Bengal govt orders strict lockdown as BJP, allies plan Ram temple events

The Trinamool Congress government on July 28 announced a series of dates in this month when total lockdown would be imposed across West Bengal to contain the spread of Covid-19

Politically volatile West Bengal is likely to witness a showdown on Wednesday, when VHP and other saffron outfits will perform religious rituals in temples and elsewhere to mark the ‘bhoomi pujan’ ceremony of Ram temple in Ayodhya amid complete lockdown to be enforced by the state administration. The Trinamool Congress government on July 28 announced a series of dates in this month when total lockdown would be imposed across West Bengal to contain the spread of Covid-19. Some of the dates were changed later but August 5 and two others were not.

The state unit of Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) said that as part of its countrywide programme, its members would offer puja, light diyas (earthen lamps) and take part in devotional songs at their homes, offices and temples on Wednesday on the occasion of the ground breaking ceremony of ‘Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir‘ at Ayodhya.

West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh, who demanded withdrawal of August 5 from the list of lockdown days, said that the party would not conduct any programme on the occasion but its workers would attend prayer meets organised by VHP and other organizations.

A senior police official said that the lockdown would be enforced tightly and any attempt to disrupt the law and situation would be thwarted. “We would celebrate the day by performing rituals and puja at our homes and offices. In temples, our members would gather by observing all lockdown norms to offer puja. It would have been better if the state government altered the lockdown date,” VHP All India Assistant Secretary Sachindra Nath Singha said…

Ayodhya's Ram temple to be 161-feet tall, two 'mandaps' added to design

The height of Ayodhya’s Ram temple would be 161-feet, an increase by 20-feet from the previous design, according to Nikhil Sompura, architect and the son of C Sompura, chief architect of the temple

The height of Ayodhya’s grand Ram temple would be 161-feet, an increase by 20-feet from the previous design which was prepared in 1988, according to Nikhil Sompura, architect and the son of C Sompura, chief architect of the temple.

“The earlier design was made in 1988, now over 30 years have passed and so the footfall will increase with time. People are also very enthusiastic about visiting the temple so we thought its size should be increased. In view of this, the height of the Ayodhya ram temple has been increased from 141-feet to 161-feet,” Nikhil Sompura told ANI here.He said that two mandaps’ have been added to the design.

“All pillars and the stones that were carved based on the earlier design will still be used, they will not be wasted. Only two ‘mandaps’ have been added to the design,” he added. Nikhil said that it was a matter of great pride for him and his family that they had been bestowed the honour of designing the temple and said that the shrine will be ready for devotees after 3.5 years.

“Once the ‘bhoomi-pujan’ is done in the presence of the Prime Minister, the construction work will start. The team of L & T, along with machinery and materials, have reached the spot and the work on foundation will start right away. It will take 3 to 3.5 years for the completion of the work,” he said.

Ladakh standoff: Plan to start construction of Ayodhya Ram Temple suspended

The decision comes days after a violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh left 20 Indian Army personnel dead

Amid the Indo-China border standoff, the Ram Mandir trust has put on hold its plan to begin the construction of the temple in Ayodhya. The decision comes days after a violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh left 20 Indian Army personnel dead. Expressing concern over the killing of Indian soldiers, the trust which has been charged with the construction of the temple after the historic Supreme Court verdict last year, said a new date will be decided soon.

ALSO READ: Ram temple in Ayodhya: Trust’s meeting postponed due to Covid-19 lockdown

“The decision to begin construction (of temple) will be taken according to the situation in the country and will be announced officially,” Anil Mishra, member of the trust told PTI. In an official communique, the trust said that the situation at the India-China border is serious and defending the country is most important. The trust also paid tributes to the soldiers. Meanwhile, different Hindu organisations staged protests against China in Ayodhya. While Hindu Mahasabha activists burned the Chinese flag, activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) burned the effigy of Chinese President Xi Jinping and smashed Chinese-made products.

PM Narendra Modi announces setting up of trust for Ram temple in Ayodhya

The trust is called ‘Sri Ram Janambhoomi Tirath Kshetra, Modi said in the Lok Sabha

The Union Cabinet has given its nod to set up a trust for the construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Soon after the meeting of the Union Cabinet ended, Modi reached Lok Sabha to make a statement in this regard.

Just before the Question Hour began, he said the trust has been named as the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Shetra. He said the Uttar Pradesh government has agreed to give five acres of land to the Sunni Wakf Board as directed by the Supreme Court in Ayodhya matter.

In its verdict on November 9, the Supreme Court had paved the way for the construction of a Ram temple by a trust at the disputed site at Ayodhya, and directed the Centre to allot an alternative 5-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a new mosque at a “prominent” place in the holy town in Uttar Pradesh. The apex court had said the trust should be formed within three months for the construction of the temple at the site where many Hindus believe Lord Ram was born.

As per the Supreme Court judgment in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid matter, the central government has been directed to formulate a scheme with necessary provisions for the setting up of the trust with a board of trustees or any other appropriate body, the functioning of the trust, the powers of the trustees, transfer of land to the trust and all necessary, incidental and supplemental matters…

Ayodhya verdict: Govt may not bring a Bill to set up Ram temple trust

The seers submitted a new model of the temple, different from the model kept at Ayodhya’s Karsevakpuram

The Narendra Modi government on Thursday indicated it may not need to bring a legislation to set up a trust to oversee construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, even as seers continued to demand that the existing Ramjanbhoomi Nyas should be entrusted with the task of construction of the proposed temple.

According to a top government official, the Supreme Court’s order last Saturday stated that Section 6 of the Acquisition of Certain Area at the Ayodhya Act 1993 empowers the central government to set up a trust or an authority to whom the land would be handed over. The official, who did not wish to be named, said there is no need for a separate legislation to create the trust, and that an order from the apex court is as good as law and is binding on the legislature as well.

Meanwhile, seers associated with the Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas held a press conference in the national capital, and said they have submitted a memorandum to the government that the Nyas should be given the task of constructing the temple. There is friction between the Vishva Hindu Parishad, which has suggested that a new trust should be set up, and seers associated with the Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas. Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, the head of the Nyas, has already demanded that the ‘Nyas’ is the only trust legally eligible for overseeing the construction work….

Ayodhya case: A timeline of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute

A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court will hear the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land title dispute case today. Here is a timeline of the case and various key developments in the story so far

BS: A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court has begun hearing the Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land title dispute case today. Let’s take a look at the various important developmennts in the case over the decades leading up to today.

Dome to doom

1528: Mughal emperor Babur constructs a mosque and it is named Babri

December 23, 1949: Lord Ram’s idols are planted inside the central dome. Both sides file court cases; the site is locked

December 17, 1959: The Nirmohi Akhara files a suit seeking possession of the site and claims to be the custodians of the disputed land

December 18, 1961: The Sunni Central Board of Waqf files a suit claiming ownership of the site

1984: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) launches a campaign for the construction of the Ram temple at the Janmabhoomi site

February 1, 1986: Faizabad district court orders the gates of the mosque be opened and Hindus be allowed to worship there. Muslims protest the move and forms Babri Mosque Action Committee

November 9, 1989: VHP lays the foundation of a Ram temple on land next to the Babri Masjid following permission from the then Rajiv Gandhi government

September 25, 1990: Then BJP President L K Advani launches his Rath Yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya. He is arrested in Bihar’s Samastipur in November December 6, 1992: The disputed Babri Mosque is razed to the ground by karsevaks…

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SC to hear Ayodhya title dispute case today: Everything you need to know

How did the Ayodhya land dispute case get to where it is?

Latest News: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the Ayodhya title suit regarding the Babri masjid-Ramjanmabhoomi land dispute would be heard by a five-judge Constitution bench on January 10 (Thursday).

The bench will be led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, with the other four judges being Justices S.A. Bobde, N.V. Ramana, U.U. Lalit and D Y Chandrachud. The Supreme Court began hearing the case in December 2017, when the Allahabad high court decision to split the land three ways was appealed.

In the last week of September 2018, the Supreme Court refused to refer to a five-judge Constitution bench a 24-year-old case – the Ismail Faruqui judgment – that said offering prayers in a mosque is not an “essential feature” of Islam. Justice Ashok Bhushan authored the majority judgment, for himself and then Chief Justice Dipak Misra. Justice S.A. Nazeer was the dissenting judge….

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What the Ismail Faruqui judgment of 1994 was about

The petitioner, Ismail Faruqui, challenged the validity of the Acquisition of Certain Area At Ayodhya Act, 1993, under which 67.703 acres were acquired in the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid complex in Ayodhya.

The Supreme Court held that “any step taken to arrest escalation of communal tension” can “by no stretch of argumentation, be termed non-secular”.

Keep Reading: Ayodhya land dispute 

Ordinance for Ram temple: A key that won’t open the locks in Ayodhya

Any ordinance that will block one side from access to adjudication, while perpetuating the status quo as far as demolition is concerned is likely to be held unconstitutional

BS : On January 21, 2002 monks, priests and assorted sadhus of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) began a long march – the Sant Chetavni Yatra – from Ayodhya. Having journeyed through Uttar Pradesh, they planned to reach Delhi on January 27. Their demand was that the government “remove all obstacles” to the building of a Ram temple at the site of the former Babri Masjid by March 12, 2002.

Questions were raised in Parliament regarding the steps being taken to keep a check on the VHP’s designs. On March 7, 2002, the Minister of State for Home Affairs, I.D. Swami told Parliament “Under Section 7(2) of the Acquisition of Certain area at Ayodhya Act, 1993 and in compliance with the Supreme Court Judgement dated 24.10.1994 in the case of Dr. Ismail Faruqui & others vs. Union of India and others, relating to Ram Janma Bhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute, the Central Government as a statutory receiver is duty bound to maintain status quo as on 7.1.93 in the disputed area. The security arrangements at Ayodhya have been further strengthened and necessary steps taken to maintain law and order.”

That was in 2002. Cut to December, 2018, a similar situation looms. The VHP and its sister organizations have threatened ‘to take law into their own hands’ if the process for construction of the Ram Mandir is not expedited. Only this time, the calls of “Mandir wahinbanaenge”, from those outside government have been met with those of “Ordinance layenge” from those within.

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Our Ganesh Utsav will definitely happen, no matter what decision: Uddhav Thackeray

Attacking the government, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday voiced strongly that Ganesh Utsav would take place in Mumbai “no matter what decision”, and disrupting it would be ‘Hindu droh’.

“When will Ram temple be constructed, only Ram knows but our Ganesh Utsav will surely take place. If they disrupt a Hindu festival, then it would be Hindu droh,” Thackeray said.

“Whether they rule in our favour or not, there will be Ganesh Utsav celebrations in Mumbai. Our pandal will be on the road,” he added.

“There is Hindutva government both at Centre and in the state, then why so many changes in law being brought in,” the Sena chief asked.

Thackeray also questioned the lack of action against loudspeakers put up on masjids.

“They don’t have the courage to remove the speakers put by Muslims,” he said.

Thackeray launched several attacks on the government and accused it of playing “Hindu-Muslim” politics when elections approach.

“I think once again there will be riots between Hindus and Muslims,” he said.

ARTICLE SOURCE : BS