Off The Records: No mention of mosque

Other than the records of Englishman William Finch, another major evidence comes from a Jesuit priest, Joseph Tiefenthaler, who lived in Ayodhya a few years after Finch. He gives vivid descriptions of large crowds of pilgrims who came to do a parikrama around the Ram Cradle during Ramnavami at the sacred site. Like Finch, he also makes no mention of any Muslim presence on the site. Revenue records of the British period refer to the site as Ram Janmasthan and there is no mention of any Babri Masjid. In 1822, Hafizullah, an official of Faizabad law court, recorded that “the mosque founded by Emperor Babar is situated at the birthplace of Rama”. In 1858, local Nihangs started puja at the site. The Muttawalis or managers of waqf properties joined issue with the Nihangs and there was a lot of friction. The same year, Muttawalis complained their share of 50% levy from Hindu pilgrims had come down to 30% and the case went into litigation. From 1949 till date, no namaaz has been offered. In 1949, the Sunni Waqf Board admitted it was difficult to offer namaaz and decided to do it once a week. ASI excavations mention evidence of a religious place that goes back to the second millennium BCE. Sadly, it has not been used as evidence in court documents.

—Meenakshi Jain, political scientist and historian