People wave a flag that reads 'Glory to lord Rama' as they celebrate the verdict outside the Supreme Court in New Delhi, India. Photo / AP
People wave a flag that reads 'Glory to lord Rama' as they celebrate the verdict outside the Supreme Court in New Delhi, India. Photo / AP
India's Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the land at the center of the country's most contentious religious dispute would pass to a trust, paving the way for the construction of a Hindu temple at a site where a mosque once stood.
The site in the town of Ayodhya must passto the trust within three months, the judges said. A Muslim group will receive land at an alternate location for a potential mosque.
The verdict in the decades-old dispute is a major victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who won reelection in a landslide in May. The building of a temple to the Hindu god Ram is a long-held objective of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
In 1992, Hindu extremists tore down a 16th-century mosque in Ayodhya to make way for the temple, an act that set off deadly communal riots across the country. Hindu nationalist groups believe the mosque was built at the site of Ram's birthplace where a Hindu temple once stood.
Ahead of Saturday's verdict, authorities beefed up security precautions across the country. In India's largest state, Uttar Pradesh, schools were shut in anticipation of possible unrest. Restrictions on public gatherings were implemented in Delhi and Mumbai, India's two largest cities, according to local news reports.
Modi appealed for calm the night before the verdict. "We must maintain harmony together," he wrote on Twitter. "Whatever decision on Ayodhya comes from the Supreme Court, it will not be anyone's defeat or victory."
Outside the Supreme Court on Saturday, shouts of "Jai Shri Ram!" — victory to Lord Ram — and "We will build a temple there!" broke out after the verdict was announced. Some blew conch shells, a traditional Hindu signal of triumph.
