Ram's birthplace Ayodhya is in Pakistan, says book

Hyderabad, May 8:  Ayodhya, the birthplace of Hindu warrior-god Ram, is in Pakistan, claims a book by a top Muslim leader. Ayodhya in Faizabad district of Uttar Pradesh is not the origil city by the same me as it was inhabited by human beings only in 7th century BC while Rama is believed to have been born 18 million years ago, says “Facts of Ayodhya Episode” authored by Abdul Rahim Quraishi, assistant general secretary of the All India Muslim Persol Law Board (AIMPLB). Quoting research papers of Jassu Ram and other archaeologists of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the book reveals that there were two Ayodhyas - one which was built by King Raghu, great grandfather of Ram, and the second built by Ram himself.

“Jassu Ram in ‘Ancient Geography of the Ramaya’ says that both Ayodhyas are in Dera Ismail Khan district of Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa),” says Quraishi, also president of Majlis Tameer-e-Millat, a socio-religious organization. Quraishi, a key figure in the committee constituted by the AIMPLB to fight the Babri Masjid case, said Ayodhya in Faizabad district was known as Saket in 7th century BC. In all probability, Hindus in 11th century CE gave the me of Ayodhya to the town. They also gave mes connected with Ram Katha to various areas of the town. The writer says that if the present Ayodhya was the birthplace of Ram, it would have been mentioned in Ramaya of Tulsidas, who penned the epic in 1574 CE in Ayodhya. Tulsidas wrote Ramaya during the time of Mughal emperor Akbar, the grandson of Babar. “If Babri Masjid was constructed by demolishing a temple, he would have mentioned this,” Quraishi told IANS. He believes all these evidences may be produced during the hearing of the case in the Supreme Court, where the AIMPLB has challenged the 2010 verdict of the Allahbad High Court on the Babri Masjid title suit.  (IANS)