Ayodhya Revisited

This work of monumental research is atreatise on Ayodhyã with utmostauthenticity and absolute accuracy. Basedon original sources and scientificinvestigation it propounds a new thesis,which demolishes many popularperceptions. It exonerates the intrepidwarrior Babur from the charge ofdemolishing a temple on the birth-site ofRãma and constructing the mosque whichhas been a source of contention anddissension for long. It further shows howinscriptions in the mosque were factitiousand Mir Baqi of inscriptions is a fictitiousperson different from Baqi Tashkindi/Shegawal of the Baburnama.The book produces incontrovertibleevidence which indubitably proves thatthere existed a Rãma temple on the Rãmajanmabhùmi.The exact birthplace ofRãma was earmarked by a rectangularBedi measuring 18 ft. 9 inches in lengthand 15ft. in width, and was located in theinner portion of the disputed shrine. Thedemolition of the temple and theconstruction of the mosque did not takeplace in 1528 A.D. but in c. 1660 A.D.when Fedai Khan was the Governor ofAurangzeb at Ayodhyã. It is a historicalfact that until the British takeover ofAwadh administration in 1858 both theHindus and Muslims used to perform pujaand offer Namaz respectively inside it.All Mughal Emperors from Babur toShah Jahan were magnanimous and liberalrulers and the Bairãgìs of Ayodhyã enjoyedpatronage of the first four Nawabs ofAwadh. However, during the long rule ofAurangzeb the country was engulfed in thefire of fanaticism. It has been shown in thisbook how an absolutely unfounded rumourin 1855 A.D. that the Hanumangarhitemple was constructed on the site of amosque created cleavage between the twocommunities, and the resultant festeringwounds have not healed despite bestefforts by saner elements of both thecommunities.The book exposes many eminenthistorians' hypocrisy and their lack ofcertitude in writing history and it may besaid that their presentation of contrivedhistory on Ayodhya has caused irreparabledamage to the cause of harmonizingcommunal relations in the country. Incontrast, this text earnestly tries to takeaway the toxin from the polluted body ofIndian politics. For the first time a numberof unexplored documents have beenincorporated in this book as evidence, andit may be proclaimed with pride that thisbook contains much more information onAyodhya than available hitherto.Justice G.B. Patnaik, a former ChiefJustice of India, after going through themanuscript, has endorsed the author'sthesis in his Foreword. It is hoped that thebook will put a quietus to the long-standingdispute.