Ram Janmabhoomi
| राम जन्मभूमि | |
 Ram Janmabhoomi
Ram Janmabhoomi (Uttar Pradesh)
The location of the disputed site
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| Location | Ayodhya |
|---|---|
| Region | Uttar Pradesh |
| Coordinates | 26°47′44″N 82°11′39″E / 26.7956°N 82.1943°ECoordinates: 26°47′44″N 82°11′39″E / 26.7956°N 82.1943°E |
| Site notes | |
| Ownership | Disputed |
Ram Janmabhoomi (literally, "Rama's birthplace") is the name given to the site that many Hindus believe to be the birthplace of Rama, the 7th avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu.
The Ramayana states that the location of Rama's birthplace is on the banks of the Sarayu river in the city of Ayodhya. A section of Hindus claim that the exact site of Rama's birthplace is where the Babri Masjid once stood in the present-day Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. According to this theory, the Mughals demolished a Hindu shrine that marked the spot, and constructed a mosque in its place. People opposed to this theory state that such claims arose only in the 18th century, and that there is no evidence for the spot being the birthplace of Rama.
The political, historical and socio-religious debate over the history and location of the Babri Mosque, and whether a previous temple was demolished or modified to create it, is known as the Ayodhya dispute.
In 1992, the demolition of Babri Masjid by Hindu nationalists triggered widespread Hindu-Muslim violence. Since then, the archaeological excavations have indicated the presence of a temple beneath the mosque rubble, but whether the structure was a Rama shrine (or a temple at all) remains disputed.
Several other sites, including places in other parts of India, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nepal, have been proposed as birthplaces of Rama.
The Ramayana, a Hindu epic whose earliest portions date back to 1st millennium BCE, states that the capital of Rama was Ayodhya. A section of Hindus claim that the site of the now-demolished Babri Mosque in Ayodhya is the exact birthplace of Rama. The mosque was constructed during 1528-29 by Mir Baqi, a commander of the Mughal emperor Babur.
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