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Ayodhya dispute: The complex legal history of India's holy site | Ayodhya dispute: The complex legal history of India's holy site |
(25 days later) | |
The Ayodhya dispute, which stretches back more than a century, is one of India's thorniest court cases and goes to the heart of its identity politics. | The Ayodhya dispute, which stretches back more than a century, is one of India's thorniest court cases and goes to the heart of its identity politics. |
Hindus believe that Ayodhya, a city in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, is the birthplace of one of their most revered deities, Lord Ram. | Hindus believe that Ayodhya, a city in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, is the birthplace of one of their most revered deities, Lord Ram. |
Muslims say they have worshipped there for generations. | |
The Supreme Court has now ruled that the site should be given to Hindus to build a temple there. | |
Hinduism is India's majority religion and is thought to be more than 4,000 years old. India's first Islamic dynasty was established in the early 13th Century. | |
What is the row actually about? | What is the row actually about? |
At the centre of the row is a 16th-Century mosque that was demolished by Hindu mobs in 1992, sparking riots that killed nearly 2,000 people. | |
Many Hindus believe that the Babri Masjid was actually constructed on the ruins of a Hindu temple that was demolished by Muslim invaders. | Many Hindus believe that the Babri Masjid was actually constructed on the ruins of a Hindu temple that was demolished by Muslim invaders. |
Muslims say they offered prayers at the mosque until December 1949 when some Hindus placed an idol of Ram in the mosque and began to worship the idols. | Muslims say they offered prayers at the mosque until December 1949 when some Hindus placed an idol of Ram in the mosque and began to worship the idols. |
Over the decades since, the two religious groups went to court many times over who should control the site. | |
Is the case now over? | |
This particular case had three main contending parties - two Hindu groups and the Muslim Waqf Board, which is responsible for the maintenance of Islamic properties in India. | |
The Hindu litigants are the Hindu Mahasabha, a right-wing political party, and the Nirmohi Akhara, which is a sect of Hindu monks. | The Hindu litigants are the Hindu Mahasabha, a right-wing political party, and the Nirmohi Akhara, which is a sect of Hindu monks. |
They filed a title dispute in the Allahabad High Court in 2002, a decade after the mosque was demolished. | They filed a title dispute in the Allahabad High Court in 2002, a decade after the mosque was demolished. |
A verdict in that case in September 2010 determined that the 2.77 acres of the disputed land would be divided equally into three parts. | |
The court ruled that the site should be split, with the Muslim community getting control of a third, Hindus another third and the Nirmohi Akhara sect the remainder. Control of the main disputed section, where the mosque once stood, was given to Hindus. | The court ruled that the site should be split, with the Muslim community getting control of a third, Hindus another third and the Nirmohi Akhara sect the remainder. Control of the main disputed section, where the mosque once stood, was given to Hindus. |
The judgement also made three key observations. | The judgement also made three key observations. |
It affirmed the disputed spot was the birthplace of Lord Ram, that the Babri Masjid was built after the demolition of a Hindu temple and that it was not built in accordance with the tenets of Islam. | It affirmed the disputed spot was the birthplace of Lord Ram, that the Babri Masjid was built after the demolition of a Hindu temple and that it was not built in accordance with the tenets of Islam. |
The Supreme Court suspended this ruling in 2011 after both Hindu and Muslim groups appealed against it. | The Supreme Court suspended this ruling in 2011 after both Hindu and Muslim groups appealed against it. |
The 9 November 20919 verdict cited a report by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as evidence that the remains of a building "that was not Islamic" were beneath the structure of the demolished Babri mosque. | |
The unanimous verdict said the disputed land should be given to Hindus for a temple to Lord Ram, while Muslims would be given land elsewhere to construct a mosque. | |
It then directed the federal government to set up a trust to manage and oversee the construction of the temple. | |
However, the court added that the demolition of the Babri mosque was against the rule of law. | |
The main group of Muslim litigants has said that it will not appeal against the verdict. | |
What are the other important legal developments? | What are the other important legal developments? |
In 1994 the Supreme Court, which was ruling on a related case, remarked that the concept of a mosque was "not integral to Islam". This may have bolstered the case made by Hindus to secure control of the entire site. | |
In April 2018, senior lawyer Rajeev Dhavan filed a plea before the top court, asking judges to reconsider this observation. | In April 2018, senior lawyer Rajeev Dhavan filed a plea before the top court, asking judges to reconsider this observation. |
But a few months later the Supreme Court declined to do so. | But a few months later the Supreme Court declined to do so. |
Have religious tensions eased in India in recent years? | Have religious tensions eased in India in recent years? |
Ever since the Narendra Modi-led Hindu nationalist BJP first came to power in 2014, India has seen deepening social and religious divisions. | Ever since the Narendra Modi-led Hindu nationalist BJP first came to power in 2014, India has seen deepening social and religious divisions. |
The call for the construction of a Hindu temple in Ayodhya has grown particularly loud, and has mostly come from MPs, ministers and leaders from the BJP since it took office. | The call for the construction of a Hindu temple in Ayodhya has grown particularly loud, and has mostly come from MPs, ministers and leaders from the BJP since it took office. |
Restrictions on the sale and slaughter of cows - considered a holy animal by the majority Hindus - have led to vigilante killings of a number of people, most of them Muslims who were transporting cattle. | Restrictions on the sale and slaughter of cows - considered a holy animal by the majority Hindus - have led to vigilante killings of a number of people, most of them Muslims who were transporting cattle. |
An uninhibited display of muscular Hindu nationalism in other areas has also contributed to religious tension. | An uninhibited display of muscular Hindu nationalism in other areas has also contributed to religious tension. |
Most recently, the country's home minister Amit Shah said he would remove "illegal migrants" - understood to be Muslim - from the country through a government scheme that was used recently in the north-eastern state of Assam. | Most recently, the country's home minister Amit Shah said he would remove "illegal migrants" - understood to be Muslim - from the country through a government scheme that was used recently in the north-eastern state of Assam. |