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Share1528: A mosque is built at Ayodhya at a spot where, some Hindus claim, Ram was born.
1853: Hindu-Muslim clashes recorded near the disputed site.
1859: The British administration marks out the inner court for Muslims and the outer court for Hindus, who begin offering prayers there.
1949: Idols of Rama Lalla (baby Ram) appear inside the mosque. The central government locks up the gates, terming the site a disputed area.
1984: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) forms a panel to 'liberate' the disputed site and build a Ram temple there.
1985: The Rajiv Gandhi government gives in to Muslim radicals' demands and overturns the Supreme Court ruling in the Shah Bano case.
1986: The district judge at Ayodhya opens the locks of the gates, allowing Hindus to worship there. Upset Muslims form the Babri Mosque Action Committee in protest.
1989: The VHP steps up its campaign, laying the foundation of a Ram temple on land adjacent to the disputed mosque.
1990: LK Advani takes out a rathyatra to build the temple. He is stopped in Bihar.
1991: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) comes to power in Uttar Pradesh.
December 6, 1992: The mosque is demolished by radical Hindu groups. Riots break out between Hindus and Muslims across India.
December 16, 1992: The PV Narasimha Rao government at the Centre announces the setting up of the justice MS Liberhan commission to inquire into the conspiracy to demolish the Babri mosque.
March 1993: The Liberhan Commission begins investigations.
1998: The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance forms the government at the Centre; wins again in 1999.
January 2002: The NDA government seeks talks to resolve the dispute.
February 2002: The BJP does not commit itself to a Ram temple in its manifesto for the Uttar Pradesh elections.
February and March 2002: Riots in Gujarat claim over 1,000 lives. Clashes break out after a train coach carrying devotees returning from Ayodhya is burnt at Godhra station, killing 58 people. Some Hindu groups blame Muslims for the fire.
2003: Archaeologists deputed to find out if a temple existed at the site say there is evidence of a temple beneath the mosque. Muslims dispute the findings.
2004: NDA loses power; Congress-led National Democratic Allaince (NDA) forms the government.
2005: Militants attack the disputed site, using a jeep with explosives to blow a hole in the wall of the complex. Security forces kill six people. Ayodhya remains peaceful.
2007: The Supreme Court refuses to review a petition on the Ayodhya case being heard by courts in Lucknow and Rae Bareli. Upholds same view in February 2009, saying any matter regarding the Ayodhya dispute can be heard by the courts concerned, or by the Allahabad High Court.
June 30, 2009: Liberhan Commission submits its report after more than 16 years and a record 48 extensions.
