By Kishore Kunal
Published by
Ocean Books Private Limited205, Chawri Bazar, Chawri Bazar, New Delhi, Delhi 110006
Phone:011 2325 7555
Abut the book
This work of monumental research
is a treatise on Ayodhyã with utmost authenticity and absolute accuracy. Based
on original sources and scientific investigation it propounds a new thesis,
which demolishes many popular perceptions. It exonerates the intrepid warrior
Babur from the charge of demolishing a temple on the birthplace of Rãma and
constructing the mosque which has been a source of contention and dissension
for long. It further shows how inscriptions in the mosque were factitious and
Mir Baqi of inscriptions is a fictitious person different from Baqi
Tashkindi/Shegawal of the Baburnama.
The book produces
incontrovertible evidence which indubitably proves that there existed a Rãma
temple on the Rãma-janmabhùmi. The exact birthplace of Rãma was earmarked by a
rectangular Bedi measuring 18' 9” in
length and 15' in width, and was located in the inner portion of the disputed
shrine. The demolition of the temple and the construction of the mosque did not
take place in 1528 A.D. but in c. 1660 A.D. when Fedai Khan was the Governor of
Aurangzeb at Ayodhyã. It is a historical fact that until the British takeover
of Awadh administration in 1858 both the Hindus and Muslims used to perform
puja and offer Namaz respectively inside it.
All Mughal Emperors from Babur to
Shah Jahan were magnanimous and liberal rulers and the Bairãgìs of Ayodhyã
enjoyed patronage of the first four Nawabs of Awadh. However, during the long
rule of Aurangzeb the country was engulfed in the fire of fanaticism. It has
been shown in this book how an absolutely unfounded rumour in 1855 A.D. that
the Hanumangarhi temple was constructed on the site of a mosque created
cleavage between the two communities, and the resultant festering wounds have
not healed despite best efforts by saner elements of both the communities.
The book exposes many eminent
historians' hypocrisy and their lack of objectivity in writing history and it
may be said that their presentation of contrived history on Ayodhya has caused
irreparable damage to the cause of harmonizing communal relations in the
country. In contrast, this text earnestly tries to take away the toxin from the
polluted body of Indian politics. For the first time a number of unexplored
documents have been incorporated in this book as evidence, and it may be
proclaimed with pride that this book contains much more information on Ayodhyã
than available hitherto.
Justice
G.B. Patnaik, a former Chief Justice of India, after going through the
manuscript, has endorsed the author's thesis in his Foreword. It is hoped that
the book will put a quietus to the long-standing dispute.
About the Author
Kishore Kunal
started his career as an I.P.S. officer in 1972 but his inner urge to pursue
academic interest and do philanthropic work in a full-fledged way would not let
him remain within the confines of the service and he took voluntary retirement
from the coveted Indian Police Service almost a decade prior to his due
superannuation. During his service career, he held important positions
including that of Officer-on-Special Duty in the Ministry of Home affairs,
Government of India in which capacity he was officially associated with the
Ayodhya dispute.
After retirement from I.P.S. in
2001 he was Vice-Chancellor of K.S.D. Sanskrit University, Darbhanga in Bihar.
His long association with Bihar Board of Religious Trusts, Patna, as its
Administrator and President, has brought about a sea-change in the functioning
of temples and mutts in Bihar. Kunal has heralded a new era of harmonious
coexistence by appointing a number of dalit priests in temples in the State.
Mahavir Cancer Sansthan,
established by him under the aegis of Hanuman Mandir Trust, Patna, is one of
the largest cancer hospitals in the country, which is dedicated to the low cost
treatment of the poor patients. Similarly, four other charitable hospitals run
under his supervision are rendering remarkable service to the people of Bihar.
Many other philanthropic projects including the construction of Viraat Ramayan
Mandir and the establishment of Ramayan University are in the offing.
Kunal has been a reputed police
officer, able administrator, acclaimed academician and social reformer. A
diligent and assiduous student of history and Sanskrit he is an avid reader
having a penchant for proof of everything which takes him into every possible
detail and depth of the subject. He has written and edited many books. His
magnum opus“Dalit-Devo Bhava” demolishes many pernicious perceptions and myths
concerning caste-discrimination in the Hindu society. This book on Ayodhyã, in
the words of former Chief Justice of India Justice G.B. Patnaik, “would be a
great asset to the nation at large, which may be helpful in defusing the
tension between the two communities”.
Contact: kishorekunaal@gmail.com
Foreword
JUSTICE G.B. PATNAIK
Former Chief Justice of India
Shri Kishore Kunal, a former IPS Officer and Vice
Chancellor of a Sanskrit University,
gave me a manuscript of Ayodhya Revisited consisting of around 600 pages
with a request to write Foreword. Even though I am not a historian, yet the
subject is so very interesting and the approach of the writer is so very
innovative that I have taken considerable time in going through the manuscript.
Ayodhya has been
a centre of controversy for a considerable period and the controversy
aggravated after the demolition of Babri Mosque. Ayodhya is known not only as a
place of pilgrimage, but also as a seat of India’s culture. Historians,
intellectuals and travellers have visited this place and given scholarly
accounts of contemporary history, but Kunal has approached the subject from a
different perspective. He has tried to draw his conclusion on objective and
independent interpretation of materials and documents. He has tried to
throw light on many aspects essentially on the basis of Sanskrit text.
In the very
preface of the manuscript he has indicated the method of interpretation he has
followed. The method adopted by him for Sanskrit sources prescribes replacing
of words appearing in the text in their natural sequence to drive the correct
meaning. The method is called ‘anvaya’ method. Kunal has obtained materials and
evidences from reputed sources like National Archives and University Libraries
and thus there cannot be any doubt about the authenticity of those materials.
Kunal was a student of History and also a student of Sanskrit and this has
helped him in giving a vivid account of Ayodhya different from what historians
have described.
While
in service Mr. Kunal as Officer on Special Duty ‘Ayodhya’ to the then Minister
of Home Affairs had played a leading role and attempted to have a consensus
between the leaders of two communities, but ultimately failed. But being
Officer on Special Duty (Ayodhya) he got the opportunity of going through
various materials and after in-depth analysis of those materials has ventured
to produce his interesting book on the subject, which would be a great asset to
the nation at large, which may be helpful in defusing the tension between the
two communities. His experience as O.S.D. and playing a vital role to resolve
the dispute has come handy in translating several documents and manuscripts and
in giving a picture different from what had been given by general historians.
His conclusion on several pieces of evidences on the subject and his object in
preparation of several materials and documents deserve to be complimented and
in my opinion such conclusions throw light on many aspects of Ayodhya, which
are different from what we knew in regard to Ayodhya earlier.
It
is interesting to note that Mr. Kunal has held the inscriptions on the disputed
structure to be fake and has ably proved how the conclusions drawn by
historians are wrong. He has brought so many literary works to light such as Sarvadesha-Vrittanta-Sangraha,
a text in Sanskrit, composed by Mahesh Thakur, the founder of the erstwhile
Khandavala Dynasty of Mithila, on the basis of which he has come to a
conclusion about Babar and early years of Akbar’s regime. Similarly the Ayodhya-Mahatmya
of the Rudra-yamala preserved in Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute,
Pune and Satyopakhyanam are two Sanskrit texts which throw ample light
on the importance of Ayodhya. Accounts of Thomas Herbert, Joannes De Laet and
C. Mentelle have been produced for the first time, while writing history on
Ayodhya.
Mr.
Kunal has successfully proved that the common belief that the temple at Ram
Janambhoomi was demolished by Babur is erroneous. He has established that the
mosque, Babari Masjid, was never built by Babar. According to the writer all
this happened during the reign of Aurangzeb some time in 1660 and Babar had no
role to play. This book establishes the fact that Babar practised religious
tolerance and he was not a fanatic.
In
chapter 11 while dealing with the question of existence of temple at the birth
place of Rama the author has relied upon the literary sources of foreign travel
accounts, the detailed inscription and archaeological excavation report and
then has come to the conclusion that there existed a temple at the place in
question whereas many historians have indicated that there never existed any temple.
The scientific basis and the authentic sources of information on the basis of
which the conclusion has been arrived at establishes how the historians were
erroneous and it is not merely a belief of Hindus; rather clinching materials
establish the fact that there existed a temple.
In
its chapter dealing with Inferno of Fanaticism during the reign of Aurangzeb
the author has relied upon articles published as early as in 1750’s and given a
vivid account as to how Aurangzeb tried to demolish several Hindu temples all
over the country which is in accord with the opinion expressed by many
historians. In chapter 14 he has dealt with the magnanimity of Mughal Rulers
and proved the existence of amity between Hindus and Muslims. The author has
ultimately come to the conclusion that the Mughal rulers right from Babar to
Shahjahan were quite liberal and bestowed patronage to Sanskrit scholars, and
India witnessed one of the finest phases of history in prosperity and
liberalism which made indelible imprint on the contemporary history.
Kunal’s
nomenclature of the book is quite apt, since it establishes several facts which
are contrary to the common beliefs and also the opinions of several historians.
All
said and done, the author has given a new dimension to the history of Ayodhya
and his valuable contribution to the subject will be of a great assistance to
research scholars as well as the people of India who can have a meaningful
debate at a burning subject. I have no doubt that this book will be of great
assistance to the research scholars in history, and common man desirous of
knowing about Ayodhya and existence of temple there which is believed to be the
birth place of Lord Rama. The writer deserves commendation for his in-depth
study and scientific analysis on which he has based his conclusions.
—Justice G.B. Patnaik, Former Chief Justice of
India
Contents
(A) Important historical events of
Ayodhya with religious connotations in the last 1000 years
1. Ayodhya was never an abandoned city
2. Janmabhumi-mahatmya in the Skanda Purana, Rudra-yamala, Satyopakhyana
and Avadha-vilasa of Lal Das
3. Babur was not a religious fanatic
4. Babur had no role either in the demolition of any temple at Ayodhya or in the construction of the
mosque
5. Inscriptions on the structure were fake and factitious
6. Mir Baqi of inscriptions is a fictitious person different from Baqi of Babur-nama
7. Babur never visited Ayodhya, nor did he ever issue any sanad in favour of the disputed shrine
8. Aurangzeb’s ascendancy to the throne led to the demolition of temples at Ayodhya
9. How has demolition ghost been haunting Babur?
10. A tale of two edicts
Treta Ka Thakura and Vishnu-hari
inscriptions)
11. The existence of Rama’s Janmasthana and a temple thereon is based not
on beliefs alone but on unimpeachable evidences also
12. The thesis discussed above has found
an echo in the recent judgment of the Allahabad High Court and will now put quietus to the disquieting dispute
13. Ayodhya rarely witnessed demolition of temples during the Sultanate
period
14. Many Mughal monarchs were magnanimous rulers
15. Inferno of Fanaticism during the reign of Aurangzeb
16. Ayodhya under Awadh Nawabs
17. How a rumour resulted in the rupture of relations between the two
communities in 1855
18. Aligarh Historians’ Contumelious Criticism of the Ayodhya Verdict is
devoid of substance
