Now, Buddhists go to court over Ayodhya

The petition, with the help of observations made by ancient travellers and archaeologists, has attempted to prove that the disputed site actually belongs to Buddhists.

‘‘We are hopeful that the petition will not only be accepted but a favourable decision will also be to our side,’’ claimed Udit Raj, chairman of the Lord Buddha Club. He also claimed that an agitation would be the only course left if the Buddhists were denied permission for the same.

Udit Raj claimed that fifth century Chinese travellers Fa-Hien and Hiuen Tsang, in their travel accounts, had mentioned Ayodhya as the place where the Budh Vihar was.

Budh Vihar is where Lord Buddha is believed to have spent 16 monsoons. He also claimed that noted poet Tulsidas had not mentioned anything indicating that a temple in Ayodhya had been converted into a mosque.

‘‘Tulsidas wrote the Ramcharitmanas 50 years after Mughal emperor Babar came to India but he has never spoken about a temple being demolished for construction of a mosque at the disputed site,’’ he claimed.

He said that well-known archaeologist Alexander Cunningham had excavated the disputed site in 1862-63 and stated that the place had always remained in possession of Buddhists.

Udit Raj also claimed a five-feet pillar with a lotus inscribed on it recovered during the excavations in Ayodhya was part of Buddhist culture. ‘‘We felt the need to lay claim on the site following the high court’s order for excavations at the site. There should be claimants when the excavation process will point that many artifacts which were part of Buddhist culture have been found during the digging,’’ he said.