The Ayodhyā Twist: A Hypothesis Modifying the New Consensus about its History

Abstract

Most overviews of the decades-old and just-concluded Rāma Janmabhūmi affair grossly neglect the decisive role of the historical evidence. We survey it here, and add an element that most historians have overlooked: while the role of the theology of iconoclasm has been correctly identified, the chronology on which most agree, is less certain,-- yet the bottom-line remains the same: a temple marking Rāma's birthplace was indeed removed and forcibly replaced with a mosque.