HISTORIANS DISPLAY PHOTOS
OF EVIDENCE FROM DEBRIS
HISTORIANS DISPLAY PHOTOS OF
EVIDENCE FROM DEBRIS
Indian Express
December 20, 1992
New Delhi - Some historians and archaeologists who have
all along maintained that a Vaishnav temple existed
until the early 16th century at the disputed site in
Ayodhya came up on Saturday with "fresh and conclusive
evidence" in support of their claim.
At a press conference here, the Historians Forum --
chaired by Prof K. S. Lal -- released photographs and
played videotapes to show "the conclusive evidence which
was discovered during the night of Dec. 6 and the next
morning when debris of the demolished disputed structure
was being cleared."
Their most important "evidence" is an inscription
engraved on a rectangular buff sandstone slab about 5 ft
x 2 ft in size. They said epigraphists have confirmed
that the inscription is composed in Sanskrit and written
in Nagari script in 11-12th century.
"The inscription clearly mentions Janamabhoomi and
also records the fact that it was at Ayodhya, located in
Saket Mandala, a sub-region, that an extremely beautiful
and magnificent temple with the spire (shikhar) of stone
and pinnacle of gold (hiranya) was built which was
dedicated to Lord Vishnu-Hari who had humbled King Bali
and defeated the wicked Dashanan," claimed Prof B. R.
Grover, Dr S. P. Gupta, Prof Devendra Swaroop and Dr
Sudha Malaya.
They said that Vishnu-Hari in the inscription referred
to Ram (considered an incarnation of Vishnu) and that
Dashanan was Ravana. The sandstone slab bearing the
inscription has a crack and the word Janamabhoomi
appears on the fourth line next to it (the word
preceding it is missing). They said that in line 17
there is mention of Ayodhya in the subregion of Saket
(. . . Ayodhyam Adhyasya tena Saket-Mandalam . . .)
while line 15 records, . . . shaila shikhara sreni
shilasamhativyuhair Vishnu-Hari hiranya kalasha Sri
sundara Mandiram . . .
Dr. Sudha Malaya, an art historian from Bhopal who was
camping in Ayodhya since Dec. 4 -- and had admitted
being a kar sevak -- was apparently the first of the lot
to photograph the "new findings". The quality of
photographs she could click was not good and so Dr Gupta
and others rushed to Ayodhya on Dec. 13 and "and took
some stampages, made several transparencies and
photographs, as well as video film of the inscription
and other archaeological remains which were practically
dumped in the Ram Katha Kunj located near Kubera Tila."
According to the historians and archaeologists, the
"evidences" were found in some sort of a compartment
between two walls behind the left and central dome of
what used to be the disputed structure. "When the
structure was being built after destroying the temple
remnants were left in the gap and plastered between the
walls," they claimed.
Other findings include an intact marble image of Ram
(painted black), clad in a gold-red dhoti, which Dr.
Gupta claimed was a "pre-Babri image dating back to the
14-15th century"; parts of the amalaka which once
crowned the pinnacle of the temple of the temple; the
top most part of the jala, which was placed below lata
which like a creeper decorated the elevation of the
spire or shikhara; and goddesses; and more than half a
dozen sandstone temple pillars with carved brackets.
Decipherment of the inscription was still on but the
historians and archaeologists who presented the
findings appeared to be satisfied with the objects have
thus finally vindicated our stand that at the very site
of Janamabhoomi at Ayodhya there existed a Vaishnava
temple from at least the 11-12th century which was
destroyed by Babar's men in order to build a mosque-like
structure around 1528-29 AD," they maintained.
Courtesy of Dinesh Agrawal
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