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Timeline of the debate

Posted by preeti Ayodhya debate 9/30/2010 05:39:00 PM

Ayodhya debate
Demolition of Babri Masjid
Babri Masjid
Ram Janmabhoomi
Archaeology
2005 Ram Janmabhoomi attack
Liberhan Commission
People and organizations
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
L. K. Advani
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Murli Manohar Joshi
Kalyan Singh
AIBMAC
Babur
Bharatiya Janata Party
Koenraad Elst

Year	Date	Event
1528	-	The Babri Mosque was built in Ayodhya in 1528. Hindu groups claim it was built after demolishing a temple.
1853	-	The first recorded communal clashes over the site date back to this year.
1859	-	The colonial British administration put a fence around the site, denominating separate areas of worship for Hindus and Muslims. And that is the way it stood for about 90 years.
1949	-	In December of that year, idols were put inside the mosque. Both sides to the dispute filed civil suits. The government locked the gates, saying the matter was sub-judice and declared the area “disputed”.
1984	-	The movement to build a temple at the site, which Hindus claimed was the birthplace of Lord Ram, gathered momentum when Hindu groups formed a committee to spearhead the construction of a temple at the Ramjanmabhoomi site.
1986	-	A district judge ordered the gates of the mosque to be opened after almost five decades and allowed Hindus to worship inside the “disputed structure.” A Babri Mosque Action Committee was formed as Muslims protested the move to allow Hindu prayers at the site.
1989	-	The clamour for building a Ram temple was growing. Fronted by organizations like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, foundations of a temple were laid on land adjacent to the "disputed structure."
1990	-	The then BJP president Lal Krishna Advani took out a cross-country rathyatra to garner support for the move to build a Ram temple at the site. VHP volunteers partially damaged the Babri Mosque. Prime Minister Chandrashekhar intervened and tried to negotiate with the various groups. But talks failed.
1991	-	Riding high on the success of Advani's rathyatra, the BJP became India's primary opposition party in Parliament and came to power in Uttar Pradesh.
1991	-	The movement for building a temple gathered further momentum with Karsevaks or Hindu volunteers pouring into Ayodhya. Bricks were sent from across India.
1992	December 6	The Babri Mosque was demolished by Karsevaks. Communal riots across India followed.
1992	December 16	Ten days after the demolition, the Congress government at the Centre, headed by PV Narasimha Rao, set up a commission of inquiry under Justice Liberhan.
1993	-	Three months after being constituted, the Liberhan Commission began investigations into who and what led to the demolition of the Babri Mosque.
2001	-	Tensions rose on the anniversary of the demolition of the mosque as the VHP reaffirmed its resolve to build a temple at the site.
2002	February 27	At least 58 people were killed in Godhra, Gujarat, in an attack on a train believed to be carrying Hindu volunteers from Ayodhya. Riots followed in the state and over 1000 people were reported to have died in these.
2003	-	The court ordered a survey to find out whether a temple to Lord Ram existed on the site. In August, the survey presented evidence of a temple under the mosque. Muslim groups disputed the findings.
2003	September	A court ruled that seven Hindu leaders, including some prominent BJP leaders, should stand trial for inciting the destruction of the Babri Mosque.
2004	November	-	An Uttar Pradesh court ruled that an earlier order which exonerated LK Advani for his role in the destruction of the mosque should be reviewed.
2007	-	The Supreme Court refused to admit a review petition on the Ayodhya dispute.
2009	-		The Liberhan Commission, which was instituted ten days after the demolition of the Babri Mosque in 1992, submitted its report on June 30 - almost 17 years after it began its inquiry. Its contents were not made public.
2010	-	The Allahabad High Court to pronounce its verdict on four title suits relating to the Ayodhya dispute on September 30, 2010