It took 134 years of court battle

Lucknow The verdict in the Ayodhya case after 134 years of court battle brings to an end a dispute that shaped and twisted the political destiny of India through decades Trouble between Hindus and Muslims had been simmering since a large mosque was built in the mid16th century by Mughal emperor Baburs commander Mir Baqi who named it Babri Masjid in honour of his rulerHowever the first legal petition in this regard was moved by a local Hindu priest Mahant Raghubir Das in 1885 Das sought permission of the Ayodhya Sub Judge to build a temple in the eastern courtyard of the Babri mosque that was described as the birthplace of Lord Ram and known as Ram ChabutraSignificantly the mahant did not seek any claim over the land on which the masjid stood And the Ram Chabutra land that had been separated by a wall erected in 1855 belonged to him It was only later that Hindus staked claim to the land on which the mosque stoodThe Hindu Sub Judge Pandit Hari Kishan Singh felt that even though there was clear demarcation between the Ram Chabutra and the mosque permission could not be granted for construction of a temple there He ruled If a temple is constructed on the chabutra at such a place then there will be sound of bells of the temple and shankh when both Hindus and Muslims pass from the same way and if permission is given to Hindus for constructing the temple then one day criminal cases will be started and thousands of people will be killedDas chose to make an appeal before the District Judge Faizabad Col FEA Chamier who upheld the Sub Judges order in March 1886 Chamier however dismissed Singhs observation whereby he had confirmed Raghubar Dass ownership of the land What made it worse was Chamiers remark It is most unfortunate that a masjid should have been built on land specially held sacred by Hindus but as that occurred 356 years ago it is too late to remedy the grievanceChamiers pointed observationmdashThe chabutra is said to indicate the birthplace of Ram Chandramdashis what became the basis of Muslim assertion that the plot on which the mosque stood was not Rams birthplaceMahant Raghubir Das moved a higher appeal before Judicial Commissioner W Young who on November 1 1886 ruled that Hindus wanted to create a new temple over the holy spot that was said to be birthplace of Sri Ram Chandra While dismissing Dass claimed ownership of the chabutra Young went on to add Now this spot is situated within the precinct of the grounds surrounding a mosque erected some 350 years ago owing to the bigotry and tyranny of Emperor Babur who purposely chose this holy spot according to Hindu legendBabri Masjid or the Ram Janmbhoomi were not in the news for the next few decades until 1934 when a riot erupted over cow slaughter in Ayodhya The British government got repairs undertaken in the mosque building that was damagedThere was another lull for 15 years However on the intervening night of December 2223 1949 an idol of Lord Ram was surrepticiously planted inside Babri Masjid Hindus promptly sought to give it a divine colour What followed was the convergence of a huge Hindu crowd who started performing kirtan inside the mosqueMuch commotion prevailed but the then district magistrate KKK Nayyar refused to have the idol removed even after he was instructed to do so by the top political masters of the day Subsequently Nayyar resigned from the Indian Civil Service and later got elected as MP from there on a Hindu Mahasabha ticketOn December 29 1949 a local judge declared Babri Masjid a disputed property and ordered that status quo be maintained Muslims were barred from entering the mosque and its main gate was locked However Hindu priests were allowed to enter the premises through a side gate for carrying out routine religious rituals and puja But even as the place remained out of bounds for ordinary Hindu devotees the Hindu claim gained currencyIn January 1986 the district judge of Faizabad ordered the opening of the locks of Babri Masjid That marked yet another victory for the Hindus and more particularly for VHP that had launched a movement with open support of the BJPInterestingly the district judge who issued the order for unlocking the gates to the disputed Ram JanmbhoomiBabri Masjid subsequently got elevated to become judge of the Allahabad High Court A year later three different suits pending before the Faizabad district judge were transferred to the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court These included the original suit filed by local resident Gopal Singh Visharad a second y Paramhans Ramchandra Das but this one was withdrawn later Nirmohi Akhara moved the third suit while Sunni Central Waqf Board became the fourth petitioner in the caseThe year 1989 witnessed a new twist when Ram Lalla or the deity itself became a party in the case The petition on behalf of the deity was moved by retired judge Deoki Nandan Agarwal who described himself as the friend of Ram Lalla The petitioner was named as Ram Lalla Virajman Significantly no one opposed this and today that is what has come in handymdashas the verdict goes fully in favour of the deity Eventually the mosque was razed by violent kar sevaks on December 6 1992In the years that followed the case gained pace as a title before the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad HC A longdrawn battle began as parties started presenting their argumentsFinally the HC gave its verdict trifurcating the disputed land into three equal partsmdashto be shared by the three parties But that was not acceptable to any of the parties who went into appeal before the highest court of the land which has finally brought the case to a close todayBy and large it is a verdict that reflects immense balance and pragmatism And what is even better is that it does not leave room for mischiefmongers to raise other contention issues like Kashi or Mathura which have been on the agenda of aggressive Hindutva groupsVoices of dissent are being heard from Muslim quarters But even those who may not be satisfied with the judgment do not disagree that it was the best way forward in the larger interest of the nation and its peopleCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates