Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

The Supreme Court is expected to put to rest a title dispute in India that has festered communal strife, which occasionally exploded, in India for more than a century. The Hindu sides contend there should be a temple for Lord Rama in a 2.7 acre land in Ayodhya, where the Babri Masjid has stood since the 16th century. The Hindu sides contend that an existing temple was destroyed for construction of the mosque, which the Muslims deny. The first case in the matter was filed as early as 1885 and the dispute continued escalating until December 6, 1992 when the mosque was demolished by those who wanted a temple. Here’s the sequence of events that have played out since then leading up to the much-awaited verdict from the country’s top court: 
	<div type="Slideshow" msid="71913656" hostid="261" title="All the important milestones in the Ayodhya case since 1992 leading up to the Supreme Court verdict" firstImageMsid="71913712" slideCount="11"></div>




 <div type="image" title="Slide 3 Ayodhya" msid="71913716" hostid="261"></div>

All the important milestones in the Ayodhya case since 1992 leading up to the Supreme Court verdict

<ul><li>India has seen numerous communal riots in its history with the Ayodhya dispute as the flashpointIndia has seen numerous communal riots in its history with the Ayodhya dispute as the flashpoint. </li><li>So ahead of the SC verdict, there were numerous appeals for calm no matter which side the verdict goes in favour of⁠— starting from the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.</li></ul>It was announced on Friday that the Supreme Court verdict in the historic Ram Temple vs <keyword id="43572" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Babri-Masjid">Babri Masjid</keyword> standoff at Ayodhya will be announced on Saturday, November 11. Efforts to calm any tension post the verdict had begun much before but they peaked on Friday night and Saturday morning. The dispute between Hindus and Muslims over a holy site in Ayodhya is over a century old and has proved to be an explosive issue. So while both sides⁠— one that wants a temple and the other that wants a mosque⁠— seem desperate for a closure and have their hopes pinned on the country’s Supreme Court, the anticipation has turned out to be a headache for both the local authorities, the state and central governments, as well as for people who couldn’t care less. 
	
	
	






 <div type="Slideshow" msid="71979316" hostid="261" title="See how India tried to keep calm ahead of the historic Supreme Court verdict in the Ayodhya case" firstImageMsid="71979317" slideCount="10"></div>

See how India tried to keep calm ahead of the historic Supreme Court verdict in the Ayodhya case

<ul><li>The Supreme Court pronounced the historic <keyword id="399476" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ayodhya-verdict">Ayodhya verdict</keyword> today. </li><li>The Hindus get to keep the land of dispute and build a temple, while the Muslims get a 5 acre land within <keyword id="6354931" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ayodhya">Ayodhya</keyword> to build a mosque. </li><li>The SC cited the findings of <keyword id="6355180" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="archaeological-survey-of-india">Archaeological Survey of India</keyword> in its verdict.</li></ul>The evidence from Archaeological Survey of India played a crucial part in the Supreme Court verdict in the Ayodhya dispute, where the judges allowed the construction of a temple for Lord Rama and ordered that the government must give the Muslims a separate 5-acre site for the construction of a mosque. While it cited ASI findings, the SC also said that the title for the disputed property cannot be based solely on the report. The archaeological findings in Ayodhya didn't prove the existence of Lord Rama, or even the existence of a Hindu temple beneath the Babri Masjid. They only exposed the holes in the arguments of the Muslim side, particularly, the Waqf Board. Babri Masjid was not built on vacant land According to the judgement the discovery of structures and articles showed evidence of continuous public use of the disputed land starting from the Gupta era to the early medieval Rajput era through the Delhi Sultanate era up until the construction of the mosque in the 16th century. This finding helped debunk the claim by Muslims, particularly the Sunni Waqf Board, that the Babri Masjid was built on a vacant piece of land. At that juncture, the counsel for the Muslim side went back on the earlier claim, and insisted that the underlying structure was an Idgah⁠— an open space used for Id prayers. The change in stance from the Waqf Board brought the argument to a point where the court had to decide whether the underlying structure was an Islamic or non-Islamic. The court eventually decided that it was non-Islamic, based on the ASI report. However, while the Supreme Court clearly dismissed the presence of an Islamic structure, it didn’t confirm a Hindu temple too. “The possible linkages of Buddhist or Jain traditions cannot be excluded. Indeed, in assessing archaeological or historical material one must eschew a unidimensional view. The excavation in the present case does in fact suggest a confluence of civilisations, cultures and traditions," said the order. Against the Allahabad HC verdict The Supreme Court’s order also quashed the 2010 Allahabad High Court verdict by Justice SU Khan. Justice Khan had discarded the ASI findings to say that, <ul><li>firstly, there was evidence of continuity in structural phases from the tenth Century onward upto the construction of the disputed structure is directly in conflict with the pleadings, gazetteers and history books </li></ul><ul><li>secondly, that in the case a temple had been demolished for constructing a mosque, the super structure of the temple would not have gone inside the ground</li></ul>But the SC called the first argument ‘specious’ and the second one ‘pure conjecture’. Historians’ report debunked The Supreme Court also dismissed a report “Babri Mosque or Rama‘s Birth Place? Historians‘ Report to the Indian Nation” released by four historians in 1991. The report said that there is no basis to prove that the site of Babri Masjid is the birthplace of Lord Rama, and that the pillar carvings in the mosque do not bear any relation to a Vaishnavite among other claims. The SC went on to say in its verdict that the historians didn’t have the ASI material assessed by them and thus the 1991 report doesn’t carry any weight. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/news/ayodhya-ram-mandir-case-supreme-court-verdict-top-highlights/articleshow/71979856.cms">Hindus get the disputed site in Ayodhya for a Ram Temple-- that and other top highlights from the Supreme Court verdict</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/news/inside-details-of-supreme-court-verdict-on-ayodhya-dispute-on-land-rights/articleshow/71983309.cms">Supreme Court ensured that the Ayodhya verdict can’t be used to take over land by citing faith</a>

The archaeological survey findings played a crucial part in the Supreme Court verdict on Ayodhya dispute

With over 900 million believers and many faithful, and innumerable ‘holy’ places, Hindu <keyword id="56253" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Temples" source="Orion">temples</keyword> are neither short of footfalls nor donations. So much so when <keyword id="419623" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tirumala-Tirupati" source="Orion">Tirumala Tirupati</keyword> Devasthanam declared that its land holdings are valued at ₹85,000 crore (modestly) across 960 properties all over India — few were surprised. After all, the <keyword id="721647" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lord-Venkateshwara-temple" source="Orion">Lord Venkateshwara temple</keyword> makes <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/fyi/story/siddhivinayak-hundi-rich-temple-india-demonetisation-352322-2016-11-16">$11 million a year</a> selling its ladoos alone, in addition to the thousands who queue up every day and make generous donations. <div type="image" title="Venkateshwara temple makes $11 million a year selling ladoos alone" height="900" width="1200" msid="94550183" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Venkateshwara temple makes $11 million a year selling ladoos alone&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> From the gilded era Tirupati has a long history of generous donations. A 16th century king Krishnadevaraya who ruled over erstwhile Andhra and Karnataka is known to have performed an ‘abhishekham’ with 30,000 gold coins instead of the traditional bathing with milk — in addition to other gold ornaments he donated. <div type="image" title="Tirupati temple has a long history of generous donations" msid="94550258" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Tirupati temple has a long history of generous donations&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Tirupati has been holding on to the richest temple tag for generations till it was displaced by Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Kerala, with an estimated $20 billion lying in its vaults. <div type="image" title="Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala has an estimated $20 billion lying in its vaults" height="900" width="1200" msid="94550303" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala has an estimated $20 billion lying in its vaults&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Some of the treasures uncovered include 1.2 metre solid gold statues studded with precious stones, crowns and countless artefacts. An <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/sree-padmanabhaswamy-temple-wealth-amicus-curiae-finds-serious-lapses-wants-audit/articleshow/33963351.cms?from=mdr">amicus curiae </a>petition was filed in the <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/sree-padmanabhaswamy-temple-wealth-amicus-curiae-finds-serious-lapses-wants-audit/articleshow/33963351.cms?from=mdr">Supreme Court, </a>which wanted a scientific audit on the treasures. And a few vaults are still unopened, deepening the mystery of this temple’s wealth. The 12th century temple Shree Jagannath of Puri too is moving to digitise its land records and said that it possesses over <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/land-records-of-lord-jagannaths-over-60000-acres-in-7-states-to-be-digitised/articleshow/94497919.cms">60,000 acres across seven states.</a> <div type="image" title="Jagannath temple in Puri" height="900" width="1200" msid="94550358" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Jagannath temple in Puri&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Built by kings and patronised by their subjects, many Indian temples possess lands, mostly farm lands – to support their upkeep. Most old and large temples receive ample donations in cash and gold that have been filling their Hundis and coffers over the centuries. Endowment bodies are private entities and never had to reveal their wealth, few can guess the extent of cash and gold holdings. Apart from a few details that have become public, very few have ventured to estimate temple wealth. In 2016, the World Gold Council estimated that the gold lying in Indian<a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/temples-hold-about-4-000-tonnes-of-gold-116032400306_1.html"> temples could be as high as 4,000 tonnes</a> — that’s over a fifth of the total gold holdings of the country. Cash, stocks or bonds? The cash that temples receive from Hundis remains enormous. Temples are known to employ large teams to sort and count them and some have even fashioned giant sieves that can sift coins. As the number of financial instruments increase, temple trusts too have expanded their ‘accounts’ to easily receive all sorts of donations. In 2015, Lord Balaji opened his own demat account to receive stocks and bonds. Following Him, are many temple trusts including Vaishno Devi temple, Swaminarayan Temple of Ahmedabad, Srinathji Temple of Nathdwara, Iskon Charities, Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga in Ujjain, to name a few. In addition to easing the process of ‘offerings’ in an increasingly cash-free society, this move also helps people turn Gods into their business partners with a small stake. Like in the case of gold, no information is proffered on how much stock trusts hold and if they are traded. What’s the wealth going to do? Legend has it that all that goes into Lord Balaji’s Hundi is used to pay off the interest for a loan that he took from Kubera, the God of wealth, and this payoff will continue till the end of Kali Yug. In reality, it’s the trustees who decide what is to be done with the wealth. And, what do temples do with the wealth? It takes a lot to maintain a temple. Large temples employ a range of staff – be it priests, security guards, cleaning staff and accountants, some temples even have a large administrative staff to manage the finances and more. Moreover, temples hold large events like Navratri festivals, pujas or annual processions like rath yatras. A few temples also cook and serve prasad like the Iskcon temple which offers an elaborate lunch-like prasad on a daily basis. <div type="image" title="Krishna Janmashtami at Iskon temple in Juhu, Mumbai" msid="94550472" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Krishna Janmashtami at Iskon temple in Juhu, Mumbai&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> A few temple trusts also run charitable organisations like schools, colleges, hospitals and even orphanages – so a lot of money goes into that too. During the Covid-19 pandemic, a few temple trusts like Puri’s Shree Jagannath Temple Administration donated in cash while many others provided facilities for quarantine facilities, beds and even Oxygen tanks. All in all – trusts also contribute towards welfare activities. The temples also reserve some of its wealth for a rainy day. During the lockdown, when temples shut doors, a lot of them which depended on daily cash donations <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/08/26/1200-hindu-temples-india-will-pawn-gold-maintain-running-costs/">had to pawn their gold to maintain</a> the running costs. The Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages Kerala’s temples, had deposited some of its gold with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a loan after selling unused lamps and a few brass utensils. The temple and the state Temple priests, seers and Kings always maintained a healthy mutual relationship – some of the former also adorned the courts and were trusted advisors. Tensions however emerged after monarchy and the battle lines were drawn between the church and the state. The first clash occurred in the early 1800s when the East India Company (EIC) demanded a tribute from the Queen of Travancore – the royal family which is now the trustee of Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple. As she failed to provide ‘protection money’, the company took over the temple trusts in the region. This passed onto the British crown who later drafted a Madras Religious and Charitable Endowment Act, which later became the The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act – that controls a few hundreds of thousands of temple trusts, mutts and endowments. It is to be noted that the Madras Presidency covered large parts of Tamil Nadu in addition to Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and even Kerala — till date, a few hundreds of thousands of temples are directly under government control. In fact, some of the richest trusts including Tirupati, Meenakshi temple of Madurai, Shirdi Sai Baba temple and Siddhi Vinayak <a href="https://asiaconverge.com/2020/09/indian-governments-outdid-aurangzeb-they-emasculated-hindu-temples/">fall under the government control</a>. IAS officers act <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/shirdi-saibaba-trust-ias-official-4560862/">as temple trustees in many temples</a> across states like Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, which appointed an IAS officer to the <a href="https://theprint.in/india/nripendra-misra-modis-trusted-former-ias-officer-will-head-ram-temple-construction-panel/368134/">Ayodhya’s Ram temple trust</a>. The trust with the government There have been multiple attempts to bring more trusts under the government’s purview and a few of them have been resisting in multiple ways. The most high profile case has been that of <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/nataraja-temple-to-be-managed-by-priest-not-by-tamil-nadu-govt-114010600610_1.html">Nataraja Temple at Chidambaram Trust and the state government</a> of Tamil Nadu where the court ruled in favour of the trust. The pre-Chola temple where the statue of Shiva itself remains elusive – known as the ‘secret’ – had resisted the state government attempt to take over the trust. A similar attempt at a takeover of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple trust temple, with treasures that are worth hundreds of billions, by the state government — <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/supreme-court-sets-aside-kerala-hc-order-on-government-takeover-of-padmanabhaswamy-temple-5540371.html">was stalled by the Apex court</a>. Yet another case involves the <a href="https://www.barandbench.com/news/litigation/vaishno-devi-shrine-board-funds-were-used-for-iftaar-parties">Vaishno Devi temple, </a>where a petition was filed challenging the government control of the shrine. The Karnataka government however wants to do away <a href="https://www.timesnownews.com/india/karnataka-to-do-away-with-government-control-over-temples-says-cm-bommai-in-budget-speech-article-89990133">with its control over temple trusts</a>, said the chief minister Basavaraj Bommai in March this year. If they do so, they would create a precedent where more endowments would seek autonomy – leaving one of India’s high-profile asset owners with more control of their vaults and all that therein.

You Searched For "ayodhya case history" and got 4 results

All the important milestones in the Ayodhya case since 1992 leading up to the Supreme Court verdict

BI India Bureau

See how India tried to keep calm ahead of the historic Supreme Court verdict in the Ayodhya case

BI India Bureau

The archaeological survey findings played a crucial part in the Supreme Court verdict on Ayodhya dispute

Sanchita Dash

SIMPLY PUT: Gods must be wealthy but how wealthy are they?

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides