3. Documentary evidence:
Muslim testimony
A large number of Muslim
writers who have written detailed accounts of the regional history of Awadh
since 17th century, based on older authentic contemporary sources of various
nature, have unanimously stressed the fact that on the basis of Babar's
order, the Janmasthan of Sri Ram Chandra at Kot Ram Chander, Pargana Haveli,
Awadh, which comprised not only the private apartments (mahal sarai) of
King Dashrath and Sri Ram but also a temple and a kitchen popularly known
as Sita Ki Rasoi, were demolished and a mosque constructed thereupon in
1528 A.D. under the guidance of the Commander Mir Baqi and the Patronage
of a Muslim faqir named Sayed Musa Ashikan.
The earliest of such
authors is none other than the granddaughter of Moghul emperor Aurangzeb.
Many of these Muslim writers were residents of Awadh and some were eye-witness
to or participants in the Hindu-Muslim clashes or the dispute in 1855.
Let us now see what
the Muslim writers have said:
1) Abul Fazl (1598 AD)
Abul Fazl, the author
of Akbar Nama/Ain-i-Akbari (late 16th century) is an eminent writer
of the Moghul age who has categorically associated Awadh (Ayodhya) with
the residential place (banga) of Sri Ram Chandra who during the
Treta age was the embodiment of both the spiritual sovereign supremacy
as well as the mundane kingly office. Abu; Fazl also testifies that Awadh
(Ayodhya) was esteemed as one of the holiest places of antiquity. He reports
that Ramnavami festival, marking the birthday of Rama continues to be celebrated
in a big way. As in the Ain-i-Akbari, Abul Fazl is basically concerned
with the institutional and administrative system of the Moghuls (under
Akbar), he does not provide any further detail about the disputed building
; nor, for that matter, about any shrines or buildings in general.
2) Safiha-i Chahal
Nasaih Bahadur Shahi, written by the daughter of Bahadur Shah Alamgir
during the late 17th century/early 18th century.
Out of the above Chahal
Nasaih ("Forty Advices"), twenty-five instructions were copied and incorporated
in the manuscript entitled Nasihat-i Bist-o-Panjam Az Chahal Nisaih
Bahadur Shahi in 1816 AD, which is the oldest known account of the
destruction of Ram Janmabhoomi for construction of the Babri Mosque, and
its author is none other than Aurangzeb's grand daughter.
Mirza Jan, the author
of Hadiqa-i-Shahda, 1856, Lucknow, has reproduced the above text
in Persian on pp.4-7 of his book. The text runs as follows:
"... the mosques built
on the basis of the king's orders (ba farman-i Badshahi) 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
and Awadh, etc., in which the Hindus (kufar) have great faith -
the place of the birthplace of Kanhaiya, the place of 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
the Muslims ..." (see Annexure 2)
3) Hadiqa-i-Shahada
by Mirza Jan (1856), pages 4-7.
The author was an eye-witness
and an active participant in the jihad led by Amir Ali Amethawi
during Wazid Ali Shah's rule in 1855 for recapture of Hanumangarhi from
the Hindus. His book was ready just after the failure of the jihad
and was published the following year (1856) in Lucknow. In Chapter IX of
his book, entitled
Wazid Ali Shah Aur Unka Ahd ("Wazid Ali Ahah
and His Regime"), we find his account of construction of the Babri mosque.
Mirza Jan who claims
to have gone through various old sources says in his own account as follows:
"The past Sultans encouraged the propagation and glorification of Islam
and crushed the forces of the unbelievers (kufar), the Hindus. Similarly,
Faizabad and Awadh were also purged of this mean practice [of kufr]. This
[Awadh] was a great worshipping centre and the capital of [the kingdom
of] Rama's father. Where there was a large temple, a big mosque was constructed
and where there was a small mandaf, there a small kanati
masjid was constructed. The temple of Janmasthan was the original birthplace
(masqat) of Ram, adjacent to which is Sita Ki Rasoi, Sita
being the name of his wife. Hence at that site, a lofty (sarbaland)
mosque has been built by Babar Badshah under the guidance of Musa Ashikan...
That mosque is till date popularly known as Sita Ki Rasoi..." (see Annexure
3)
4) Muhammad Asghar's
petition (1858)
Muhammad Asghar, khatib
and muazzan of the Babri Masjid, filed a representation dated 30.11.1858,
in case no 884,
muhalla Kot Ram Chandra, Ajodhya to the British
Government. In this complaint against the Bairagis of Janmasthan, he alleged
that the Hindus had occupied the mosque, constructed an earthen mound therein,
hoisted a flag on a high pole, installed a deity, started puja, wrotethe
name of Rama all over the walls and so on. The muazzin also observes
that in the outer space of the constructedBabri mosque (i.e. in the courtyard
within the walled boundaries of the mosque), there had been Janmasthan
lying desolate where the Hindus had been worshipping for hundreds of years.
This confirms the fact that eventhough the site of Janmasthan had been
covered by the Babri Masjid, the Hindus had been worshipping in the open
space for hundreds of years, i.e. even during the Moghul and the Nawabi
periods, and that they had maintained their claim on the entire Janmasthan
area. (see Annexure 4)
5) Fasana-i Ibrat
by the Urdu novelist Mirza Rajab Ali Beg Surur.
Dr. Zaki Kakorawi has
appended an excerpt from this book by Surur (1787-1867) in his work. The
excerpt reads as follows :"During the reign of Babar Badshah, a magnificent
mosque was constructed in Awadh at a place which is associated with Sita
ki Rasoi. This was Babari mosque. As during this period the Hindus could
not dare to offer any resistance, the mosque was constructed under the
benign guidance of Saiyed Mir Ashikan. Its date of construction could be
reckoned from [the words] Khair-Baqi. And in the Ram Darbar,
a mosque was constructed by Fidai Khan, the subedar."
After further describing
the construction of another mosque at Hanuman Garhi by Aurangzeb, the author
states that later on, after the defeat of Nawab Shujauddaula at Buxar,
the Bairagis occupied the Garhi :"The Bairagis mitigated the mosque at
Hanuman Garhi and constructed a temple [thereon]. And then, open prayers
were henceforth offered [by the Bairagis] in the Babri mosque comprising
the site of Sita ki Rasoi. The [Nawabi] administration could not do anything
about it."
It may be noted that
Surur mentioned the
Sahifa-i Bahadurshahi, copied in 1816, as the
source from which his observations could be verified by anybody interested.
(see Annexure 5)
6) Tarikh-i Awadh
or Muraqqa-i Khusrawi by Sheikh Mohammed Azmat Ali Kakorawi Nami (1869).
Kakorawi (1811-1893)
wrote this book in 1869, but it did not see the light of day for more than
a century. When dr. Zaki Kakorawi prepared a press copy, the F.A. Ahmad
Memorial Committee agreed to publish the book, in 1986, but without the
chapter on the 1855 episode. Subsequently, dr. Kakorawi published this
chapter independently in 1987, under the title: Amir Ali Shah aur Markah-i
Hanuman Garhi.
It contains this account
:"Awadh was the capital of the father of Lachhman and Ram. [There,] under
the guidance of Musa Ashikan, a magnificent Babri mosque was constructed
at the site of the temple within the premises of Janmasthan, which was
popularly known amongst Hindus as Sita ki Rasoi. The date of construction
can be reckoned from Khair Baqi... And a mosque was also constructed at
the site of Ram Darbar by Fidai Khan, subedar, which was later demolished
and mitigated by the Hindus." (see Annexure 6)
7) Zia-i Akhtar
by Haji Muhammed Hasan (Lucknow 1878), p.38-39.
The author states :"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 Chander and the kitchen of
Sita, as well as the second mosque built by Muiuddin Aurangzeb, Alamgir
Badshah, [in fact] both these mosques have 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..." (see Annexure 7)
8) Gumgashte Halat-i
Ajudhya Awadh ("Forgotten Events of Ayodhya"), i.e. Tarikh-i Parnia
Madina Alwaliya (in Persian) (Lucknow 1885), by Maulvi Abdul Karim.
The author, who was
then the imam of the Babri Masjid, while giving a description of the dargah
of Hazrat Shah Jamal Gojjri states :"To the east of this dargah
is mahalla 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 Janmasthan and Rasoi Sita Ji.
After the demolition and mitigation of these houses [viz. Janmasthan and
Rasoi Sita Ji], Babar Badshah got a magnificent mosque constructed thereon."
In this work, the author
has referred to numerous contemporary sources. It was translated into Urdu
by his grandson Maulvi Abdul Gaffar in 1979. (see Annexure 8)
9) Kaisar-ul-Tawarikh
ya Tawarikh-i-Awadh by Kamaluddin Haidar Hosni al Hussaini al Mashahadi
(Lucknow 1896), vol.II, p.100-112.
This author gives the
same account of the construction of the Babri mosque as given in Muraqqah-i
Khusrawi.
10) Tarikh-i Awadh
by Alama Muhammad Najamulghani Khan Rampuri (1909).
Dr. Zaki Kakorawi has
brought out an abridged edition of this book. An excerpt from vol.II (pp.570-575)
of this edition runs as follows :
a) "Babar built a magnificent
mosque at the spot where the temple of Janmasthan 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. Janmasthan, which was the birthplace
of Ram Chanderji, Swargadwar alias Ram Darbar, and the Treta ka Thakur.
Babar built the mosque after having demolished Janmasthan."
b) "...in short, the
turbulence [of 1855] reached such a stage that apart from the mitigated
mosque at Hanuman Garhi, the Hindus built a temple in the courtyard of
Babri Masjid where Sita ki Rasoi was situated..."
c) "...Ultimately, on
Zildaqqa 1271 AH [July 1855], for the tenth or twelfth time, nearly two
or three hundred Muslims gathered at Babri Masjid which is situated inside
the Sita ki Rasoi..."
It is important to observe
that the learned author used as many as eighty-one sources (manuscripts
and books) covering the history of India/Awadh from the 17th-19th centuries,
comprising mostly Muslim authors, though a few Hindu and European writers
have also been referred to.
In parenthesis, we remark
that the calculation of the year 923 from the numerical values of the letters
making up the expression "Khair Baqi" (as before the adoption of Indian
numerals, letters were still used sometimes to encode numbers), rests on
a mistake. The full expression which is repeated in the inscription on
the Masjid, is "Bavad Khair Baqi", of which the numeral value adds up to
935, the AH year partly coinciding with 1528 AD. (see Annexure 9)
11) Hindustan Islami
Ahad Mein by Maulana Hakim Sayid Abdul Hai.
Maulana Hakim Sayid
Abdul Hai (d.1923), an eminent scholar on the history of Islamic culture
and also rector of Nadwatul-Ulama, wrote on "India under Islamic Rule"
in Arabic, in the early 20th century. The book was published in Hyderabad
in 1972. It was translated into Urdu and published with a foreword by his
worthy son, Maulana Abdul Hasan Nadwi, alias Ali Mian, by the Nadwatul-Ulama,
Lucknow 1973. An English translation was published in 1977.
The book contained a
chapter on "The Mosques of Hindusthan" (Hindustan ki Masjidein),
giving at least six instances of the construction of the mosques on the
very sites of the Hindu temples demolished by the Indian Muslim rulers
during the 12th-17th centuries. As regards Babri Masjid, he writes :"This
mosque was constructed by Babar at Ajodhya which the Hindus call the birthplace
of Ram Chanderji. There is a famous story about his wife Sita. It is said
that Sita had a temple here in which she lived and cooked for her husband.
On that very site Babar constructed this mosque..." (see Annexure 10)
12) Asrar-i Haqiqat
by Lachmi Narain Sadr Qanungo, assisted by Munshi Maulvi Hashmi (Lucknow
1923).
The author, L.N.S. Qanungo,
says that the book has been written with the active help of an in consultation
with Munshi Maulvi Hashim, who has collected all the material and agreed
to the contents of the book.
This is a unique book
which is a product of joint efforts by a Hindu and a Muslim. Significantly,
this book also confirms all that has been said in the Gumgashte Halat-i
Ayodhya on the demolition of Janmasthan and the construction of the
Babri mosque. |