mosques built on the basis of the king's orders (ba farman-i Badshah)

[yogesh saxena]

There is no historical proof that
> Muslims destryed the Rama Temple and build
> the Masjid instead. . . . - Farhan Siddiqui


The above denial is without factual basis. Please
read the following post from Dinesh Agrawal:

". . . Here below, I am providing some of the evidence from many
sources, and these evidences have been verified and accepted by
professional historians and archaelogists. I will leave it to
the best judgement of the prudent netters to arrive on their own
conclusion whether this mendacious claims of this netter have
any validity or the historical facts are on the side of BJP."
- Dinesh Agrawal


"...the mosques built on the basis of the king's orders (ba farman-i
Badshah)
have not been exempted from the offering of the namaz and the reading
of the
Khutba (therein). The places of worship of the Hindus situated at
Mathura,
Banaras adn Awadh (Ayodhya), etc., in which the Hindus (Kaffir) have
great
faith - the place of the birth of Kanhaiya, the place Rasoi Sita, the
place of
Hanuman, who according to the Hindus, was seated by Ram Chandra over
there
after the conquest of Lanka - were all demolished for the strength of
Islam,
and at all these places mosques have been constructed. These mosques
have not
been exempted from juma and jamiat (Friday prayers). Rather it is
obligatory
that no idol worship should be performed over there and the sound of
the
conch shell should not reach the ear of Muslims..." (Sahifa-i Chahal
Nasaih
Bahadur Shahi, or Bahadur Shah Nama written by his daughter,
Aurangzeb's grand
daughter in early 18th century, and as quoted by Mirza Jan in his
Hadiqa-i-
Shuhada, 1856, page 6).


"...The past Sultans encouraged the propagation and glorification of
Islam and
crushed the forces of unbelievers (kuffar), the Hindus. Similarly,
Faizabad
and Awadh (Ayodhya) were also purged of this mean practice (of
kuffar). This
(Ayodhya) was a great worshipping center and the capital of (the
kingdom of
Rama's father. Here they broke the temples and left no stone-hearted
idol
intact. Where there was large temple, a big mosque was constructed,
and, where
there was a small pavallion, there they erected a plain camp mosque/
enclosure.
Accordingly, what a majestic mosque Babar Shah has got constructed in
923 AH
under the patronage of Sayyid Musa Ashiqan! Its date is "khayr Baqi".
It is
still known far and wide as the Sita ki Rasoi mosque. (Hadiqa-
iShuhada, by
Mirja Jan, 1856, page 4-5)


"The mosque which had been built by Saiyid Musa Ashikan in 923 AH in
compliance
with the order of Zahiruddin Badshah, Delhi, after demolishing the
private
apartments (mahal sarai) of Raja Ram Chabder and the kitchen of Sita,
as well
as the second mosque built by Muiuddin Aurangzeb, Alamgir Badshah (in
fact)
both these mosques had developed cracks at various places because of
the
ageing character. Both these mosques have been gradually mitigated by
the
Bairagis and this very fact accounts for the riot. The Hindus have
great
hatred for the Muslims..." (Zia-i Akhtar by Haji Muhammed Hasan,
1878,p
38-39).


"To the east of this dargah is mohalla Akbarpur, whose second name is
also
Kot Raja Ram Chander ji. In this Kot, there were few burjs (towery big
halls).
Towards the side of the western burj, there was the house of
birthplace
(makan-
i paidaish) and the kitchen (bawarchi khana) of the above mentioned
Raja. And
now, this premises is known as Janamsthan and Rasoi Sita ji. After
the
demolition and mitigation of these houses (viz. Janamsthan and Rasoi
Sita ji),
Babar got a magnificent mosque constructed thereon." (in Gumgashte
Halat-i
Ajodhya Awadh (Forgotten Events of Ayodhya), i.e. Tarikh-i Parnia
Madina
Alwaliya (in Persian), Lucknow 1885, by Maulvi Abdul Karim)


"Babar built a magnificent mosque at the spot where the temple of
Janamsthan
of Ramchandra was situated in Ayodhya, under the patronage of Saiyid
Ashikan,
and Sita ki Rasoi is situated adjacent to it. The date of construction
of the
mosque is Khair Baqi (923 AH). Till date, it is known as Sita ki
Rasoi. By its
side stands that temple. It is said that at the time of the conquest
of Islam
there were still three temples, viz. Janamsthan, which was the
birthplace of
ram Chaderji, Swargdwar alias Ram darbar, and the Treta ka Thakur.
Babar built
the mosque after having demolished Janamsthan."
(Tarikh-i Awadh by Alama Muhammad Najamulghani Khan Rampuri, 1909,
this was
brought out by Dr. Zaki Kakorawi in an abridged edition, vol.II pp.
570. Let me
mention here that the learned author of this book had used as many as
81
sourc-
es (manuscripts and books) covering the history of India/Awadh from
the 17th-
19th centuries, comprising mostly Muslim authors.)


History and Geography of India, by Joseph Tieffenthaler (published in
French
by
Bernoulli in 1785): Tieffenthaler, the Austrian Jesuit priest who
stayed in
Awadh in 1766-71, reports that Babar destroyed the birth-place temple
of Ram
and constructed a mosque by using its pillers. However, Hindus refused
to give
up the place and in spite of the Moghuls' efforts to prevent them,
they were
coming to the place for worship. They had constructed the Ram
Chabootra in
the mosque's courtyard, which they used to perambulate thrice, then
to
prostrate on the ground. (pp. 253-54)


Archaeological Survey of India Report by A. Fuhrer (1891): Fuhrer
accepts that
Mir Khan built the Babri mosque on the site of the Ram Janambhoomi
temple,
using many of its columns. He also confirmed that Aurangzeb had
constructed
two other mosques in Ayodhya on the sites of Swargadwar and Treta-ka-
Thakur
temples. (Fuhrer: The Monumental Antiquities and Inscriptions in the
North-
West Provinces and Oudh, ASI Report 1891, pp 296-297).


Barabanki District Gazetteer by H.R. Neville (1902): Neville reports
that
"numerous disputes have sprung up from time to time between the Hindu
priests
and the Mussalmans of Ayodhya with regard to the ground on which
formerly
stood the Janamasthan temple, which was destroyed by Babar and
replaced by a
mosque". (Neville: Barabanki District Gazetteer, Lucknow 1902,pp
168-69)


Faizabad District Gazetteer: This chronicle confirms that the
Janamsthan
temple
marking the birthplace of Ram at Ramkot was destroyed by Babar and
replaced by
a mosque using the materials and columns of the temple. In spite of
its desec-
ration, Hindus continued to regard it as a holy spot. The desecration
caused
numerous disputes and clashes between the communities. (Neville:
Faizabad
District Gazetteer, Lucknow 1905, pp. 172-77)


After analysing the inscriptions on the Babri mosque and studying the
archaeo-
logical features, Ms Beveridge says in the translation of Babur Nama,
that
Babur was impressed with the dignity and sanctity of the ancient Hindu
shrine
it displaced, and that as an obedient follower of Mohammed, Babur
regarded
the substitution of the temple by a mosque as dutiful and worthy. (A.
Beveridge
Babur Nama in English, vol II, 1922, appendix on "The inscriptions on
Babur's
Mosque in Ajodhya (oudh), p xxvii-xxix)


Ayodhya by Hans Bakker (1984): In his most conprehensive study, the
Dutch
scholar Bakker has repeatedly and categorically accepted that an old
Vaishnava
temple was situated on the holy spot where Ram descended on earth.
This
Janambhoomi temple was destroyed by Babur in 1528 and replaced with
the now-
existing mosque structure. 14 black-stone pillers from the temple
were
utilized by Mir Baqi in the construction of the mosque. Two more
pillers have
been driven upside down into the ground at the grave of the Muslim
saint Musa
Ashiqan, who is said to have incited Babar to demolish the Janambhoomi
temple.
Bakker concludes that Ram Janambhoomi temple was one of the oldest Ram
temples
in the country which was in existence in the 12th century. (Bakker:
Ayodhya,
1986, pp. 43-59, 60-66, 119-153, part II, pp. 118-121, 143-49,
173-175).


Ramjanambhoomi-Babri Masjid: Archaeological Evidence- Dr. S.P. Gupta,
former
director of Allahabad Museum, and who was part of the excavating team
headed
by Prof. B.B. Lal, former director general of Archaeological Survey of
India,
had summarizes the findings of the team in a write up with lot of
photographs
(Indian Express, Dec. 2, 1990), the conclusion of these findings:
"...to sum
up
at the controversial site, a Hindu temple was built in the 11th
century which
continued to be in use till the very end of the 15th century. Then
suddenly,
in
the early 16th century, it was demolished and its debris was partially
used in
the construction of a mosque, now called Babri Masjid. There are two
persian
inscriptions still existing in the Masjid. It records that this mosque-
like
structure was actually built by one Mir baqi at the command of Babar
in Hijra
Era 935 which comes to 1528 AD. Babranama, i.e. the memories of Babar
written
by Babar himself, clearly proves that Babar did actually camp at the
confluence
of the Saryu and Sidra rivers, located some 8 to 10 km near the
township of
Ayodhya. The event is dated in the early years of 1528 AD - 29th March
-2nd
April 1528 - a total of five days.


Excerpts from a report on 14th December, 1992 in The Hindu (Madras):
"Archaeological objects recovered from the debris of the demolished
Babri
structure here are likely to be the new focal point of propaganda by
organisa-
tions in the thick of the Ram temple movement to claim that Mirbaqi,
the
commander of Babar's Army, had constructed a mosque after demolishing
an 11th
century temple. The objects are claimed to be of pre-Babar period and
the
Delhi based Historians Forum in a letter written to the Prime
Minister, Mr
Rao,
yesterday demanded that these be protected suitably as they would
throw new
light on the temple-mosque controversy. Dr S.P. Gupta, a member of the
forum,
and a former director of the Allahabad Museum, today visited Ayodhya
to have a
first look at the objects, including stone ...

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