The city of Ayodhya has been in limelight ever since the 1990s when the
conflict over the temple and the mosque emerged. The city has seen several
events since the past and over the years, more than the construction of the buildings;
it has been the people who have seen the unfolding of events. The two sides
conflicted with each other for years until the verdict by the Supreme Court in
a way settled the issue in 2019.
The construction of the temple was to begin this year in the month of
April. But the unfortunate happenings around the world hindered the process.
The pandemic has stopped almost everything around the world, and so was the
case with the construction of the temple.
It was only after the restrictions over the construction activities were
relaxed since 11th May 2020, things got back on track and the
process of leveling of the land began. The state government gave relaxations
with respect to certain construction activities.
The Shri
Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has been set up to overlook the
construction of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya. While the task of leveling the land was taking
place, the trust got certain interesting artifacts.
The Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has claimed to have found some ancient
artifacts under the site where the Ram Mandir would be construed, which was
originally disputed site of Ayodhya. They claimed that they found claims,
"A 4-foot-long Shivling, 7 black touchstone pillars, and 6 red sandstone
pillars were among the items found at the proposed site of construction during
land leveling work."
Trust
General Secretary Champat Rai said that such artifacts show the existence of a
temple in that site. Also, Mahant Raju Das of the Hanuman Garhi temple said
that the idols and artifacts which were found further confirm and validate the
court verdict which accepted that the temple existed here. "There should
be no room for any doubt now," he added.
On the other
side, Zafaryab Jilani, senior lawyer and convener of the All India Babri Masjid
Action Committee has contested the claims of the Trust. Others also say that
just because artifacts were found at the site, it didn’t prove the existence of
a temple on the site. Jilani also said that the demolished pillars could also
be structures of a mosque.
These artifacts which were
found when the construction work began, is yet to be examined by the
Archeological Survey of India (ASI) and an official statement is yet to be published.
The
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) comes under the Ministry of Culture. It is
an organization for archaeological researches and protection of the
cultural heritage of the nation. Maintenance of ancient monuments and
archaeological sites and remains of 'national' importance is the main task of
the Archeological Survey of India.
The final 1045 pages judgment by the Supreme Court in November 2019
stated that the disputed land would be given to the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth
Trust, which would be handling the construction of the Ram Mandir on the site
and the Masjid side would be allotted with an alternative land of 5 acres for
the construction of a mosque. It was considered as a historic judgement of a long
awaited verdict over the dispute.
Some state that this is a Political Gimmick on part of the trust. Others
very confidently confirm the existence of a temple.
Amidst the pandemic, these findings will definitely churn up a new
debate for the people at large. This contestation will keep the people
entertained for sure. But there is also a hope that the current scenario eases
up as quickly as possible.
- VIjayasree V
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