Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid issue

Why in news?

Chief Justice of India said the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suits were a matter of ‘sentiments and religion’ that were best resolved amicably, preferably without intervention by the courts.

What the CJI has said?

• In 2010, the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court had passed an order, directing the site occupied by the Babri Masjid before its demolition should be divided three ways equally among Muslims, Hindus and Nirmohi Akhara group of Hindu Sadhus.
• On 22^nd March 2017, the three-judge bench heard a petition by a BJP MP challenging the 2010 ruling to split the disputed land.
• The Supreme Court suggested an out-of-court settlement since its a matter of religion and sentiments.
• CJI said the court will ask any person to mediate who is acceptable to all sides. He even said that he himself is ready to mediate.
• However, at least 5 earlier attempts at resolving the decades-old quarrel through negotiations have not been successful.

What’s the dispute?

• It is about a plot measuring 2.77 acres in Ayodhya that houses the Babri mosque and Ram Janmabhoomi.
• This particular piece of land is considered sacred among Hindus as it is believed to be the birthplace of Lord Ram.
• Muslims argue that the land houses Babri mosque, where they had offered prayers for years before the dispute erupted.
• The controversy is over whether the Babri mosque was built on top of a Ram temple after demolishing or modifying it in the 16th century.
• Muslims, on the other hand, say the mosque was built by Mir Baqi in 1528 and that Hindus took control over it in 1949, when some people placed idols of Lord Ram inside the mosque

What are some of the important incidents happened?

• In 1853, he first recorded incident of violence over the holy site takes place during the reign of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Awadh. Nirmohis, a Hindu sect, claim that a Hindu temple had been destroyed during Babur's times to build the mosque.
• In 1984, Hindu groups form a committee to spearhead the construction of the Ram temple at the Janmabhoomi site.
• In 1990, Volunteers of the VHP partially damage the mosque. The then PM intervenes and tries to resolve the issue through negotiations, but these fail.
• On 6 December 1992, a large crowd of Hindu karsevaks (volunteers) demolished the 16th-century Babri Mosque in the city of Ayodhya. The demolition occurred after a political rally at the site turned violent.
• This leads to some of the most deadliest riots across the country, leading to the deaths of more than 2,000 people.
• The central government, headed by P V Narasimha Rao, sets up a commission of enquiry under Justice M S Liberhan on December 16.
• In February 2002, in an attack on a train from Godhra in Gujarat, believed to be carrying karsevaks to Ayodhya, at least 58 people are killed.
• Riots erupt across the state and over 1,000 people are said to have been killed during the riots.
• The High Court orders the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to excavate the site to determine if it was earlier a temple.
• The ASI begins the survey to determine whether a temple existed on the site.
• It finds evidence of the presence of a temple under the mosque. Muslim organisations dispute the findings.
• In 2010, the Allahabad High Court pronounces its judgment on the four title suits relating to the dispute and said that the disputed land be divided into three parts equally.

Source: Business Standard