 Jump up ^ Samuel Purchas, Hakluytus Posthumus, or Purchas His Pilgrimes, v. IV, p. 66. On line: Internet Archive. (PDF). Retrieved 19 July 2013. Jump up ^ William Foster, Early Travels in India 1583–1619, Oxford (1921) p. 176. ISBN 1-113-19512-6 on line: Internet Archive. (PDF). Retrieved 19 July 2013. Jump up ^ Sikand, Yoginder (5 August 2006). Ayodhyas Forgotten Muslim Past. Counter Currents. Retrieved 12 January 2008. Jump up ^ Thapar 2000 Jump up ^ (Amir Ali Shahid aur Ma’rkah-i Hanuman Garhi, p. 3) Jump up ^ Disputed Ayodhya site to be divided into 3 parts- TIMESNOW.tv – Latest Breaking News, Big News Stories, News Videos. Timesnow.Tv. Retrieved 6 March 2012. Jump up ^ SC reiterates status quo on Ayodhyas Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site. Retrieved 10 Oct 2013. References[edit] Ram Sharan Sharma. Communal History and Ramas Ayodhya, Peoples Publishing House (PPH), 2nd Revised Edition, September 1999, Delhi. Translated into Bengali, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. Two versions in Bengali. Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor. 1996. Edited, translated and annotated by Wheeler M. Thacktson. New York and London: Oxford University Press. Swapan Dasgupta et al.: The Ayodhya Reference: Supreme Court Judgement and Commentaries. 1995. New Delhi: Voice of India. ISBN 81-85990-30-1 Ayodhya and the Future of India. 1993. Edited by Jitendra Bajaj. Madras: Centre for Policy Studies. ISBN 81-86041-02-8 hb ISBN 81-86041-03-6 pb Elst, Koenraad. 1991. Ayodhya and After: Issues Before Hindu Society. 1991. New Delhi: Voice of India. [1] Elst, Koenraad, Ayodhya, The Finale – Science versus Secularism the Excavations Debate (2003) ISBN 81-85990-77-8 Elst, Koenraad, Ayodhya: The Case Against the Temple (2002) ISBN 81-85990-75-1 Emmanuel, Dominic. The Mumbai bomb blasts and the Ayodhya tangle, National Catholic Reporter (Kansas City, 27 August 2003). Sita Ram Goel: Hindu Temples - What Happened to Them, Voice of India, Delhi 1991. [2] [3] Harsh Narain. 1993. The Ayodhya Temple Mosque Dispute: Focus on Muslim Sources. Delhi: Penman Publishers. R. Nath. Babari Masjid of Ayodhya, Jaipur 1991. A. Nandy, S. Trivedy, S. Mayaram, Achyut Yagnik, Creating a Nationality: The Ramjanmabhumi Movement and Fear of the Self, Oxford University Press, USA (1998), ISBN 0-19-564271-6. Rajaram, N.S. (2000). Profiles in Deception: Ayodhya and the Dead Sea Scrolls. New Delhi: Voice of India Thakur Prasad Varma and Swarajya Prakash Gupta: Ayodhya ka Itihas evam Puratattva— Rigveda kal se ab tak (‘History and Archaeology of Ayodhya— From the Time of the Rigveda to the Present’). Bharatiya Itihasa evam Samskrit Parishad and DK Printworld. New Delhi. Thapar, Romila. A Historical Perspective on the Story of Rama in Thapar (2000). Thapar, Romila. Cultural Pasts: Essays in Early Indian History (New Delhi: Oxford University, 2000) ISBN 0-19-564050-0. Ayodhya ka Itihas evam Puratattva— Rigveda kal se ab tak (‘History and Archaeology of Ayodhya— From the Time of the Rigveda to the Present’) by Thakur Prasad Varma and Swarajya Prakash Gupta. Bharatiya Itihasa evam Samskrit Parishad and DK Printworld. New Delhi. (An important work on the archaeology of the temple.) History versus Casuistry: Evidence of the Ramajanmabhoomi Mandir presented by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to the Government of India in December–January 1990–91. New Delhi: Voice of India.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 19:57:50 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015