Ayodhya Ram Mandir

• 1528: The Babri Masjid is built in Ayodhya by Mir Baqi, upon the instructions of the Mughal emperor, Babur. The mosque was located on a hill known as Ramkot (“Rama‘s fort”). According to Hindus, the Mughal commander Mir Baqi destroyed a pre-existing temple of Rama at the site.  The Archaeological Survey of India conducted an excavation of the disputed site on the orders of the Allahabad High Court. Various materials have been found during excavation which suggest the presence of a Hindu structure beneath. The Allahabad High court noted that the Babri Masjid was not built on vacant land and the excavated underneath structure was not Islamic in nature.
• 1855: Sunni Muslims claim the temple of Hanumangarhi in Ayodhya is built on the site of a destroyed mosque. Clashes begin between them and Bairais, but Nawad Wajid Ali Shah is believed to have intervened on behalf of the temple to maintain peace.
• 1859: The British administration erects a fence around Babri Masjid, as the belief that the mosque is the birthplace of Ram gains currency. Hindus are allowed to worship in the outer court.
• 1885: Mahant Raghubir Das files plea in Faizabad district court, seeking permission to build a canopy outside the disputed structure. The plea is rejected.
• March 1934: The mosque and its dome sustain damages during violence between Hindus and Muslims. The British government takes up rebuilding efforts.
• 1947: A local court rules that it is the Sunni Waqf Board and not the Shia Waqf Board that can hold sway over the Babri Masjid.
• 1949: Idols of Ram Lalla placed under central dome outside the disputed structure.
• Aug 14, 1989: Allahabad HC orders maintenance of status quo in respect of the disputed structure.
• December 22, 1949: District Magistrate K.K. Nayar refuses to remove idols of Ram placed inside the mosque by Hindu Mahasabha members, citing the possibility of riots. Nayar eventually joins the Jan Sangh and becomes an MP. The mosque comes under lock and key
• 1950: Muslim and Hindu parties file suits in Faizabad court, asking for permission for namaz and prayers, respectively. The inner courtyard remains locked. An interim injunction allows a pujari in but forbids entry to others.
• 1959: A third suit is filed in the same court by the Nirmohi Akhara, headed by Mahant Bhaskar Das, which asks for pujas to be conducted even on the disputed grounds.
• 1961: The UP Sunni Central Waqf Board files a fourth suit in the same court, asking for Muslims to be allowed to pray in the mosque.
• 1961: The UP Sunni Central Waqf Board files a fourth suit in the same court, asking for Muslims to be allowed to pray in the mosque.
• 1984: As the ‘Ram Janmabhoomi’ movement gathers steam, L.K. Advani of the new political player Bharatiya Janata Party, becomes its de facto leader. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad leads a Shriram-Janaki rath yatra from Sitamarhi in Bihar to Delhi. Six similar yatras take place in Uttar Pradesh. BJP wins only two seats out of 541 in the Lok Sabha polls.
• 1986: A district judge — according to historian Ramachandra Guha, under orders from the PMO — directs that the Babri Masjid gates be unlocked and Hindus be allowed to worship there. In protest, Muslims set up the Babri Masjid Action Committee. Parliament passes the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, effectively overturning the Supreme Court verdict in the Shah Bano case, a crucial factor that paved the way for BJP’s participation in the Ayodhya movement, according to Advani, who became party chief in that year..

1989: Allahabad high court orders maintenance of status quo with respect to the Babri Masjid after a fresh suit is filed by VHP vice-president and former judge of the court Deoki Nandan Agarwal seeking to become the “sakha” or friend of the deity and its birthplace in the title suits

November 9, 1989: Rajiv Gandhi government allows the VHP to perform shilanyas (laying of the foundation stone) for the Ram temple on November 9, 1989, on the disputed land.

• September 25, 1990: BJP President L.K. Advani launches his Rath Yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya to gather support for the Ram temple. He is arrested in Samastipur in Bihar by the government of Lalu Prasad Yadav in November, 1990. Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal is also arrested.
• October 30, 1990: Kar sevaks clash with the police on their way to Ayodhya’s Babri Masjid and at least 20 are killed. Communal clashes rock Uttar Pradesh.
• 1991: BJP, which had withdrawn support to the V.P. Singh government, emerges as the second-largest party with 121 seats in the Lok Sabha following the general elections. In Uttar Pradesh, Kalyan Singh heads the BJP government.
  Dec 6, 1992: The 16th-century Babri mosque, believed by many Hindus to be constructed on the site of Lord Ram’s birthplace, was demolished by ‘kar sevaks’
• Apr 3, 1993: ‘Acquisition of Certain Area at Ayodhya Act’ passed for acquiring land by the Centre in the disputed area.
• Apr 2002: Allahabad High Court begins hearing on determining the ownership of the disputed site.
• Sep 30, 2010: High Court, in a 2:1 majority, rules for a three-way division of the disputed area between Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara, and Ram Lalla.
• May 9, 2011: Supreme Court stays the high court verdict on the Ayodhya land dispute.
• Jan 2019: Supreme Court sets up a five-judge Constitution bench to hear the case.
• Aug 6, 2019: Supreme Court begins day-to-day hearing on the land dispute.
• Oct 16, 2019: Supreme Court concludes the hearing and reserves the order.
• Nov 9, 2019: In a historic verdict, the Supreme Court grants the entire 2.77-acre disputed land in Ayodhya to deity Ram Lalla, with the possession of the land remaining with the Central government receiver.
• The apex court also directs the Centre and the UP government to allocate 5 acres of land to Muslims at a prominent location for the construction of a mosque.
  Feb 5, 2020: PM Narendra Modi announces in Lok Sabha the formation of a trust to construct a Ram temple in Ayodhya.
• Aug 5, 2020: PM Modi lays the foundation of the Ram temple.
• Jan 22, 2024: Ram Mandir Inaugurated