Ayodhya Revisited

AyodhyãThis work of monumental research is atreatise on Ayodhyã with utmost authenticity and absolute accuracy. Based on original sources and scientific investigation it propounds a new thesis, which demolishes many popular perceptions. It exonerates the intrepid warrior Babur from the charge of demolishing a temple on the birth-site ofRãma and constructing the mosque which has been a source of contention and dissension for long. It further shows how inscriptions in the mosque were factitious and Mir Baqi of inscriptions is a fictitious person different from Baqi Tashkindi/Shegawal of the Baburnama.The book produces incontrovertible evidence which indubitably proves that there existed a Rãma temple on the Rãmajanmabhùmi.The exact birthplace ofRãma was earmarked by a rectangularBedi measuring 18 ft. 9 inches in length and 15ft. in width and was located in the inner portion of the disputed shrine. The demolition of the temple and the construction of the mosque did not take place in 1528 A.D. but in c. 1660 A.D.when Fedai Khan was the Governor of Aurangzeb at Ayodhyã. It is a historical fact that until the British takeover ofAwadh administration in 1858 both the Hindus and Muslims used to perform puja and offer Namaz respectively inside it.All Mughal Emperors from Babur to Shah Jahan were magnanimous and liberal rulers and the Bairãgìs of Ayodhyã enjoyed patronage of the first four Nawabs ofAwadh. However, during the long rule of Aurangzeb the country was engulfed in the fire of fanaticism. It has been shown in this book how an absolutely unfounded rumour in 1855 A.D. that the Hanumangarhitemple was constructed on the site of amosque created cleavage between the twocommunitiesand the resultant festering wounds have not healed despite best-efforts by saner elements of both thecommunities.The book exposes many eminent historians’ hypocrisy and their lack of certitude in writing history and it may be said that their presentation of contrived history on Ayodhya has caused irreparable damage to the cause of harmonizing communal relations in the country. In contrast, this text earnestly tries to takeaway the toxin from the polluted body of Indian politics. For the first time a number of unexplored documents have been incorporated in this book as evidenceandit may be proclaimed with pride that this book contains much more information onAyodhya than available hitherto. Justice G.B. Patnaik, a former Chief Justice of India, after going through the manuscript, has endorsed the author’s thesis in his Foreword. It is hoped that the book will put a quietus to the long-standing dispute.