As the sun prepares to cast its golden embrace over Ayodhya, a moment of transcendence awaits on January 22—the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ of Ram Lalla in the newly constructed Ram Mandir. Leading this sacred symphony is Prime Minister Narendra Modi, joining him will be UP Governor Anandiben Patel, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, and RSS Sarsanghchalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat.
With the Pran Pratistha of Ram Lalla unfolds, Hindus across the world celebrate the long-awaited return of their beloved deity. This day, January 22, 2024, will forever be etched in history as the day when Ram Lalla finally returned to his sacred abode, bringing an end to centuries of anticipation and marking the dawn of a new era for Ayodhya and the entire nation.
Let’s take a look at the significant events leading up to the moment that crores of Hindus across the globe have been looking forward to for years now:
Ayodhya founded by Vaivasvata Manu (progenitor and presiding figure of the current Manvantara, which is the seventh of the 14 that make up the current Kalpa. Each Kalpa making up a day of Brahma) on the banks of the holy Sarayu. He saved life on earth from the great deluge with the blessings and help of Bhagwan Matsyavatar. Two of his children Ila and Ikshvaku became progenitors of the Lunar Dynasty and Solar Dynasty respectively. The Saptarishis (seven sages) in the Ministry of Vaivasvata Manu are Kashyapa, Atri, Vashishtha, Vishvamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni and Bharadwaja
Birth of Bhagwan Shri Ram, an Incarnation of Bhagwan Vishnu, in the solar dynasty in Ayodhya lakhs of years ago in the Treta Yuga—the second of the four Yugas, or ages of mankind—to rescue the world from global terrorism, wickedness and sensuousness and make it happy, healthy and blessed for future generations
Grand Mandir on 84 Black Touchstone Pillars constructed by Sakari Samrat Vikramaditya 2100 years ago at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya. It was dedicated to Shri Ram to glorify and perpetuate the memory of Shri Ram as a national and global hero and saviour
1528: Demolition of the Ram Mandir by Mir Baqi, the Commander of Muslim invader Babar in the year 1528 Common Era (CE), 496 years ago
1st battle by Shri Rambhaktas for 15 days to save the Mandir from Islamic invaders. The invaders could not overrun the temple and blast it by canons before 176,000 lionhearted Ram devotees had sacrificed their lives to save their most celebrated temple
A Masjid like structure was forcefully superimposed on the demolished temple site by reusing the wreckage and remains of the temple. But the invaders could never construct the minarets for azan (call for prayer) and the mandatory water pool for wazu
During the period from 1528 CE to 1949 CE, there were 76 major battles/struggles to reclaim Shri Ram Janmabhoomi site to reconstruct the temple. Guru Gobind Singhji Maharaj, Maharani Raj Kunwar and many other greats fought to reclaim the sacred place
1858: An FIR was filed by a Moulvi of a Masjid in Faizabad called
‘Masjid-e-Janmasthan
1885 : First hearing of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi case in Faizabad Court
1912 November 20, 21 : The first riot broke out in Ayodhya on the occasion of Bakrid against cow slaughter. Cow slaughter was banned in Ayodhya since 1906 under the municipal law
1934, March: Riots broke out against cow slaughter in Faizabad’s Shahjahanpur. Angry Hindus damaged disputed structure’s wall and dome. The Government later got it repaired
1949 : At midnight on December 22, 1949, Ram Lalla (infant Shri Ram) revealed himself at the birthplace that was under the central dome of the structure. At that time Pt Jawaharlal Nehru was Prime Minister of Bharat. Pt Govind Ballabh Pant was Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and Shri KK Nayyar from Kerala was the District Magistrate of Faizabad
1950: Hindu Mahasabha’s Gopal Singh Visharad and Digamber Akhada’s Mahant, Paramhans Ramchandra Das filed a petition in Faizabad court and started a case to claim ownership of the birthplace. Both asked for permission to worship there. The civil judge gave interim orders for not removing the statues and allowing prayers and worship keeping the inside area closed
1959: Nirmohi Akhada filed another petition claiming their right over the disputed site and called themselves guardian of Ram Janmabhoomi
1961: Sunni Waqf Board filed a petition against murtis being placed in the disputed structure and claimed that the structure along with the land around it was a graveyard
1983: A veteran Congress leader of Western Uttar Pradesh Shri Dau Dayal Khanna gave a rousing call to the Hindu society in March 1983 at Muzaffarnagar (UP) in a Hindu Sammelan to reclaim the Ayodhya, Mathura and Kashi sites. Shri Gulzari Lal Nanda, who was the interim PM after Nehru’s death was also present on dais
To maintain the law & order, City Magistrate attached the structure u/s 145 Cr.PC, appointed Shri Priya Dutt Ram as receiver and entrusted the site to his care and ordered to lock the gates, but allowed a priest to go inside the structure and perform regular worship and rituals twice a day. The devotees were allowed only up to the locked gate. The local people and sadhus started chanting “Shri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram” and Akhand Naam Sankeertan in front of the locked gate
The First Dharma Sansad organised by VHP at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi in April 1984 resolved to reclaim Ayodhya first and have a mass awakening campaign across the country for unlocking the Janmabhoomi
VHP started Ram-Janaki Rath Yatra from Sitamarhi to Ayodhya for mass awakening in October, 1984. The Yatra however had to be withdrawn for a year due to the unfortunate developments in the country that year
Rath Yatras were restarted in October 1985 for mass awakening and with a demand to open the locks
The Hindu society was so charged up by these Rath Yatras that the District Judge of Faizabad ordered on February 1, 1986 to open the locks. Shri Veer Bahadur Singh of Congress was Chief Minister of UP and the late Shri Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister at that time
On November 9, 1989, the foundation stone for the temple was laid by a SC brother Shri Kameswar Chaupal of Bihar with due permission of the then Government
About 2,75,000 consecrated bricks (Shri Ram Shilas) from all over Bharat & abroad reached Ayodhya by the end of October 1989. An estimated 60 million people participated in the programme
1989: Bharatiya Janata Party passed a resolution at its National Executive meet held at Palampur supporting Shri Ram Janmabhoomi movement
In January 1989, on the occasion of Kumbh at Prayagraj, on the banks of Triveni Sangam, a Dharma Sansad was organised by VHP. The first Shri Ram Shila Pujan was performed at Shri Badrinath Dham
A model for the proposed temple was prepared by Shri Chandrakant Sompura, a well known temple architect of Gujarat, whose grandfather Padmashri PO Sompura had modelled the present Somnath Mandir. The family modelled many other Nagar style temples. Shri Sompura also prepared a wooden model of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple
On June 24, 1990, a declaration was made by saints to start Kar seva
for reconstruction of the temple from Devotthani Ekadashi (October 30,1990)
A Jyoti (light/fire) was ignited by Arani Manthan (creating fire through the process of
friction of wood blocks) at Ayodhya. It was called Ram Jyoti. The Jyoti reached every Hindu home across
the country and all celebrated Deepawali with this Jyoti
On October 30, 1990, thousands of Shri Ram devotees entered Ayodhya crossing so many hurdles put up by the then UP Government headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav and a saffron flag was hoisted atop the disputed structure
CM of UP Mulayam Singh Yadav ordered firing on the kar sevaks on November 2, 1990, in which many kar sevaks lost their lives
Delhi witnessed the grand rally at boat club on April 4, 1991. UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav resigned
1992 : In Sept. 1992, Shri Ram Paduka Pujan was held in all villages of Bharat. A call was given to Shri Ram Bhaktas to reach Ayodhya on Gita Jayanti (December 6,1992). Millions of people reached for kar seva and then the world came to know about the disputed structure
On December 6, 1992, the angry Karsevaks demolished the disputed structure in Ayodhya
A stone slab approx. 5 ft in length and 2.25 ft in width was found from the demolished walls of the disputed structure. The epigraphists deciphered it to be an inscription of 20 lines written in Sanskrit of 12th Century CE. The first line starts with Om Namah Shivaya. The 15th, 17th and the 19th lines speak about the details of the grand temple and the king who built it. The 15th line clearly mentions that the temple was dedicated to “Vishnu Hari who killed Dasanan (Ravan)”. About 250 Hindu artifacts were also found from the rubble presently under the court custody
A lawyer Shri Hari Shankar Jain approached the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court for grant of permission for regular Sewa-Puja of Shri Ram Lalla by devotees. Permission was granted on January 1, 1993. Since then non-stop darshan pooja goes on
A makeshift temple with tarpaulins was erected by the kar sevaks on the same spot where Shri Ram Lalla was seated before the demolition. Approximately 67 acres of land was acquired by an ordinance by the then Central Government headed by PV Narasimha Rao in the name of safeguarding Ram Lalla. This ordinance was approved by the Parliament through an Act on January 7, 1993
The Supreme Court heard all the petitions and also the special Presidential reference jointly for about 20 months and delivered its judgement on October 24, 1994. The Court said, “The Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court would decide the title of the disputed site and answer the special reference made by the President”
A three-Judge (two Hindus and one Muslim) Full Bench started hearing the matters in 1995. Issues were reframed. Oral evidences began to be recorded
The then President of India Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma referred a question to the Supreme Court under Article 143-A of the Constitution of India. The question was, “Whether a Hindu Mandir or any Hindu religious structure existed prior to the construction of Shri Ram Janmabhomi-Babri Masjid in the area on which the structure stood?” Also the acquisition by the Central Government was challenged by one Ismail Farooqui and a few others
To find out a direct answer to the Presidential special reference, in August 2002, the said Bench ordered Ground Penetrating Radar Survey (GPRS) of the site, which was conducted by Tojo Vikas International with its expert from Canada. The expert mentioned in his report about the existence of a huge structure extending over a large area underneath the demolished structure. Thereby scientifically proving that the disputed structure was not built on a virgin land as claimed by Muslims in their civil suit filed in December 1961 before the Civil Judge of Faizabad. The expert also gave his opinion to verify the GPRS report through scientific excavation
In 2003, the High Court ordered the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to excavate the site scientifically and verify the GPRS report. The excavation was conducted in the presence of two observers appointed by the Court (two Additional District Judges of Faizabad). The parties concerned, their counsels, their experts/representatives were permitted to remain present during the excavation. To maintain impartiality, it was ordered that 40% of the labour would be Muslims. Minute to minute videography and still photography of excavation were done by the ASI. The excavation was eye-opening. Many walls, floors, two rows of pillar-bases at 50 equidistant places were found. A Shiva temple was also seen. GPRS report and ASI report are now part and parcel of the High Court records
2010: Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court ordered division of the disputed site in three equal parties—Nirmohi Akhara, Shri Ram Lalla and the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board
2011: The Supreme Court stayed the orders of High Court and ordered to maintain status quo
2015: Vishva Hindu Parishad launched a nationwide campaign to collect stones for reconstruction of Ram Mandir. Later in the year, two trucks of stones arrived in Ayodhya. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav blocked the way of the trucks from getting to the site
2017: Supreme Court postponed the hearing to February 2018
January 4, 2019: Court deferred hearing till January 10
January 29, 2019: The Court postponed the hearing as Justice Bobde, one of the
five-judges from Bench was not available
February 15, 2019: The SC decided to hear a fresh plea against the 1993 central law on land acquisition near the disputed site at Ayodhya
August 6: The apex court began day-to-day hearing in the case
October 16: After the 40-days of daily hearing, the SC reserved the order
November 9: The Supreme Court delivered final judgement. The Court clearly ruled that the disputed land be given to the Hindus for reconstruction of Ram Mandir and an alternate land of five acres be provided to the Sunni Waqf Board
August 5, 2020: PM Modi performed Bhoomipujan of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya along with Sarsanghchalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath in the presence of senior Hindu leaders
September 30, 2020: Disputed structure demolition case: LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, Kalyan Singh, and 28 others acquitted by CBI special court. The court said that there was no criminal conspiracy, the demolition of the disputed structure was not pre-planned
January 22, 2024: PM Narendra Modi to do Pran Pratishtha of Ram Lalla in the newly constructed Ram Mandir in Ayodhya
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