In a historic verdict in November on the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of construction of a temple. It also ruled that an alternative five-acre plot must be found for a mosque within Ayodhya.
Yadav struck deals with the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress whenever needed to form or save the governments led by him in Uttar Pradesh.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is visiting Karnataka, said he intended to shut all the madrasas (Muslim religious schools) in his state, as they were not needed in "New India".
The issue of Lord Rama grabbed headlines again on Monday when Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said he would travel to Ayodhya and open talks with stakeholders in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute on November 16.
The senior-most Muslim leaders of the country have appealed to all citizens to maintain peace and calm after the verdict on the Babri Masjid title suit is pronounced on September 24.
The 17th anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid largely remained a non-event in Ayodhya, in spite of the various programmes organised by political parties to mark the occasion. While the Vishwa Hindu Parishad observed it as 'Shaurya Diwas' (Valour Day) and the Babri Masjid Action Committee and the Samajwadi Party observed it as 'Black Day', the events held by them witnessed negligible participation by the locals.
The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 provides for maintaining the 'religious character' of holy structures as it existed on August 15, 1947.
The construction work of Ram temple in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya is underway in full swing and the second phase of its foundation work would be ready by January end, officials have said.
'He was a nobody then.' 'And whatever little his contribution was there, it was restricted to Gujarat.'
'It is a very irresponsible statement.' 'He is saying all the wrong things.'
Kalyan Singh, who was the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister at the time of demolition of the Babri Masjid, on Tuesday suggested a negotiated settlement of the vexed Ram Janmbhomi-Babri Masjid tangle. Singh, who quit the BJP on Tuesday, said that when he was the chief minister, he had initiated steps to this effect but before a settlement could be reached, his government had to go.
Insisting that she was not involved in bringing down Babri Masjid, expelled Bharatiya Janata Party leader Uma Bharti -- a prime accused in the case -- on Thursday said she was ready to face any consequence following the submission of the Liberhan Commission report to the prime minister.
The ministry of information and broadcasting on Saturday issued an advisory to all television channels and cable TV operators in the wake of the Supreme Court's Ayodhya verdict to adhere to programme code and ensure that debates, discussions and visuals do not incite any "divisive" or "anti-national" feelings.
Owaisi said the CBI should appeal against the judgment "to protect its independence."
Former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao is back in the news with the All India Muslim Personal Law Board accusing him of being equally responsible for the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. The board went on to say that Rao could never be forgiven for the demolition of the Babri Mosque.
'Given the growing animus against the Mughals in the Sangh Parivar, only a brave person will be ready to bet that no harm will ever be done by Hindutva storm-troopers to the Taj,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'When the Babri Masjid was demolished, we didn't take permission from anyone.'
The petition seeks the court's permission for worshipping the idols of the Hindu deities located on an outer wall of the mosque on a daily basis.
Kalyan Singh's apology over the Babri masjid demolition, thus, is expected to assuage the Samajwadi Party's rank and file who have been upset over Yadav joining hands with him. Kalyan Singh, who subsequently left the BJP to plow a lonely furrow only to rejoin the party and again left it recently over being sidelined, has since been edging closer to the Samajwadi Party's Mulayam Singh.
The Samajwadi Party on Thursday justified the Uttar Pradesh government's decision to ban a proposed yatra by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to garner support for the construction of the RamTemple at a disputed site in Ayodhya.
A 1,200-year-old Hindu temple in Pakistan's Lahore city will be restored after 'illegal occupants' were evicted from it following a lengthy court battle, the federal body overseeing minority worship places in the country said on Wednesday.
Dominic Xavier offers his take on Raj Thackeray's latest political ploy and wonders if this Thackeray versus Thackeray skit will help the BJP finally achieve its goal of ejecting the Maha Vikas Aghadi government from a state that has largely been insulated from the communal disharmony sweeping across parts of north India.
Questioning the timing of a 'sting' operation on the Babri Masjid demolition, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday alleged that it was "sponsored", accusing the Congress of using "pawns" to vitiate the atmosphere before elections and asked the Election Commission to stop its publication and telecast.
No member of the Congress' first family has visited Ayodhya since the demolition of the Babri Masjid 24 years ago, in December 1992.
The term of the Commission, set up almost soon after the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition, has now been extended till December 31
The judgement is likely to be pronounced before November 17 as Justice Gogoi's tenure as the CJI comes to end on that day.
Most politicians and even non-politicians have been honoured because of what they were purported to be electorally worth for the ruling party of their time, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
On the eve of Babri mosque demolition anniversary, Uttar Pradesh government on Friday enhanced the security of Hashim Ansari, the oldest litigant in the case, by providing him a Y category security cover.
The "Indian Muslims for peace" say they would prefer an out of court settlement so that both Hindus and Muslims remain happy and no party feels aggrieved.
'If the blatant criminal act of destroying a place of worship is to be rewarded by giving the whole land to those who committed that act, then it raises lots of questions.'
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.
He also dubbed the Congress' alliance with BSP in Uttar Pradesh in 1996 as a "sell out".
'The Babri Masjid wasn't just a mosque, it was a test of our secularism,' says Jyoti Punwani.
The apex court has set October 18 as deadline for completion of all arguments in the protracted land title dispute, a move that has raised the possibility of a verdict in the politically sensitive case in the middle of November.
The Liberhan Commission, inquiring into the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition, will reveal the names of those who had demolished the disputed structure at Ayodhya.
The foundation for the temple has now been filled with the final, 48th layer of roller-compacted concrete, temple trust members told reporters on Thursday.
The commission's term which had been extended several times was to expire on Friday, a Home ministry spokesman said.
Following is the chronology of events in the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case.
Swamy has contended that the pendency of the appeals in the SC has restricted his fundamental right to worship and enjoy dignity of life.
Indian politics, held captive in one way or the other by Ayodhya, may now well seek its emancipation from this issue, and the pursuit of welfare, asserts Congress leader Salman Khurshid in this excerpt from his latest book, Sunrise over Ayodhya.
