In Pictures: Ayodhya after the Supreme Court verdict

SUMMARY

Ayodhya has been a political tinderbox since Indian independence. The Supreme Court recently awarded the disputed site in Uttar Pradesh to Hindus, allowing them to build a temple there. Though a revered place for Hindus, tourism is Ayodhys is modest compared to in Varanasi or Mathura. Today, Ayodhya is a place where people from the villages mostly around Uttar Pradesh come to have a ‘darshan’ and take a holy dip in the river Sarayu. Here is a collection of images from Ayodhya.

By Shome Basu Dec 6, 2019 8:22:29 PM IST (Published)

Pilgrims take a stroll at the Sarayu river. Last month, the Supreme Court paved the way for the construction of a Ram Temple by a Trust at the disputed site at Ayodhya. (Photo credit: Shome Basu)

Seen here is bylanes of Ayodhya dotted with old structures as Supreme Court last month directed the Centre to allot an alternative 5-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a new mosque at a "prominent" place in the holy town in Uttar Pradesh. (Photo credit: Shome Basu)

Banks of the Sarayu river. The apex court in a unanimous 5-0 verdict ruled that the 2.77 acres of disputed land where the demolished Babri Masjid once stood will remain with a Central government receiver and be handed over to a Trust within three months for the construction of the temple. (Photo credit: Shome Basu)

Seen here is the temple of Hanuman in Ayodhya. The disputed site in Ayodhya was occupied by the 16th-century Babri mosque which was destroyed by Hindu kar sevaks on December 6, 1992. The demolition had triggered communal riots. (Photo credit: Shome Basu)

Pilgrims take a holy dip in the Sarayu river. The verdict in the politically-sensitive Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case, one of the most important and most anticipated judgements in India's history, runs into 1,045-page pages. (Photo credit: Shome Basu)

Workers cleaning the banks of Sarayu river in Ayodhya. The verdict was pronounced on 14 appeals filed in the apex court against the 2010 Allahabad High Court judgment, delivered in four civil suits, that the 2.77-acre land in Ayodhya be partitioned equally among the three parties -- the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and 'Ram Lalla'. (Photo credit: Shome Basu)

Vendors selling Ramayana, Mahabharata and other Hindu religious books at Ayodhya. The court said the extensive nature of Hindus worshipping at the outer courtyard at the disputed site has been there, and the evidence suggests the Muslims offered Friday prayers at the mosque which indicates that they had not lost possession of the site. (Photo credit: Shome Basu)

The demolished Babri Masjid site at Ayodhya. Directing allotment of alternative land to Muslims to build a new mosque, the court said the Hindus have established their case that they were in possession of outer courtyard and the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board has failed to establish its case. (Photo credit: Shome Basu)

Pilgrims walk through the streets of Ayodhya. As chief justice Gogoi read out the operative part of the verdict for 45 minutes, people belonging to both Hindu and Muslim communities in Ayodhya sat glued before Television sets, while the tech-savvy youth kept a tab on their mobiles phones. (Photo credit: Shome Basu)

Shown here are sculpted stone carvings that are expected to be used for building the Ram temple at Ayodhya. (Photo credit: Shome Basu)