Ram Janmabhoomi Case

A Title Dispute Embroiled in Faith

- Kaustubh Mehta

It is believed largely by the Hindus, that a Ram Mandir stood on the site wherein a partly razed structure of a Mosque namely the Babri Masjid today stands. This belief has led to the legal, religious as well as political conundrum in India. The issue surrounds the Babri Masjid and a pre-existing Ram Mandir, by virtue of the very place being the birth spot of Lord Ram, has been one of the most volatile standpoints in the history of independent India. It is purported that Emperor Akbar’s army General, Mir Baqi, had ordered the demolition of the Ram Temple and a subsequent construction of Babri Masjid over it. This proposition has created deep fissures in the already precarious Hindu-Muslim equation. The controversy blew out of proportion when the Bhartiya Janata Party juggernaut of karsevaks (volunteers), led by the then firebrand leader, Lal Krishna Advani, demolished the Babri Masjid and made the political and theological situation of the nation very dangerous. After all this upheaval, what remained were three claimants to the 2.77 acres of land. Sunni Waqf Board, Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla (the deity) are the three parties to the legal dispute which arose in the said issue.