Former CJI Chandrachud’s Remarks Reignite Temple-Babri Masjid Debate
Swami Vivekananda had said, “The Jagannath temple is an ancient Buddhist temple. We have turned this and other Buddhist temples into Hindu temples.” Yet today, no one speaks of converting Puri’s Jagannath temple back into a Buddhist temple. None of us would support such an act today. However, former Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud went on to support the construction of the Ram Temple after the destruction of the Babri Masjid.
Contrary to the 2019 Supreme Court Ayodhya verdict, former Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud sparked a new controversy in an interview with Newslaundry by stating that “the construction of the Babri Masjid in the sixteenth century was fundamentally an act of desecration.”
Justice (retired) Chandrachud was part of the five-judge bench led by then Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi that gave the green light for the construction of the Ram Temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya in November 2019.
Although in the judgment, the bench emphasized that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) noted in its report evidence of multi-layered construction, deconstruction, and reconstruction activities spanning centuries beneath the mosque, the ASI possessed no evidence that anything had been demolished to build the Babri Masjid.
Nevertheless, in an interview with Sreenivasan Jain published by Newslaundry on September 24, Chandrachud stated that the Babri Masjid was built by demolishing a temple and that this was a “fundamentally desecrating” act.
Justice (retired) Chandrachud essentially made two points in his statement: (first) he believes that the Babri Masjid was built by demolishing a Hindu temple; (second) demolishing a place of worship (in this case, a Hindu temple) to build another religious structure there (in this case, a mosque) is an unethical, unjust, or desecrating act.
ASI Report
The ASI report stated that the C14 carbon dating results of charcoal samples from the preliminary levels (Phases I to III) reveal that human activity in the area began in the final centuries of the second millennium BCE.
The ASI report listed a total of nine eras —
(i) Period – I: Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW) Culture – Mauryan Era
This phase falls between the 6th and 3rd centuries BCE. It was during this time that humans first began inhabiting the site.
No significant architectural activity was observed at this level, though reed impressions were found on burnt clay, indicating ancient construction.
The objects recovered during the excavation include:
Broken weighing stones, fragments of sacred tanks, earrings, game discs, wheeled discs, broken terracotta animal figurines, broken iron knives, glass beads, bone needles, etc. However, the most significant discovery is:
A circular bezel made of greenish glass, featuring the word “Siddhe” deeply carved in Ashokan Brahmi script on one side, while the other side is smooth.
(Mauryan Emperor Ashoka and his descendants were the primary patrons of Buddhism. Emperor Ashoka propagated Buddhism both within the country and abroad. It can be inferred that a Buddhist monastery was built here during this period.)
(ii) Period – II: Shunga Era
This layer dates back to approximately the 2nd to 1st century BCE.
Evidence of stone and brick architectural construction was found for the first time during this period.
The ASI report stated:
It was in this phase that stone and brick construction took place at this site for the first time. Among the objects found at this level are terracotta human and animal figurines, bangle fragments, balls, wheels, a stone saddle quern with a broken seal bearing only the Brahmi letter “Shri,” parts of lids, glass beads, bone hairpins and styluses, and ivory dice.
(Pushyamitra Shunga, the Brahmin commander-in-chief, assassinated the last Mauryan emperor Brihadratha, usurped the throne, and established the Shunga dynasty. Various texts describe Pushyamitra as an anti-Buddhist ruler. Upon seizing power, he first destroyed the Kukkutarama Buddhist monastery and killed the monks. Pushyamitra destroyed nearly five hundred Buddhist monasteries and killed numerous monks along the Kashmir border. According to John Marshall, the Sanchi Stupa was destroyed during the reign of Pushyamitra Shunga and was rebuilt during the reign of the subsequent emperor, Agnimitra. The 15th-century Tibetan Lama Taranatha described in his text that when the Brahmin king Pushyamitra destroyed Buddhist monasteries and killed many Buddhist scholars across a vast region extending from the Madhyadesha to Jalandhar, Buddhism was driven to the brink of extinction throughout Northern India. Repealing the edicts of Emperor Ashoka the Great, the Manu Smriti was composed. It is highly probable that the Buddhist monastery in Ayodhya, which had existed since the Mauryan era, was also destroyed by Pushyamitra during this time.)
(iii) Period – III: Kushan Era
This phase belongs to the 1st to 3rd centuries CE and has yielded a large number of pottery and other artifacts, such as terracotta animal and human figurines, bangle fragments, pieces of sacred tanks, bone hairpins, glass beads, and copper antimony rods.
(The famous Kushan Emperor Kanishka ruled for 56 years and was a patron of Buddhism. Portraits of Gautama Buddha have been found on Kanishka’s gold coins. During this era, large-scale structures began to be constructed at the site in question—which are presumed to have been built for public use.)
(iv) Period – IV: Gupta Era
This phase extends from the 4th to the 6th century CE. Evidence from this period includes terracotta figurines and a copper coin.
The report states:
This layer belongs to the Gupta Era. Terracotta figurines from that era and a copper coin were found in this level—on one side of the coin is the image of a royal figure, while on the other side is a Garuda emblem at the top and “Shri Chandra (Gupta)” written in Brahmi script at the bottom. No evidence of large-scale structures from this era was found here.
(This era marked the rise of Brahmanical religion. The writing of the Puranas began during this period. Losing state patronage, Buddhism was sidelined and pushed to the margins.)
(v) Period – V: Post-Gupta / Rajput Era
This phase extends from the 7th to the 10th century CE. Excavations revealed a small circular temple or subsidiary shrine dating to this period.
(In history, this era is marked by extreme conflict between Brahmanical religion and Buddhism. Shankaracharya belonged to this era. During this time, thousands of Buddhist monasteries across India were destroyed and converted into Hindu temples. Hundreds of thousands of Buddhist monks were killed. It is in this era that evidence of a temple being constructed at the disputed site is found for the first time.)
(vi) Period – VI: Early Medieval – Sultanate Period
This layer dates back to the 11th–12th century CE.
What was found in the excavation:
A thick floor made of crushed bricks (surkhi) was discovered, which was connected to a massive north–south wall. This was the primary construction of that era.
(vii) Period – VII: Medieval – Sultanate Period
This phase lasted from the late 12th century to the early 16th century CE.
During this period, a massive north–south-facing structure nearly 50 meters long was constructed, but it was not long-lasting. Over it, a large-scale edifice with three construction phases and three floor levels was built, in which carved pillars and decorations from the previous structure were reused. This was a massive pillared hall constructed for public use, which endured from the 12th to the 16th century.
(viii) Period – VIII: Mughal Era
The report states:
It was during this era that the Babri Masjid was constructed.
The north–south wall of Period VII (Sultanate period) was retained as the foundation for the back wall. Inside and in front of the foundation, compacted soil was laid, over which a layer mixed with grey gravel and ash was placed, containing burnt river shells. The thickness of this layer is 20–25 cm, which served as the structural base (soling) beneath the floor of the first tier of the Mughal period.
(ix) Period – IX: Post-Mughal Era
In this era, some renovation work was carried out on the mosque, and a boundary wall was constructed around it. Some bodies were buried on the north and south sides of the mosque.
Summary
Over a period of more than 2000 years, various religious structures were repeatedly constructed, deconstructed, and reconstructed on the exact same site. The Buddhists were the very first to build a monastery here. This monastery was destroyed and rebuilt several times. In the Post-Gupta / Rajput era, the Buddhist monastery was completely destroyed, and a small Hindu temple was constructed over it.
During the medieval period, under the rule of Muslim Sultans, a large-scale three-story structure was built here, in which the carved pillars and decorations of the previous structure were reused. A massive pillared hall constructed for public use was found at this location. During the Sultanate period, Indo-Islamic architecture flourished, showcasing a blend of Hindu ornamentation and Islamic style. Along with geometric patterns, floral and foliate motifs, and Quranic inscriptions, Hindu symbols such as the swastika, lotus flower, and bell were used in the ornamentation. An example of this fusion is the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque built by Qutb al-Din Aibak. Evidence of the Sultanate-era structure found at this site also exhibits this type of Islamic ornamentation alongside Hindu symbols.
The Babri Masjid was constructed during the Mughal era directly upon the foundation of this structure built in the Sultanate period. No evidence was found that the Babri Masjid was built by destroying a Hindu temple. The Babri Masjid was built over the structure created during the Sultanate period.
Therefore, the opinion of former Chief Justice Chandrachud—that the Babri Masjid was built by destroying a Hindu temple—is incorrect and biased, and we reject this view.
Chandrachud also stated that destroying a religious structure to perform the rituals of another religion there is an unholy act—we agree with this 100%.
Chandrachud speaks of building the Babri Masjid by destroying a Hindu temple, yet there is no definitive proof of that. On the other hand, the unholy practice of performing Hindu worship over the religious structures of other faiths across India is still ongoing, backed by both historical and contemporary evidence—yet we find no statement from former Chief Justice Chandrachud regarding this matter.
As an example, one can cite the famous temple of Puri. According to historians, the Jagannath Temple of Puri was originally a Buddhist temple that was taken over by the Hindus. Swami Vivekananda himself stated the same thing. In the fifth volume of the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, he said, “The temple of Jagannath is an ancient Buddhist temple. We took this and others over and Hinduised them.”
In the book Kalingar Deb Deul written by the Bengali writer and researcher Narayan Sanyal, it is stated: “The Shiva lingam of the Bhaskareswar Temple is actually an Ashokan pillar—there was also a Buddhist stupa there. Presumably during the Bhauma period, Shaivites converted it into a Shiva temple. They turned the Ashokan pillar into a Shiva lingam—and buried the lion head from the top of the pillar.”
In the book Brihattar Tamraliptar Itihas, written by Yudhishthir Jana, a son of the soil of Tamluk, it is stated: “Bargabhima Temple was formerly a Buddhist temple, which was converted into a Kali temple by the Brahmins. The Brahmins installed the idol of Kali inside that temple with great ceremony.”
Additionally, in our West Bengal, there are many other Buddhist and Jain temples that have been converted into Vishnu and Shiva temples. Idols of Jain deities were broken to create Shiva lingams. Historians have confirmed that the stone Vishnu and Shiva temples seen along the banks of the Kangsabati River in Purulia district were actually Jain temples.
Even so, no one among us today would support re-converting the Jagannath Temple of Puri into a Buddhist temple, or returning the Bargabhima Temple of Tamluk to the Buddhists, or handing back the Jain temples of Purulia to the Jains. This is because doing so would only deepen problems and division rather than lessen them. No matter how hard we try, we cannot go back to the past.
The past is not above criticism, but there is nothing to be gained by blaming it. We can learn lessons from history, or we can distort history and throw the new generation into the dustbin of ignorance, but we cannot change history. That is precisely what the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is trying to do today, and people like Chandrachud are strengthening their hands—which is a misfortune for the people of India.
বাংলা এবং বাঙালির জন্য লড়াইকে এগিয়ে নিয়ে যেতে আমাদের সাহায্য করুন।
আমরা কোনো কোটিপতি বা বড় কোনো কোম্পানি নই – আমাদের পাঠকরাই আমাদের সমর্থন করেন। আমাদের এই গুরুত্বপূর্ণ এবং সাহসী প্রচেষ্টার জন্য অনুদান দিয়ে আমাদের পাশে থাকুন।
We are not billionaires or big companies – our readers support us. Support us by donating to this important and courageous effort.