Masjids to Mandirs

By Sathvik Chatta | February 2024

This past month, the inauguration ceremony for the Ram Mandir was held on the land known as the Ram Janmabhoomi (Birthplace of Ram) was held. Millions of Hindus across the world tuned in to watch dozens of interviews, discussions and speeches regarding the temple’s features, history and the public’s opinions. 

In one speech, India’s prime minister Narendra Modi declared, “Ram is the faith of India. Ram is the foundation of India. Ram is the idea of India. Ram is the law of India. Ram is the prestige of India. Ram is the glory of India… Ram is the leader, and Ram is the policy.”

The History of Ram Janmabhoomi

Something that wasn’t highlighted in the near 10 hours of the inauguration ceremony was the history of the Ram Janmabhoomi. According to the documentary Ram ke Naam (1992), almost 500 years ago, at the exact location of the current Ram Mandir, the Babri Masjid stood, newly constructed by Babur, the first Mughal Emperor who had razed dozens of Hindu temples in his conquest of the area.

Within a century of its construction, Tulsidas wrote the most famous version of the Ramayana, leading to numerous temples emerging in Ayodhya, with several claiming to be the birthplace of Ram. During the 19th century, the British colonial administration added to the complexity by spreading rumors that the Babri Masjid was the actual birthplace of Ram. Consequently, Hindus began idol worship near the mosque, while Muslims continued to use it for their prayers. In 1949, tensions escalated when armed Hindus broke into the mosque and placed Ram idols inside leading to the mosque being locked, but idol worship continued outside (Harvard, 2018).

In 1986, a significant development occurred when a bill was passed, allowing Hindus access to the mosque while still restricting entry for Muslims. Tensions started ramping and the idea of demolishing the mosque momentum. Parade campaigns were launched across India to garner support for building the Ram Mandir, with Hindus fervently believing that it was their birthright to have a temple at the alleged birthplace of Ram. Furthermore, issues in Ayodhya such as homelessness, eviction and inflation, particularly those affecting marginalized castes, were seemingly overlooked in the pursuit of the Ram Mandir. The movement to build the temple was criticized for further marginalizing Muslims in India. As tensions rose, there were attempts to destroy the mosque, culminating in a police- and military-guarded gate. On December 6th, 1992, the official destruction of the mosque by Hindu nationalist rioters commenced, an event that started communal riots all over India, killing over 2000 people.

Landowner’s Identity

The question of whether or not the Ram Janmabhoomi belongs to the Hindu people is a highly controversial one. From 1976–1977, the preliminary excavation of the Ram Janmabhoomi was held, leading to the contested discovery that the Babri Masjid was supposedly built on the remains of an ancient Hindu temple. After the Babri Masjid’s destruction, several rounds of court cases occurred, and in 2003, the Supreme Court ordered a more thorough excavation, leading to another contested confirmation of a temple existing at some point at the site, but nothing related to Ram. Both of these excavations are backed by groups bound to bias the findings. However, this begs the questions, do these excavations actually prove that this land is the janmabhoomi (birthplace) of Ram? And does this validate the Hindu nationalist fervor and rioters’ destruction of the mosque?

Nevertheless, in 2019, the Indian Supreme Court unanimously approved the land for the construction of a new Ram Mandir, but how does this affect India’s legacy? Current court cases in India include cases regarding the Gyanvapi Mosque and the Shahi Eidgah in the Krishna Janmasthan Temple Complex, and the existence of the Ram Mandir has set a precedent for these cases to let the land fall into Hindu control. With many historic mosques in India stemming from a result of invasion or destruction of Hindu temples, the status of these mosques as time goes on is very unstable.