It is the belief of crores of Hindus that Lord Ram was born at Ayodhya. At his birth place, there was a huge temple which was destroyed by Babar and a mosque (Babri Masjid) was built there in 1528.
Hindus have been fighting for centuries to rebuild Ram Lalla temple at that holy place.
The Babri Masjid was demolished by Hindu activists (Kar Sevaks) during a political rally which turned into a riot on 6th December 1992.
Librahan Commission was formed by the government to inquire into the incident.
After the demolition of Babri Masjid, a subsequent land title case was lodged in Allahabad High Court. Allahabad High Court on 30th September 2010 pronounced its verdict by 2:1 majority. The High Court bench was consisting of Justice Dharam Veer Sharma, Justice Sudhir Agarwal and Justice SU Khan. Allahabad High Court ruled that 2.77 acres of disputed Ayodhya land be divided into three parts: 1/3 to Ram Lalla, 1/3 to Sunni Waqf Board and 1/3 to Nirmohi Akhara. Justice Dharam Veer Sharma & Justice Sudhir Aggarwal gave the concurring judgement and the dissenting judgement was given by justice S.U. Khan.
The decision of Allahabad High Court was challenged in the Supreme Court. The final judgement in the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Ayodhya dispute case (M. Siddique (dead) through legal representatives versus Mahant Suresh Das and others) was delivered by the Supreme Court on 9th November, 2019. The Supreme Court ruled that disputed 2.77 acres of land to be handed over to a trust to be established by Government of India within three months to build the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple. The court also ordered the government to give an alternate 5 acres of land in another place to Sunni Waqf Board for the purpose of building a mosque at a suitable place within Ayodhya. The Supreme Court also ruled that sufficient representation to be given to Nirmohi Akhara in the trust to be established by the Government of India. The five Judge Bench of Supreme Court was headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi. The other judges were Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde, Justice S. Abdul Nazeer and Justice Ashok Bhushan. The verdict delivered by the Supreme Court was unanimous.
Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind, All India Muslim Personal Law board, etc. filed review petitions in the Supreme Court against this verdict. The review petitions have been rejected by the Supreme Court.
Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirtha Kshetra Trust was established for the construction and management of Shri Ram Lalla Temple in Ayodhya by Government of India on 5th February 2020 as per the verdict of Supreme Court. It has 15 members. Mahant Nritya Gopaldas is the Chairperson & Sri Champat Rai is the general secretary. This trust is located at the Ram Janamabhoomi, Ayodhya. The headquarter of this trust is at New Delhi. Sri Nripindra Mishra is the chairman of the construction committee The trust also has the nominated members of the Government of India as well as the nominated members of the Government of Uttar Pradesh. The District Collector of Ayodhya is also a member of this trust.
The Muslim Waqf Board was allotted a five-acre plot in Dhannipur, about 22 Kilometers away from Ayodhya in February 2020 to construct a mosque. The Muhammad Bin Abdullah Masjid will be constructed by the India-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF) Trust. The construction will start in May 2024 and the Mosque would take 3-4 years to build.
The foundation stone of the Ram Lalla Temple was laid on 5th August 2020 by PM Shri Narendra Modi. The Ram Lalla Temple construction has already been started by the trust and is expected to be completed by 2024. The temple is being designed to be so durable that it lasts for a period of more than 1000 years. Larson & Toubro is the construction company and the Architect is Sompura Family. Once completed, it will be one of the marvels of Architecture and one of the Biggest temples across India and the World.
On 22nd January 2024, the much-awaited Pran Pratishta ceremony will be conducted at the newly constructed Ram Mandir. Pran Pratishta (Consecration) refers to the ritual by which the presiding idol of the temple — in this case, Ram — is installed and “brought to life.” Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will also be present for the same. This ceremony is expected to widely celebrated by Hindus just like the festival Diwali. The Uttar Pradesh Government is leaving no stones unturned to make this an unforgettable event with the streets being decorated and houses being lit up throughout India. The dreams of Hindus throughout the world will finally be realized on 22nd January, 2024!
