The Ram Katha...
While most people familiar with the destruction of the Babri Masjid in December 1992, know that the inscriptions on the mosque state that it was built in 1528-29 by Mughal emperor Babur's general Mir Baqi, how many are familiar with the many twists and turns in the history of a site that has been at the heart of a dispute for over 500 years. It may have only bubbled to the fore when after years of relative quiet, a Sant Digvijay Nath from the Gorakh-nath math - which incidentally is the alma mater of the current UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath - organised a nine-day recitation of the Ramcharitmanas, at the end of which, idols of Rama and Sita appeared inside the mosque. The then district magistrate in charge of Faizabad district K.K.K. Nayar refused to remove the idols and police promptly locked the premises, with only Hindu priests allowed entry to perform daily rituals. Without further ado, the mosque was now a temple. The Sunni Wakf board objected. The ABRM filed a suit. But it wasn't until right-wing groups like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad began a movement to reclaim the site for a Ram temple, and it snowballed into a huge protest that led to the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992, that the Ramjanmabhoomi movement brought the BJP from the sidelines to national prominence. And with today's verdict, etched their name in the history books.
1528 | Babri Masjid built by Mir Baqi, commander of Mughal emperor Babur.
1885 | Mahant Raghubir Das files plea in Faizabad district court seeking permission to build a canopy outside the disputed structure. Court rejects the plea.
1949 | Idols of Ram Lalla placed under central dome outside the disputed structure.
1950 | Gopal Simla Visharad files suit in Faizabad district court for rights to worship the idols of Ram Lalla.
● Paramahansa Ramachandra Das files suit for continuation of worship and keeping the idols.
1959 | Nirmohi Akhara files suit seeking possession of the site.
1961 | UP Sunni Central Waqf Board files suit for possession of the site.
1986 | Feb. 1 | Local court orders the government to open the site for Hindu worshippers.
1989 Aug. 14 | Allahabad HC orders maintenance of status quo in respect of the disputed structure. 1992 Dec. 6 | Babri Masjid demolished. 1993 April 3 | 'Acquisition of Certain Area at Ayodhya Act' passed for acquiring land by Centre in the disputed area.
● Various writ petitions, including one by Ismail Faruqui, filed in Allahabad HC challenging various aspects of the Act.
● SC exercising its jurisdiction under Article 139A transferred the writ petitions, which were pending in the High Court.
1994 Oct. 24 | SC says in historic Ismail Faruqui case mosque was not integral to Islam.
2002 April | HC begins hearing on determining who owns the disputed site.
2003 March 13 | SC says, in the Aslam alias Bhure case, no religious activity of any nature be allowed at the acquired land.
2010: Sept. 30 | HC, in a 2:1 majority, rules three-way division of disputed area between Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.
2011 May 9 | SC stays HC verdict on Ayodhya land dispute.
2017 March 21 | CJI J.S. Khehar suggests out-of-court settlement among rival parties. Aug. 7: SC constitutes three-judge bench to hear pleas challenging 1994 verdict of the Allahabad HC.
2018 Feb. 8 | SC starts hearing the civil appeals.
● July 20: SC reserves verdict.
● Sept. 27: SC declines to refer the case to a five-judge Constitution bench. Case to be heard by a newly constituted three-judge bench on October 29.
● Oct. 29: SC fixes the case for the first week of January before an appropriate bench, which will decide the schedule of hearing.
● Dec. 24: SC decides to take up petitions on case for hearing on January 4, 2019.