Ayodhya Temple - The Divided Temple of India

 

Riddles of the Dead

Ayodhya Temple

"May righteousness and truth win over falsehood."

Lord Rama

Archeologists are caught in the crosshairs of a raging dispute as they dig to find out whether a temple commemorating the birthplace of one of the most important Hindu deities, Lord Rama, is buried under the destroyed Babri Mosque in India.  We'll find out why more than 2,000 people were killed in fighting that erupted over this question and why some believe the work of the archeologists could trigger a regional conflict.

What should be a purely academic question has become a matter of urgent national and international security with deadly implications.  The answer to this raging dispute centers on a team of archaeologists from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).  We'll enter into the eye of this storm as we follow the investigation's leader, the noted archeologist and Hindi expert, R. S. Bisht, who's under a court order to solve the riddle of the mysterious Ayodhya Temple.

We'll be there as Bisht and his 14 member team, use the results of a combination of futuristic Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), radiocarbon dating and old fashioned detective work to unlock the secrets of the most controversial relics in India.  Each spade of dirt is a political and cultural landmine.  Bisht and his team are working at the site that sparked India's bloodiest Hindu-Muslim clashes since independence.

To understand this incendiary situation it's necessary to review the beliefs of the two opposing religious groups and the history of the temple site.  Many Hindus believe that in the 16th century Muslim invaders, led by Mughal emperor Babar, came to Ayodhya and razed a temple in order to build a mosque on the spot where the Hindu god-king, Lord Rama was born.

The desire to liberate the birthplace of Lord Rama, and build a new temple in his honor, festered and grew.  It finally erupted when the Babri mosque was destroyed in 1992 by a frenzied Hindu mob, using sledgehammers, crowbars and their bare hands.  This action triggered a nationwide torrent of religious violence between Muslims and Hindus resulting in more than 2000 people being killed. 

Tensions continued to rise as Hindu and Muslim factions jockeyed for the right to rebuild at the site.  Once again, violence erupted.  In February of 2002, a train of Hindu activists returning from Ayodhya was attacked and burned killing 55 people.

The government has decided that only an archeological investigation of the site will resolve the deadly dispute.

We'll see how high tech Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) was first used to solve the "Riddle."  The government brought in a Canadian team of GPR experts led by Claude Robillard.  He'll show us how he supervised the investigation and why he believes that the radar revealed hidden anomalies that could be ancient pillars, foundations, slab flooring and walls.  No one knows what those buried structures are exactly but it's clear that beneath the spot where the Babri Mosque stood lies something more than dirt and rocks.  To confirm the exact nature of the results an archaeological dig has been commissioned.  Once the dig is underway we'll follow the materials that are discovered during the excavation as they are sent out for carbon dating by Lucknow-based Birbalsahni Institute of Paleaobotany.

No matter what the answer, the concern is that different factions will continue to lay claim to site.  Experts worry that violent clashes and a reshaping of the balance of power in this highly volatile region could be a result.  We'll see how a parallel archeological dig is trying to contain the battle of nerves by excavating the first mosque built by the emperor who erected the mosque at Ayodhya.  This renovated mosque will be open to the public and it's hoped that it will offer solace to those who are anguished over the demolition of the Babri mosque at Ayodhya in 1992.

Our film will bring this important story to life for those curiously passionate about the world around them.  We hope to spread understanding around the world as we take viewers behind the scenes with the scientists, historians, journalists and others who are working to unravel this mystery.

In order to take the audience in for an "up close" we'll begin by focusing on the climate that the ASI team is working in.  We'll see what it's like for them on a daily basis to be thrust into the center of a raging storm.  As they go about their work we'll see footage of  the work of other archeologists who've conducted excavations at this site.  This material will be woven in to the current dig once we've gained official access to the site.  In addition to the footage of past and current digs we will shoot some re-creations of the dig and the discoveries.  We will also shoot footage of similar digs that are going on nearby.  The archeological material will be woven together with archival news footage that will allow us to reconstruct the social and political maelstrom surrounding this story. 

We will show why Hindus and Muslims all over the world have been willing to kill and die over the question of what's buried under the remains of the mosque.  We'll see why the rest of the world should be watching to see how the Riddles of the Dead are solved at the Ayodhya Temple.