Ayodhya

Ayodhya is the mythic birth place of the Hindu God Ram or Rama who is the primary character in the ancient Sanskrit Epic poem called the Ramayana. (Prounounced "Ramaayan")

However, it is also the former location of the Babri Masjid (or "Babur Mosque") which was built by Babur the first of the Mughal Emperors in the early 1500's.

During the 1980's the Bharatiya Janatiya Party (BJP) a conservative Hindu political party which wished to challenge the preeminence of the Congress Party used Ayodhya as a rallying point for all Hindus. They were assisted by the Telebroadcast of the Ramayan in 1987 which was easily the most watched television program of that decade. I heard stories of people peforming puja to their televisions before the program would come on and that most stores would not open until after it was over (it aired on Sunday mornings).
The attention drawn to this controversial site eventually led to Riots that tore down the 450 year old Mosque in 1992. The BJP and other radical Hindu organization such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad had sponsored a March to Ayodhya, but at first they claimed no responsibility for the raid that ultimately destroyed the Mosque. Since that time, Kalyan Singh, who was U.P's chief minister at the time has openly accepted responsibility for instigating the riots. He resigned shortly after the incident.

Here is a video of the Mosque being torn down:



Here is the longer version (in Hindi)



Since it was thought that Mosque itself was built out of materials used in an even older Hindu temple, even the pieces of the building have now completely vanished into various individuals homes as holy relics.

Since 1992, a small makeshift temple to Ram has been there, but the Indian Government has not yet decided what should be done to the location. Should they build a Mosque? Should they build a Temple? Both? Neither?

In 2005 five gunmen attacked the makeshift Ram temple and all five were killed in a gunfight - presumably with the military and police forces permanently guarding the site.

The High Court of U.P will announce its verdict on September 24, 2010

As you can imagine, no matter what the verdict is many people are going to be very unhappy about it. Subsequently, in preparation for the announcement security forces are being stepped up all across Uttar Pradesh. They have requested 685 more companies of police officers just for this date. Here in Varanasi, some social workers are trying to organize a peace march for the day BEFORE the announcement to encourage everyone to stay calm after hearing the news. It seems as if the delay in announcing the verdict was deliberate so that the government could prepare itself for what might be a particularly explosive moment in Communal violence in North India.

Of course, no matter what the verdict is, it will be immediately appealed and sent to the Federal Supreme Court - so India is far from finished with Ayodhya. As for the immediate future, it seems as if everyone here is holding their breath waiting to see what will happen two weeks from now....