Indian court to rule on Hindu-Muslim dispute over Babri mosque very soon

India's Supreme Court is due to rule on Saturday on the ownership of a centuries-old religious site claimed by both majority Hindus and Muslims, a dispute that has cast a shadow of suspicion over the two communities for decades.

Thousands of paramilitary force members and police have been deployed in the northern town of Ayodhya, where an ancient mosque was razed in 1992 by hardline Hindus who believe the site is the birthplace of Lord Ram, a physical incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu.

The destruction of the mosque triggered religious riots in which about 2,000 people, most of them Muslims, were killed across the country and led to a series of court battles with various groups staking claim to the site.

A final verdict will be delivered by a five-judge bench headed by the Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, the court said late on Friday.

The verdict will decide the ownership of a plot of land of just 2.77 acres (1.1 hectares) that has been heavily protected since the 1992 clashes.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist party has long campaigned on a promise to support the construction of a Hindu temple on the site of the razed mosque.

"It may seem to be just a piece of land but for us, it is a pious place where our God was born," said a senior Hindu leader affiliated with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party.

"We hope the court rules in favour of the Hindus," said the leader, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Whichever way it goes, the court decision is likely to have a significant impact on fraught relations between India's Hindus and Muslims, who constitute 14% of its 1.3 billion people.

The government has stepped up security not just in Ayodhya but in other communally sensitive areas and rapid action forces have been put on a high alert.

For more than seven decades, right-wing Hindu campaigners have been pushing to build a temple on the site, which they believe was holy for Hindus, long before the Muslim Mughals, India's most prominent Islamic rulers, built what they called the Babri mosque there.

A verdict in favour of building a Ram Temple at Ayodhya would be seen as a political victory for Modi, who won a second term in a landslide general election win this year.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh - the parent organization of Modi's party - has decided against celebratory processions if the verdict goes in favour of the Hindus, to avoid provoking sectarian violence.

Muslim organizations have appealed for calm to prevent communal flare-ups.

Significance Of The Site

Millions of Hindus believe the mosque in the northern town of Ayodhya was built at the birthplace of Lord Ram, one of their most revered deities who is considered a physical incarnation of the Hindu God Vishnu.

Hindus say the site is one of their most sacred places - as sacred as Mecca is for Muslims.

Muslims say Islamic prayers have been offered at the site since 1528, when the Babri Mosque was first built during the rule of the Islamic Mughals.

The Arguments

The Muslim parties, through the Sunni Waqf Board, argued that their possession of the land is evident from the fact that they received grants for maintenance of the mosque dating back to 1528.

Hindus say the mosque was built on a site that was already holy for Hindus. Lawyers representing Ram Lalla submitted archaeological evidence that they said proved the site has long held religious sanctity for Hindus.

Muslim groups say government officials connived with Hindu priests to secretly place an idol of an infant Lord Ram inside the mosque complex in 1949.

Why Is It Important?

Supreme Court's ruling is likely to have a significant impact on the fraught relations between India's majority Hindus and Muslims, who constitute 14% of its roughly 1.3 billion people.

Construction of a "grand temple" in Ayodhya has long been an election promise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which secured a second term with a landslide general election victory this year.

The BJP had mobilized tens of thousands of people in Ayodhya in 1992 when fiery speeches inflamed the crows and led to a Hindu mob to tearing down the mosque.

The destruction of the mosque sparked some of the deadliest communal riots in independent India's history that led to the deaths of nearly 2,000 people and deepened communal divisions.