Ayodhya Revisited

This work of monumental research is a treatise on Ayodhya with utmost authenticity and absolute accuracy. Based on original sources and scientific investigation it propounds a new thesis, which demolishes many popular perceptions. It exonerates the intrepid warrior Babur from the charge of demolishing a temple on the birth-site of Rama and constructing the mosque which has been a source of contention and dissension for long. It further shows how inscriptions in the mosque were factitious and Mir Baqi of inscriptions is a fictitious person different from Baqi Tashkindi/Shegawal of the Baburnama.The book produces in controvertible evidence which indubitably proves that there existed a Rama temple on the Ramajanmabhmi. The exact birthplace of Rama was earmarked by a rectangular Bedi measuring 18 ft. 9 inches in length and 15 ft. in width and was located in the inner portion of the disputed shrine. The demolition of the temple and the construction of the mosque did not take place in 1528 A.D. but in c. 1660 A.D.when Fedai Khan was the Governor of Aurangzeb at Ayodhya. It is a historical fact that until the British takeover of Awadh administration in 1858 both the Hindus and Muslims used to perform puja and offer Namaz respectively inside it.All Mughal Emperors from Babur to Shah Jahan were magnanimous and liberal rulers and the Bairags of Ayodhya enjoyed patronage of the first four Nawabs of Awadh. However, during the long rule of Aurangzeb the country was engulfed in the fire of fanaticism. It has been shown in this book how an absolutely unfounded rumour in 1855 A.D. that the Hanumangarhi temple was constructed on the site of a mosque created cleavage between the two communitiesand the resultant festering wounds have not healed despite best-efforts by saner elements of both the communities.The book exposes many eminent historians hypocrisy and their lack of certitude in writing history and it may be said that their presentation of contrived history on Ayodhya has caused irreparable damage to the cause of harmonizing communal relations in the country.In contrast, this text earnestly tries to takeaway the toxin from the polluted body of Indian politics. For the first time a number of unexplored documents have been incorporated in this book as evidence and it may be proclaimed with pride that this book contains much more information on Ayodhya than available hitherto. Justice G.B. Patnaik, a former Chief Justice of India, after going through the manuscript, has endorsed the authors thesis in his Foreword. It is hoped that the book will put a quietus to the long-standing dispute.