Babri Masjid

Babri Masjid was a mosque in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India, that became the center of a significant and contentious dispute in Indian history. The mosque was built in the 16th century by the Mughal general Mir Baqi, on the orders of the Mughal emperor Babur. It was named after Babur and became known as Babri Masjid. The mosque stood on a site that many Hindus believe to be the birthplace of Lord Rama, a revered deity in Hinduism.

The Babri Masjid became the focal point of a political, religious, and cultural dispute between Hindus and Muslims. In 1949, idols of Lord Rama were placed inside the mosque, leading to legal disputes over the ownership and use of the site. The situation escalated over the decades, with the site becoming a rallying point for various Hindu nationalist groups advocating for the construction of a Ram temple at the location.

On December 6, 1992, the Babri Masjid was demolished by a large crowd of Hindu activists, leading to widespread communal riots across India, resulting in significant loss of life and property. The demolition and the subsequent violence left deep scars in India's social and political fabric.

The legal battle over the disputed site continued for years. In November 2019, the Supreme Court of India delivered a landmark judgment, ruling that the land belonged to the Hindu community and should be handed over for the construction of a Ram temple. The court also ordered that an alternative piece of land be provided to the Muslim community for the construction of a mosque. The construction of the Ram temple is currently underway at the site.

The Babri Masjid issue has had a lasting impact on Indian politics and society, symbolizing broader conflicts over religion, identity, and history in the country.

A viral image that was falsely claimed to show the Babri Masjid.

BOOM found that these images were actually of unrelated Islamic structures located in Karnataka, Turkey, and Afghanistan. The images were being misleadingly circulated as the Babri Masjid, creating confusion and spreading misinformation.