Ayodhya verdict: Travelogues, 'loose fragments of history' considered by SC

The judgement in the vexatious Ayodhya case refers to travelogues by several persons who had visited India from the 17th-19th century, with the Supreme Court saying it has to make a balanced analysis of "loose fragments of forgotten history" related to the site.

"Travelogues and gazetteers contain loose fragments of forgotten history. The evidentiary value to be ascribed to their contents necessarily depends upon the context and is subject to a careful evaluation of their contents," a five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said.

"Our analysis has included in the balance, the need for circumspection, as we read in the accounts of travellers and gazetteers a colonial perspective on the contest at the disputed site," the bench said.

The judgement refers to travelogues by Joseph Tiefenthaler, Robert Montgomery Martin, P Carnegy, Edward Thornton and William Finch among others, which were considered as exhibits in arriving at a conclusion in the case.

As per the travelogues of authors and geographers, the top court said, the oral and documentary evidence showed that devotees of Lord Ram hold a genuine, long-standing and profound belief in the religious merit attained by offering prayer at the site they believe to be the birthplace of the deity.

"We are looking into historical events knit around legends, stories, traditions and accounts written in a social and cultural context different from our own. There are dangers in interpreting history without the aid of historiography," the bench said.

"Application of legal principles to make deductions and inferences out of historical context is a perilous exercise. One must exercise caution before embarking on the inclination of a legally trained mind to draw negative inferences from the silences of history. Silences are sometimes best left to where they belong -- the universe of silence," the bench observed.

One of the several authors whose work was taken into account was Joseph Tiefenthaler, a Jesuit missionary who has mentioned in his book 'Description Historiqueet Geographique Delinde' about his travels to Ayodhya after 1740, a little over three decades after the death of Mughal ruler Aurangzeb.

Tieffenthaler refers to the alleged demolition of the temple and the building of a mosque on the site, which the Hindus believe to be the birth place of Lord Ram.

He specifically refers to Hindu places of worship, including 'Sita rasoi', 'swargdwar' and the 'bedi' or cradle symbolising the birth of Lord Ram and also mentions religious festivals during which Hindu devotees would throng for worship.

The account notes that in spite of the alleged demolition of the structure on which the Babri mosque was built, there still exists some superstitious cult in some place or other that continues to worship at the site.

The bench was also presented with 'History, Antiquities, Topography and Statistics of Eastern India' written by Robert Montgomery Martin, an Anglo-Irish author who has referred in his travel accounts to the destruction of temples and building of mosques.

"Martin has also adverted to the presence of pillars in the mosque made up of black stone," the court said. "The account narrates that these have been taken from a Hindu building which he infers from the traces of the images observable on some of the pillars."