Test of India Verdict Will Lie in Public Reaction
NEW DELHI — The case has existed almost as long as independent India itself. Dating from 1950, the legal battle between Hindus and Muslims over a religious site in the city of Ayodhya began as a little-noticed title dispute. With a ruling finally expected on Thursday, the case has become something altogether different: a test of India’s secular soul....
Ayodhya is located in the state of Uttar Pradesh. India’s first Mughal ruler, Babur, constructed a domed mosque on the contested property, which became famous for its acoustics and for a drinking well whose waters were said to have curative powers. Uttar Pradesh is also considered the birthplace of Hinduism, and many Hindus believe that a temple originally existed on the site to commemorate the birthplace of Ram. Some historical accounts suggest that for many years Hindus and Muslims both worshiped inside the mosque complex.
But when the British took control of India, they eventually erected a barrier to divide religious worship at the site. Muslims were allowed inside to pray; Hindus worshiped on platforms outside the enclosure. There were periodic squabbles, but this arrangement remained intact until after India’s independence in 1947. In December 1949, someone slipped in the mosque and left idols of Ram and another Hindu deity....
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Ayodhya is located in the state of Uttar Pradesh. India’s first Mughal ruler, Babur, constructed a domed mosque on the contested property, which became famous for its acoustics and for a drinking well whose waters were said to have curative powers. Uttar Pradesh is also considered the birthplace of Hinduism, and many Hindus believe that a temple originally existed on the site to commemorate the birthplace of Ram. Some historical accounts suggest that for many years Hindus and Muslims both worshiped inside the mosque complex.
But when the British took control of India, they eventually erected a barrier to divide religious worship at the site. Muslims were allowed inside to pray; Hindus worshiped on platforms outside the enclosure. There were periodic squabbles, but this arrangement remained intact until after India’s independence in 1947. In December 1949, someone slipped in the mosque and left idols of Ram and another Hindu deity....