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Description
The Ram temple issue has been at the epicentre of Indian politics since the mid
1980s. The question-'mandir or masjid'- dominated political discourse without
an apparent resolution - until the Supreme Court delivered its judgement on 9
November 2019. The 5-member bench in a unanimous verdict gave the ownership
of the 2.77 acres of disputed land to the Ram Janmabhoomi trust, and ordered it
to build a temple on the site. Though an alternative five acres of land was awarded
to the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board to build a mosque to replace the demolished
masjid, the scales were clearly tilted in favour of the Hindu petitioners, and as many
commentators noted, the judges had in effect legitimized what they themselves had
called a 'criminal act'.
This unprecedented, comprehensive book looks at the key moments in the Ram
Janmabhoomi agitation, from the events of 1949, Rajiv Gandhi's 'unlocking of the
gates' in 1986, L K Advani's Rath Yatra in 1990, the demolition of the masjid in
1992, culminating in an in-depth analysis of the 9 November judgement. It gives an
objective analysis of the core issue: was the mosque actually built by Babur, and did
there exist a Ram temple?
More importantly, the book examines how the Ram Janmabhoomi agitation
propelled the BJP from being a marginal political party into becoming the dominant
political force today. Mukhopadhyay analyses how politics over the Ram temple
secured support for the militant Hindu nationalistic idea and assesses the road ahead
for India and the long-term implications of the imminent construction of the Ram
temple.
