25 YEARS OF BABRI MASJID
A timeline of the Babri Masjid-Ram temple controversy that has divided the nation and sparked riots
A three-judge SC bench starts hearings into the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute on Tuesday, the eve of the 25th anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition. In a three-part series, HT explores the sequence, the actors and the fallout of an incident that changed India
forever.
1528-29
Babri Masjid built. Hindu groups claim it was built after demolishing a temple, but some scholars say that such “legends” did not arise until the 18th century
1853
Groups of Hindu priests and Muslim clerics clash-- the first recorded incident of violence over the holy site
1885
Mahant Raghubir Das, a Hindu priest, files the first court case and seeks permission to build a canopy on the Ramchabutra (a raised platform) outside the mosque. Faizabad district court rejects his plea
1949
An idol of Ram Lalla appears inside the mosque, allegedly planted by three Hindu men in the dark of a December night. Hindus offer prayers. Both sides file suits; the government declares the area as disputed and locks gates
1950 & 1959
Two Hindu priests file suits before the Faizabad court seeking permission to offer prayers to Ram idols in the janamsthan (birthplace of Ram). While the inner courtyard remains locked, prayers are allowed. The Nirmohi Akhara files a third suit seeking possession of the site and claiming to be the custodians of Ram Janmabhoomi
1961
The Sunni Central Board of Waqf files a case against the placing of idols in the mosque, challenges claims that the building and surrounding land were once a graveyard
1986
Lawyer Umesh Chandra Pandey appeals before district and sessions judge that the Ram Janmabhoomi gates be unlocked on the grounds that the Faizabad district administration, and not a court, had ordered its closure. Court orders the government to open the Ram Janmabhoomi for “darshan and pooja”
1990
BJP president Lal Krishna Advani goes on a Somnath-to-Ayodhya rath yatra to “educate people” about the movement to build a temple at the disputed site. Thousands of Kar sevaks (volunteers) gather in Ayodhya. Babri Masjid is partially damaged and 30 are killed in police firing