Ram Mandir rises again in Ayodhya

 

Model of Ram Mandir, Ayodhya. Source: Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra

Avatars are direct manifestations of the Supreme into the world to carry forward its evolution. Lord Ram is considered an Avatar in India since time immemorial. Ayodhya was where Lord Ram was believed to have born and ruled at least several thousand years ago. Sri Aurobindo wrote in a letter to his disciple: "His [Rama's] business was to destroy Ravana and to establish the Ramarajya—in other words, to fix for the future the possibility of an order proper to the sattwic civilised human being who governs his life by the reason, the finer emotions, morality or at least moral ideals, such as truth, obedience, cooperation and harmony, the sense of humour, the sense of domestic and public order, to establish this in a world still occupied by anarchic forces, the Animal Mind and the powers of the vital Ego making its own satisfaction the rule of life, in other words, the Vanara and the Rakshasa. This is the meaning of Rama and his life-work..."

A mosque was built on a hill known as Ramkot (Rama's fort) in Ayodhya in 1528–29 by Mir Baqi, a commander of the Mughal emperor Babur. The Hindus claimed that the mosque was built after demolishing a Ram Mandir on the hill and the central dome of the mosque was over the birthplace of Lord Ram. This mosque came to be known as Babri Masjid. When the Mughal Empire dwindled to just some areas around Delhi in the first half of the 19th century, a group of armed Hindu ascetics occupied Babri Masjid, in 1853. After a clash the Hindus occupied the outer and the Muslims the inner courtyard of the mosque for their worship. A few Nihang Sikhs (an armed Sikh warrior order) reportedly entered the mosque in 1958 and organised a hawan and puja, and erected a religious symbol. It took a few weeks for the police to evict the Sikhs. In 1883, the Hindus launched an effort to construct a temple which was stopped by the local deputy commissioner of the British India govt in 1885.

Legal battle to build Ram Mandir

Mahant Raghubar Das — a monk of the Nirmohi Akhara (an armed Hindu sect of the Vaishnava order worshipping Lord Vishnu and his avatars) filed a legal suit to build a temple on the ‘Chabutra’ (platform) outside the mosque in 1885. During the hearing, a map of the area was drawn showing the mosque and its inner courtyard under Muslims’ possession, while the outer courtyard with the Chabutra was under Hindus’ possession. "On 24 December 1885, the Sub Judge Pandit Hari Kishan Singh dismissed the suit. On 18 March 1886, District Judge F.E.A. Chamier also dismissed an appeal against the lower court judgment. He agreed that the mosque was built on the land considered sacred by the Hindus, but ordered maintenance of the status quo, since it was "too late now to remedy the grievance". A subsequent appeal before the Judicial Commissioner W. Young was also dismissed on 1 November 1886.

The Babri Masjid mosque, Faizabad, India; Ayodhya, India. (1863-1887) By Samuel Bourne[1]2 - http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/138760/unknown-maker-babri-masjid-faizabad-english-about-1863-1887/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=92934970

Two years after India's Independence in 1947, a Hindu organization conducted a non-stop recitation of Ramayana, a traditional Hindu practice, for 9 days near the mosque and on the night it ended a group of 50-60 people entered the mosque, placed idols of Rama and his consort Sita, and started public worship from the following day. Despite the Uttar Pradesh State government’s orders, officials did not remove the installed idols citing possible Hindu reprisal. A Faizabad court attached the disputed site, cutting off both Muslims and Hindus’ access to it and handed it over to an official receiver.

A civil case was filed by Gopal Singh Visharad, who was refused entry, in 1950. His ancestors reportedly performed rituals at the temple site for centuries and he was the Secretary of the Hindu Maha Sabha, Ayodhya. Between 1950 - 59 three suits were filed by Nirmohi Akhara seeking rights to perform pooja to the idols, and later seeking a complete hand-over of the disputed site. Also, in a countersuit, the U.P. Sunni Central Waqf Board sought possession of the site.

Ram Janmabhoomi movement

In February 1986, the government re-opened Babri Masjid, allowing Hindus to worship the idols. Consecrated bricks were brought from various parts of the country as part of the foundation-laying ceremony for a Ram Mandir on the site. On November 9, 1989, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) performed a shilanyas (foundation laying ceremony) at the site, setting a deadline of October 30, 1990 to build a Ram Mandir. BJP leader L.K. Advani started a Rath Yathra (chariot procession) from Gujarat on September 25, 1990 that went through 10 states and was scheduled to end on October 30, 1990 at the disputed spot in Ayodhya, coinciding with the deadline set by the VHP to build a Ram Temple. Mr. Advani was arrested on 22nd October but the Yathra proceeded with 75,000 reaching Ayodhya. On October 30, 40,000 kar sevaks (volunteers who offer physical work as service to the Divine) gathered at the bridge leading to Ayodhya as the VHP prepared to hold a procession around the site and a ceremony at the grounds adjoining the mosque. However, kar sevaks scaled the domes of the Babri Masjid in an attempt to tear it down. The police fired at the kar sevaks twice within a few days killing hundreds of them.

Consecrated bricks offered by people from all over India for the construction of Ram Mandir

Some Muslim scholars and leaders insisted that the Babri Masjid was not built by demolishing any temple at the site, by the Mughal commander. An archaeologist of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) who took part in excavation work at the Masjid in 1979, K. K. Mohammed, had observed pillars of a temple below the Masjid. Feeling strongly that the facts must be told to counter the false narrative, he wrote a letter to the Indian Express newspaper in December 1990. His letter was published drawing national attention and gave an impetus to the movement for the construction of Ram Mandir. (The archaeologist was admonished by his superior officer and transferred out by ASI as a punishment but he stood by his claim which was confirmed later by an excavation by the ASI ordered by a Court in 2003.)

On December 6, 1992, the RSS and VHP organised a katha kunj (storytelling) event at the site adjoining the mosque, with over 1,50,000 kar sevaks in attendance. Several leaders such as Mr. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, Nritya Gopal Das, and Sadhvi Ritambara gave rousing speeches and raised slogans vowing to build a Ram Temple at the site. The kar sevaks (which also comprised of Bajrang Dal and Shiv Sena workers) then began pelting stones at the mosque. They went on to storm into the disputed area and demolished the entire structure with the three domes within a few hours. Riots ensued across India in Surat, Ahmedabad, Kanpur, Bhopal, Mumbai and Delhi, killing almost 2,000 people.

The Govt. set up an inquiry commission that named 68 leaders including leaders of Hindu cultural, religious and political organisations. A court-ordered archaeological survey in 2003 found a 10th-century shrine under the site of the mosque. In 2010, the Allahabad High Court after hearing the ownership dispute of the 2.77 acres of land on which the Babri Masjid stood ordered it be divided among the three contending parties. The Ayodhya dispute then went to the Supreme Court where, in 2019, a 5 member Bench brought to an end India's longest-running court case. The Court acquitted all the accused and gave the entire disputed area (2.77 acres) to a Trust of the Hindus to be formed by the govt. to build the Ram Mandir. The Court said the ASI did not establish that a temple was destroyed to build the mosque but the Hindu belief that the site was the birthplace of Lord Ram cannot be questioned. The Court said the demolition of the mosque in 1992 was a violation of law and ordered the govt. to provide an alternate site for the Muslims to build a new mosque, away from the temple.

Construction and Inauguration of Ram Mandir

The Trust "Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra" which was formed by the Govt. has completed the ground floor of the three storyed Ram Mandir by raising about Rs 5000 crores in donations collected, so far, from devotees of Ram from India and the rest of the world. "The original design for Ram Mandir was planned in 1988 by the Sompura family of Ahmedabad. However, it went through certain changes in 2020 in accordance with the Vastu shastra and the Shilpa shastras. The Sompuras have contributed to the design of over 100 temples worldwide for at least 15 generations, including the Somnath temple. The temple, built in an overall area spanning 71 acres, is divided into six parts, including the sanctum sanctorum and five pavilions—Gun Mandap, Rang Mandap, Nritya Mandap, Kirtan Mandap, Prarthana Mandap."

"Larsen & Toubro offered to oversee the design and construction of the temple free of cost and is the contractor of the project. Central Building Research Institute, National Geophysical Research Institute and the Indian Institute of Technology (such as those Bombay, Guwahati, and Madras) are assisting in areas such as soil testing, concrete and design. Tata Consulting Engineers has been designated as a project management consultant."

Ram Mandir construction in progress

Ram Mandir will be inaugurated on 22nd January 2024, nearly 5 centuries after it was presumably demolished by the Mughals in Ayodhya where the Hindus believe Lord Ram ruled from and at the very site they revered as the birthplace of the Avatar. Special cultural and religious events are being organized in many states to mark the event. As advised by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Hindu temples are being cleaned and worship is being done in many states. He is on a pilgrimage to temples at places believed to have been visited by Lord Ram, in various states and visited a few such temples in Tamil Nadu on 20th January 20245. The Prime Minister will be the Chief Guest at the idol's consecration ceremony between 12 noon to 12.45 pm to be attended by about 7000 specially invited guests. The Central Govt. has declared a half a day holiday for all its employees till 2.30 pm on the 22nd. A full holiday has been declared on the day by 14 states of India so far. I commented on a newspaper website decades ago that the building of Ram Mandir would be one of the signs of the emergence of the soul of India. Many leaders and authors now regard this event as not only a historic and millennial but also as an indication of the resurging civilization of Bharat.

An inside view of Ram Mandir Source: Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust

The picture below shows the idol of Lord Ram unveiled today. It was sculpted from a 2.5 billion-year-old rock near Mysore by a sculptor from Karnataka. The idol depicts Lord Ram as a 5-year-old boy with a golden bow and arrow. Semitic religionists who regard God as a serious being, Indians see the Divine as a playful and laughing child in the form of Krishna. Other gods such as Ganesh, Karthigeya, Meenakshi, etc. are also imaged in their child forms and worshipped.

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑓𝑓𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛 & 𝑑𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 & 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑛 𝑗𝑢𝑑𝑔𝑒 & 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑚𝑖𝑟𝑡ℎ. 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑤𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝐾𝑟𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑛𝑎, 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝐻𝑖𝑚 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑏𝑜𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑒𝑓&ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑦 𝑙𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑟. - 𝑆𝑟𝑖 𝐴𝑢𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑜 (𝑇ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐴𝑝ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑚𝑠, CWSA, Vol 12)

Lord Ram's idol in the form of a 5-year-old boy installed at the sanctum sanctorum of the new Ram Mandir on 19th January 2024

Lord Ram's idol in the form of a 5-year-old boy with a golden bow and arrow (photo taken earlier to its installation in the Ram Mandir

Redevelopment of Ayodhya as per Master Plan 2031

An unprecedented scale of development is unfolding in Ayodhya according to a WION news report. It is being reimagined and rebuilt as a 21st-century temple town with contemporary infrastructure. Ayodhya is being reborn. Redevelopment of Ayodhya as per the master plan 2031 will be completed over 10 years with an investment of over Rs. 85,000 crores. The city is being upgraded to meet the requirement of a daily footfall of about 3 lakhs. The plan includes the development of a new township in the next 5 years with an investment of nearly 2 billion dollars. Uttar Pradesh is also placing a significant emphasis on transforming Ayodhya into a solar city. The authorities are expecting about 4.5 million tourists per month more than Ayodhya's entire population of 3.5 million. C.P. Kukreja Architect will be the Urban Planner and Architect of the project.

A Screenshot from 'Ayodhya: Rebirth of a temple town' by WION Wideangle, YouTube, 19/1/2024

A Screenshot from 'Ayodhya: Rebirth of a temple town' by WION Wideangle, YouTube, 19/1/2024

Ref:

1. Wikipedia

2. News reports

3. Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya dot Com