Jamiat Ulema e-Hind chief Moulana Mehboob Madani speaks to rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt in an exclusive interview.
The apex court, which delivered a historic verdict and put the curtains down on the vexatious legal battle that had torn the social fabric of the nation, said that dividing the land would not subserve the interest of either of the parties or secure a lasting sense of peace and tranquillity.
The following is the chronology of events related to the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute in which, after the Supreme Court verdict, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday conducted the 'Bhoomi Pujan' or ground breaking ceremony and laid the foundation stone for the temple's construction.
'The Opposition parties will continue to woo Chandrababu Naidu even though he has said he will support the BJP.'
In a press conference ahead of the much awaited Ayodhya verdict, Home Minister P Chidmabaram said that the delay in the Ayodhya title suit verdict had benefitted the country as it gave various parties the opportunity to reiterate their faith in the judicial process.
In a major victory for the Hindu side, a Varanasi court on Wednesday allowed Hindu devotees to offer prayers inside the 'Vyas ka Tekhana' area inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex.
Here are some of the reactions to the Supreme Court verdict on Ayodhya.
Notwithstanding the Supreme Court's deferment of the Ayodhya verdict, the Centre has extends ban on bulk SMS-es till September 29 on all telecom networks.
The top court, which had earlier fixed August 31 as the deadline for completion of proceedings including pronouncement of the verdict, took note of the report filed by special judge S K Yadav in the high-profile case.
A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, Surya Kant, and P S Narasimha made the important observation during an hour-long hearing of the Gyanvapi mosque dispute and said that it has dealt with provisions of the Places of Worship Act in its 2019 Ayodhya verdict and section 3 does not expressly bar ascertaining of the religious character of the place of worship.
Modi believes that the Congress leadership does not have the political sagacity to undertake a course correction because of its preoccupation about not losing its current gains in the voter base, observes Shekhar Iyer.
The Ayodhya verdict, far from legitimising the deeply divisive rath yatra Advani set out on, has tried to repair the damage he did to inter-community relations in India, says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'Just because the NDA has a majority and the BJP is the single largest party does not mean that this Modi government enjoys a majority in the Lok Sabha.' 'It is always possible that some members (of the NDA and even the BJP) may defect, some members may not want him to be the prime minister and they might vote differently (against Modi) in the confidence vote.'
Terming the agitation for Ram temple the biggest since India's freedom movement, he said it was aimed at the outcome which the verdict has made possible.
Crucial reforms in Muslim personal law, especially laws related to inheritance and adoption, need to be initiated forthwith; historically speaking, without the State's backing, hardly has any reform taken place or allowed to prevail, asserts Mohammad Sajjad.
As a judge of special Central Bureau of Investigation court, Yadav had on September 30, 2020 acquitted all the 32 accused, including BJP veterans LK Advani, M M Joshi, Uma Bharti and Kalyan Singh, in the case of demolition of Babri mosque in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992.
CJI Lalit concurred with the minority view of Justice S Ravindra Bhat who held the EWS quota as "unconstitutional" for excluding poor among SCs, STs and OBCs.
With both Prime Minister Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram personally handling the Ayodhya issue, PMO officials are confident that the law and order situation will remain under control.
The court said that King Ashoka had given several messages to the world which are engraved in rock edicts which shows reverence towards faith of others.
AIMPLB member Zafaryab Jilani on Wednesday said the proposed mosque in Ayodhya following last year's Supreme Court verdict is against the Waqf Act and 'illegal' under the Shariat laws.
The plea, filed by advocates Shishir Chaturvedi and Karunesh Kumar Shukla, said that apart from private individuals and members of state Sunni Board, the presence of central and state government representatives was essential to ensure proper management of the funds.
As dusk fell, volunteers lit up nearly six lakh diyas lined up on the Saryu riverbank. 'Representatives of the Guinness Book of World Records witnessed this grand festival. With 5,84,372 earthen lamps, the event made the world record,' a state government statement said.
The government on Wednesday named nine out of 15 members of the 'Shri Ram Janambhoomi Teertha Kshetra' trust constituted for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya as mandated by the Supreme Court. Here's all you need to know about the members of the trust who have been named so far.
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to extend the security of former special judge S K Yadav who had pronounced the verdict in the Babri Masjid demolition case and acquitted all 32 accused, including Bharatiya Janata Party veterans L K Advani, M M Joshi and Uma Bharti.
Shiv Sena executive pPresident Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday appealed to party activists to maintain peace on September 24, when the controversial Babri Masjid verdict is expected."The Sainiks have been instructed to maintain peace after the Babri-Ayodhya verdict and we will cooperate with the government," Uddhav said after he met party leaders to discuss the issue.
The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 provides for maintaining the 'religious character' of holy structures as it existed on August 15, 1947.
Owaisi said the CBI should appeal against the judgment "to protect its independence."
'Nitish may take such a decision because he was the first person who was with the INDIA front.' 'He went back only because he did not get proper encouragement from the Congress.' 'Nitish will take a decision provided there is a strong alternative.' 'If he feels ours is a weak coalition, he will not come.' 'Then, this government will continue for five years.'
The mosque is coming up in the Uttar Pradesh district pursuant to the Supreme Court verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi case.
The bill to amend the law governing Waqf boards proposes far-reaching changes in the Wakf Act, 1995, including ensuring the representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims in such bodies.
The Ayodhya district administration has told news channels that litigants in the Ayodhya land dispute case should not be part of any discussions that they broadcast from the temple town during the 'Bhumi Pujan' for the Ram temple on August 5. In an advisory, it also said that if channels are broadcasting a debate or programme from Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh during the ground-breaking ceremony, there should be no comments against any person or religion.
On June 26, for the likes of me, the music died. Any impression of potential change held forth by the outcome of the 2024 general election, was vaporised, reveals Shyam G Menon.
The weavers have received customised orders for various patterns on the sarees, including Ram Mandir motifs on the pallu, designs detailing life of Lord Ram right from his childhood to killing Ravana, and 'Shree Ram' inscriptions on the border.
The Board has already made it clear that it will not go in for a compromise as suggested by the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court, which delivered its verdict on the issue on Thursday last.
"The matter is to be settled now by the Supreme Court. We cannot accept the sharing formula, which has been ordered/suggested by the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court," says Zafaryab Jilani, chief counsel for the Sunni Central Waqf Board, in an interview.
Justice N Santosh Hegde says law and order is a valid reason that can be cited before the Supreme Court of India, but the litigants must realise that courts do not have the infrastructure to maintain law and order and it is entirely the duty of the state and Union governments to do so
The event brings to fruition the Bharatiya Janata Party's 'mandir' movement that defined its politics for three decades and took it to the heights of power.
Joginder Tuteja looks at forthcoming films inspired by the Ramayan.
"It is the greatness of Ayodhya that the mosques surrounding the Ram temple are giving a strong message of communal harmony to the rest of the world," Haji Asad Ahmad, the corporator of the Ram Kot ward, told PTI.
'They are happy for the Hindu community as Ram Lalla is consecrated in Ayodhya.'
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