| Ayodhya dispute |
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| Organizations |
Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas is an organisation which was formed as atrust to promote and oversee the construction of a temple to theHindu deityRama inAyodhya,India, following thedemolition of the Babri Masjid.[1] The Nyas was formed by members of theVishva Hindu Parishad, aright-wingHindutva organisation.[1] On 9 November 2019, theSupreme Court of India ruled that a separate trust should be constituted to build the Ram Mandir. Subsequently, on 5 February 2020, the Indian government established theShri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust for this purpose, under the leadership ofNritya Gopal Das.[2]
InHindu mythology, the birthplace of the deityRama, known as "Ram Janmabhoomi", is said to lie in themythical city of Ayodhya and is regarded to as a holy site. This mythical location does not correspond to the actual city ofAyodhya inUttar Pradesh, known asSaketa until the 5th century CE, which only emerged as a religious centre in the 18th century CE.[3][4][5] Following theMughal conquest of the region in 1528, Mughal generalMir Baqi built a mosque named theBabri Masjid in Ayodhya. According to hearsay as well as advocates of theHindutva ideology, Baqi destroyed a pre-existing temple of Rama at the site; in reality, no such temple ever existed.[4][5][6][3] The first recorded claim that the mosque stood on the site of Rama's birth was made in 1822.[4] Citing this claim, theNirmohi Akhara, a Hindu sect, laid claim to the mosque, resulting in inter-communal violence in the period of 1853 to 55.[4] In 1949, an idol of Rama was surreptitiously placed inside the mosque byHindu nationalists,[7][4] and an attempt was made to convince devotees that it had appeared miraculously.[8] In the 1980s, theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alongside other Hindutva groups, organised a religious-political rally, named theRam Rath Yatra, to build a temple to Rama at the site of the Babri Masjid, and the mosque wasattacked and demolished on 6 December 1992 by members of the BJP and theVishva Hindu Parishad.[8]
On 25 January 1993, the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas (RJN) was founded as a trust by members of the Vishva Hindu Parishad to take charge of the site of demolished Babri Masjid and oversee the construction of the proposed Rama Temple.[1][9]Ramchandra Paramhans was the first head of the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas, succeeded upon his death in 2003 byNritya Gopal Das.[10] Its members have argued that the organisation was created so that the India government would not control the site and end up involving itself in the construction of the temple.[1]
It has been suggested that a temple to Rama formerly existed at the same site as the Babri Masjid, an idea supported by a court-ordered report of theArchaeological Survey of India following archaeological excavations around the ruins of the mosque, though the existence of this temple and the conclusions of the report aredisputed.[11][12] The Allahabad High Court, based on the report by theArcheological Survey of India ruled that the disputed site should be split into three parts, with one-third going to the Muslim Sunni Waqf Board, another third to theNirmohi Akhara and the rest to Ram Lalla Virajman with the right to sue and be sued as a juristic person.[13] However, the Nyas claimed that it was the rightful party to take possession of the land and said it would appeal to theSupreme Court of India to seek possession of the entire site.[14]
The final hearing in theSupreme Court ended on 16 October 2019. The bench reserved the final judgment and granted three days to contesting parties to file written notes on 'moulding of relief' or narrowing down the issues on which the court is required to adjudicate.[15]
The final judgement in theSupreme Court was officially declared on 9 November 2019.[16] The Supreme Court dismisses the claim ofSunni Waqf Board and ordered that a trust to be made by the Government of India which be building the Temple. On 5 February 2020, the government announced the creation of the trust to be known asShri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra.[17] On 5 August 2020, Ram Mandir Bhoomi-poojan was performed in the presence of RSS Chief, Prime Minister and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.