Ayodhya Ram Mandir Inauguration: Seventy years after the first court case was filed in the Ayodhya-Babri Masjid dispute post-Independence, the Supreme Court delivered a landmark verdict in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janambhoomi title suit in 2019 and paved the way for the construction of Ram Temple.

Hundreds of years later, the dreams of millions of Indians will come true on January 22, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Ram.

Several significant events have marked the history of Ram Janmabhoomi. Let’s have a look at the Ayodhya dispute timeline.

1528-1529 – Babri Masjid was built in Ayodhya by Mir Baqi, commander of Mughal emperor Babur. Hindu groups claim it was built after demolishing a temple.

1853 – The first recorded communal clashes over the site took place.

1859 – The British administration put a fence around the site marking separate areas of worship for Hindus and Muslims, and it stood that way for nearly 90 years.

1946 – Akhil Bharatiya Ramayana Mahasabha, a wing of Hindu Mahasabha, started an agitation for the possession of the disputed site.

1949 – The property dispute went to court for the first time in 1949 after the idol of Lord Ram was placed inside the mosque. This led to a protest from the Muslim side, after which both sides moved to court and filed a civil suit. Following the development, the state government declared the entire area as ‘disputed’ and locked the gates until further orders.

1950 – Gopal Simla Visharad filed suit in Faizabad district court for right to worship the idols of Ram Lalla. Paramahansa Ramachandra Das also filed suit for the continuation of worship and keeping the idols.

1959 – Nirmohi Akhara filed the third suit claiming to be the stakeholder of the site.

1961 – UP Sunni Central Waqf Board files suit for possession of the site and the removal of idols.

1986 – On the direction of the district court, the lock was removed and was opened for the Hindus to worship. Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister when the decision was taken.

1989 – Bhagwan Shri Ramlalla Virajman at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Ayodhya, Asthan Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Ayodhya file a title suit represented by “next friend” Deoki Nandan Agarwala, a former judge of the Allahabad High Court.

August 14, 1989 – Allahabad High Court ordered maintenance of the status quo in respect of the disputed structure.

September 25, 1990 – Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani launches Rath Yatra from Somnath in Gujarat.

1992 – The demolition of the Babri masjid took place on December 6, following which a riot broke out between the Hindus and the Muslims. The Government of India set up a Liberhan Commission (Liberhan Ayodhya Commission of Inquiry- led by Retired High Court Judge MS Liberhan) to probe the destruction of the disputed structure of the Babri Masjid.

1993 – The ‘Acquisition of Certain Area at Ayodhya Act’ passed for the acquisition of land by the Centre in the disputed area. Various writ petitions, including one by Ismail Faruqui, filed in Allahabad HC challenging various aspects of the Act. The Supreme Court, exercising its jurisdiction under Article 139A, transferred the writ petitions, which were pending in the High Court.

1994 – The Supreme Court said in the historic Ismail Faruqui case that a mosque was not integral to Islam.

2002 – The Allahabad High Court began hearing on determining who owns the disputed site.

March 13, 2003 – SC said in the Aslam alias Bhure case that no religious activity of any nature to be allowed at the acquired land.

March 14, 2003 – SC said the interim order passed should be operative till the disposal of the civil suits in Allahabad HC to maintain communal harmony.

September 30, 2010 – The Allahabad High Court, in a 2:1 majority, ruled a three-way division of the disputed area between Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.

May 9, 2011 – The apex court put a stay on the Allahabad HC’s verdict on the Ayodhya land dispute.

March 21, 2017 – Chief Justice of India JS Khehar suggested out-of-court settlement among rival parties.

August 7, 2017 – The SC constituted a three-judge bench to hear pleas challenging the 1994 verdict of the Allahabad HC.

August 8, 2017 – UP Shia Central Waqf Board told SC mosque could be built in a Muslim-dominated area at a reasonable distance from the disputed site.

September 11, 2017 – The SC directed the Chief Justice of the Allahabad HC to nominate two additional district judges within ten days as observers to deal with the upkeep of the disputed site.

November 20, 2017 – UP Shia Central Waqf Board tells SC temple can be built in Ayodhya and the mosque in Lucknow.

December 1, 2017 – Thirty-two civil rights activists file plea challenging the 2010 verdict of the Allahabad HC.

February 8, 2018 – The Supreme Court started hearing the civil appeals.

March 14, 2018 – SC rejected all interim pleas seeking to intervene as parties in the case.

July 20, 2018 – SC reserved verdict.

September 27, 2018 – SC declined to refer the case to a five-judge Constitution bench, said the case will be heard by a newly constituted three-judge bench on October 29.

January 8, 2019 – SC set up a five-judge Constitution Bench to hear the case headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and comprising Justices S A Bobde, N V Ramana, U U Lalit and D Y Chandrachud.

January 10, 2019 – Justice U U Lalit recuses himself prompting SC to reschedule the hearing for January 29 before a new bench.

January 25, 2019 – The SC reconstituted the 5-member Constitution Bench to hear the case. The new bench comprised Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices S A Bobde, D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S A Nazeer.

January 29, 2019 – Centre moved the SC seeking permission to return the 67-acre acquired land around the disputed site to the original owners.

February 26, 2019 – SC favoured mediation, fixed March 5 for order on whether to refer matter to court-appointed mediator.

March 6, 2019 – The SC reserved order on whether the land dispute can be settled through mediation.

April 9, 2019 – Nirmohi Akhara opposed Centre’s plea to return acquired land around Ayodhya site to owners.

May 9, 2019 – The three-member mediation committee submitted interim report to the SC.

July 18, 2019 – SC allowed mediation process to continue, sought outcome report by August 1.

August 1, 2019 – Report of mediation submitted in sealed cover to SC.

August 6, 2019 – SC commenced day-to-day hearing on the land dispute.

October 16, 2019 – SC concluded the hearing and reserved the order.

November 9, 2019 – Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Hindu side, paving the way for the construction of a Ram temple by a Trust at the disputed site 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 Ayodhya.

December 12, 2019 – The Supreme Court dismissed a batch of petitions seeking review of its Ayodhya land dispute case verdict after finding no merit.

February 5, 2020 – The Union Cabinet approved the setting up of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirtha Kshetra trust to monitor the construction of the Ram temple at the site. The announcement was made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha.

February 24, 2020 – Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board accepted the five acres allotted to it by the state government for building a mosque in Dhannipur village in Sohawal tehsil of Ayodhya.

August 5, 2020 – Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the Ram temple at Ayodhya.

January 22, 2024 – The Ram Temple will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 22.