Ayodhya Ram Mandir: 10 Iconic Moments From The Pages Of History

In 1528, Babri Masjid was built by Mir Baqi who was the commander of the Mughal emperor, Babur. Many claimed that the Mughals demolished a Hindu shrine and constructed a Mosque in its place that led to a political, historical, and socio-religious debate in India, which we know as the 'Ayodhya dispute'. (Image Source: Getty)

In 1885, Mahant Raghubar Das had filed a legal suit to build a temple on the ‘Chabutra’ (platform) outside the mosque. During the hearing, a map of the area was drawn showing the mosque and its inner courtyard under Muslims’ possession, while the outer courtyard with the Ram Chabutra was under Hindus’ possession. After the case got dismissed, Das moved the Faizabad court seeking permission to build a temple on the courtyard of the Babri mosque. The court rejected that plea too. Decades after this, in 1949, idols of Ram and Sita were placed inside the Babri Masjid site, leading to the government declaring it a ‘disputed site’. (Image Source: Supreme Court Website)

A few years later, in 1975, Prof. BB Lal commenced on a project titled ‘Archaeology of the Ramayana sites’, which was funded by the ASI, Gwalior’s Jiwaji University, and the Department of Archaeology in Uttar Pradesh. As part of the project, five Ramayana related sites including, Ayodhya, Bharadwaj Ashram, Nandigram, Chitrakoot and Shringaverapura were excavated. (Image Source: Getty)

Followed by this, in 1990, Lal had written in his report, “Attached to the piers of the Babri Masjid, there were twelve stone pillars, which carried not only typical Hindu motifs and mouldings, but also figures of Hindu deities. It was self-evident that these pillars were not an integral part of the Masjid, but were foreign to it.” (Image Source: Getty)

In 1992, the demolition of the 16th-century Babri Mosque in Ayodhya by Hindu activists sparked riots that killed more than 2,000 people. As a result, the Liberhan Commission was formed to investigate the destruction of the Babri Masjid, but the final report was submitted after 17 years to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on June 30, 2009. (Image Source: Getty)

In 2010, the Allahabad High Court divided the disputed land into three equal parts among the Sunni Waqf Board, Ram Lalla Virajman, and the Nirmohi Akhara. (Image Source: Getty)

On November 9, 2019, a bench of five judges of the Supreme Court delivered a verdict in favour of the Ram Janmabhoomi, awarding 2.77 acres of the disputed land to the Hindu side and allocating an additional 5 acres separately for a mosque..(Image Source: Getty)

Bhoomi Pujan in 2020 - In August 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the construction of the Ram temple and since then the work to build the temple has been going on in full swing. This day was celebrated in different parts of the country with great pomp. People lit earthen lamps and organised pujas in Ram Temples on this occasion. (Image Source: Getty)

The grand temple for Ram Lalla in Ayodhya has been prepared and is almost ready. On January 22, 2024, the consecration will take place, bringing an end to the dispute that has spanned decades, and the worship of Ram Lalla will be carried out in a ceremonious manner. (Twitter/@Champat Rai)