Mushtaq Malik, president of socio-religious organization Tehreek Muslim ShabanIt has been announced to build a memorial of Babri Masjid in Greater Hyderabad. After this announcement, the question is again being raised that what was the real historical relationship of Babri Masjid with the Mughals? Was it really a pure Mughal monument or is its history more complex? On the pretext of the proposed memorial, it is important to understand this entire episode from the perspective of history, so that along with emotions, facts also remain in front. Come, let us know.
According to most historical sources, the Babri Masjid of Ayodhya is believed to be built in the 16th century. Traditionally it is associated with the name of Babur’s commander or subedar Mir Baqi, who was in charge of the Awadh region at that time. There are references to Masjid-e-Jananni or Masjid-e-Babri in some Persian inscriptions and later documents, but there has been disagreement among historians on their authenticity and interpretation.
Importantly, the Babri Masjid is not recorded as clearly in any royal Mughal decree or detailed Mughal court records as are the major buildings of Agra, Delhi or Lahore. This suggests that it was probably a locally built mosque, whose political importance increased in later centuries.
Mughal rulers’ relation with Ayodhya
Ayodhya was never a capital or strategic place for the Mughals like Delhi, Agra or Lahore were. Nevertheless, the Awadh region (which included the whole of Ayodhya) was important from the administrative point of view. There is very limited mention of Ayodhya in Babur’s memoir Baburnama, and there is no direct and undisputed mention of the construction of Babri Masjid.
Babar laid the foundation of the Mughal Sultanate in India.
A section of historians believe that Mir Baqi might have built the mosque as a symbol of local needs and establishment of power, but all these are indirect conclusions and not direct written evidence. Awadh was a prosperous province during the period from Humayun to Aurangzeb, but there are no documents of any major royal patronage or specific religious/political campaign regarding Babri Masjid.
In the list of royal mosques or architecture, Babri Masjid has never been placed on the same status as buildings like Jama Masjid, controversial buildings of Mathura/Kashi or Taj Mahal. In the 18th century, the Mughal power started weakening and the dominance of the Nawabs increased in Awadh. Till this time, Babri Masjid existed as a local religious place, but did not become the center of any widespread political movement. This mosque remained a place of worship for the local Muslim population, while Ayodhya has been revered in the Hindu religious tradition as the birthplace of Lord Ram since ancient times.
Was there construction on Ram Janmabhoomi?
Although now this controversy has completely ended. A grand Shri Ram temple has been constructed there, yet we should know what history says. Because this coincidence has happened after several hundred years of dispute. Ayodhya has been described as the birthplace of Ram in Hindu tradition, texts and local beliefs. Many Hindu and some colonial period historians have been of the opinion that the mosque may have been built after demolishing the temple, but direct, contemporary Mughal records of this are extremely limited.
Ram Mandir
In the 20th century, there was a long process of archaeological excavations, court hearings and expert reports on this issue. The reports of the Archaeological Survey of India concluded that there were remains of an earlier structure beneath the mosque, which some scholars described as temple-like, while some historians also objected to its interpretation. In its 2019 decision, the court acknowledged that there is evidence of an earlier structure beneath the mosque, and that the Hindu community has long considered the site Ram’s birthplace and worshiped there. However, the court also made it clear that there is not 100% historical agreement on everything about the reign of the Mughals. The decision was based on evidence, traditions and continued faith.
Colonial period: new face of controversy
Religious divisions became even more pronounced during the British rule. In the 19th century, the British Raj sometimes fanned and sometimes controlled the emerging tensions between different communities for its administrative interests. Government records after 1850 begin to show signs of Hindu-Muslim conflict over the Babri Masjid and its surrounding area. The British administration made a kind of practical agreement regarding the worship rights of Muslims inside the mosque and the rights of Hindus on the platform outside, which lasted for more than a century. From here, Babri Masjid started becoming not just a place of worship but a symbol of communal politics.
Babri Masjid.
Politics and identity war since independence till 1992
In independent India, this controversy gradually became a national question with the activism of courts, political parties and organizations. In 1949, the incident of the idol of Ram Lalla appearing inside the mosque took place, after which regular prayers inside the structure were banned and the matter went to court. The issue became the center of national politics in the 1980s and 1990s, resulting in the demolition of the Babri Masjid on 6 December 1992. The incident sparked nationwide riots, deep social rifts and a prolonged judicial process. All this shows that as much as the Mughal connection of Babri Masjid is historical, it was more linked to modern Indian politics and the struggle for identity.
Supreme Court decision of 2019 and the way forward
In 2019, the Supreme Court handed over the disputed land to the Hindu side for the construction of Ram temple and ordered the Muslim side to give 5 acres of land for the construction of a mosque at an alternative place in Ayodhya. This decision was the conclusion of the judicial process, but the historical debate, emotional pain and politics of memory still continue. It is also worth noting that after the order of the Supreme Court, the construction work of the temple was completed but there was talk of construction of a mosque under the same order. The Uttar Pradesh government had also allotted land but there is no concrete progress towards the construction of the mosque.
Babri Masjid in Hyderabad Memorial, memory, symbol or politics?
Now when the matter of building a memorial of Babri Masjid in Greater Hyderabad has come up, it is not just a memory of a building, but a symbol of the entire history, the feeling of injustice, and the question of shared heritage. In fact, Babri Masjid’s connection with the Mughals is mainly at the level of construction – 16th century, the era of Babur, the name of Mir Baqi, and the expansion of Mughal power over Awadh. Some stylistic glimpses of Mughal architecture are definitely visible, but it never got the status of a royal building like the Taj Mahal, Red Fort or Jama Masjid. Therefore, to say that Babri Masjid was merely a Mughal monument would be oversimplifying history. It was a local mosque which later became the center of national controversy.
Cultural meaning of memorial
The memorial to be built in Hyderabad will probably be an architectural remembrance of the structure which was demolished in 1992. For the Muslim community, it could be a reminder of communal violence, the lost place of worship and the long fight for justice. At the same time, it can also be a reminder for Indian democracy how delicate is the balance of pluralism, constitutional values and the judiciary. If the memorial is seen not just as a symbol of a community’s suffering, but with a message of shared history, non-violence, mutual trust and the importance of constitutional paths, it can also become a symbol of compromise and peace. On the other hand, if it is presented merely as a tool for political polarization, it may deepen the wounds rather than heal them.
In this way we can understand that the relationship between Babri Masjid and the Mughals is neither completely a myth, nor as deep and omnipresent as is sometimes shown in political speeches. Yes, it is true that it was built in the early period of Mughal power and it is linked to Mir Baqi. It is also true that Ayodhya was the main center of Hindu faith for centuries, and it was there that the foundation of the temple-mosque dispute was laid. But it is equally true that the real story of Babri Masjid is jointly written by medieval power, colonial politics, modern democracy and communal tension.
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