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Ayodhya the contested place of memory, history, identity, violence

Ayodhya the contested place of memory, history, identity, violence. April 14, 2009. Ruins sites of imagination, memory, nostalgia. Industrial ruins: Badlands of modernity, heterotopias. Philadelphia Eastern State Penitentiary “Suspended Ruin”. Hiroshima: Sites of trauma/Ground Zero

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Ayodhya the contested place of memory, history, identity, violence

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  1. Ayodhya the contested place of memory, history, identity, violence April 14, 2009

  2. Ruins sites of imagination, memory, nostalgia

  3. Industrial ruins: Badlands of modernity, heterotopias Philadelphia Eastern State Penitentiary “Suspended Ruin” Hiroshima: Sites of trauma/Ground Zero Monumentalized ruins as sites of commemoration Pompeii: curated ruins

  4. MOVE: Police bombing of a West Philadelphia neighborhood, May 13, 1985 Destruction of Bamiyan Buddhas, Afghanistan March 2001 Performative violence and the inscription of traumatic memory “Only that which does not cease to hurt remains in memory” Neitzsche

  5. Ayodhya, India December 6, 1992 Destruction of the 16th century Babur mosque

  6. Ayodhya debate : today’s arguments • Places of memory are multi-layered. Especially speaking of sacred/holy sites, which often have complex and layered histories, frequently feature hybrid materialities, hybrid histories. As the locus of the sacred and the site of continued cult activity, sacred places are appropriated by new religious traditions. 2. Places of memory are political and politically contested. Often become theaters of secterian violence. 3. Archaeology is deeply political, by definition, as a discipline that explores the material history of places. Its claims to “scientific objectivity” and expertise to provide “historical facts” can be hugely dangerous in justifying violence.

  7. Palipsest of cult practice Doliche (Dülük) in South East Turkey

  8. From Doluga, to Jupiter Dolichenus to Dülük Baba...

  9. Ankara Roman Temple of Augustus, Church and Haci Bayram Veli Shrine and Mosque

  10. Ayodhya Eye of the Storm

  11. Ayodhya, India December 6, 1992 Memory, identity, place Violence, performance of violence Contested site of religious practice Deep history of place Archaeologist’s political role

  12. Ayodhya

  13. Archaeology and the spatialization of history, justification of iconoclastic violence

  14. “In the province of Fergana, in the year 1494, when I was twelve year old, I became king.” Babur, Mughal Emperor (1483-1531) Miniature Scene from Baburname

  15. Masjid-i Janmasthan (Babri masjid) ("mosque of the birthplace"). Interior view

  16. Ayodhya is a pilgrimage site for Hindus and Muslims: many devotees came during the annual Ram festival to drink from the water well in the Babri Mosque Courtyard. It was believed drinking water from this well could cure a range of illnesses. Local women regularly brought their new born babies to drink from the reputedly curative water. Babri Mosque arcade

  17. spolia a creative memory practice: a specific form of engagement with the past and the landscapes of memory

  18. Ayodhya Chronology 1528: Babri Mosque built on the Ayodhya Janmabhumi site. Hindus believe at the site of Ramjanmabhumi mandir (temple commemorating the place of rama’s birth). 1853-1855: First recorded religious violence in Ayodhya. Six years later, British officials fence off the inner court of the mosque for use by Muslims, allowing Hindus access to the outer court. Takeover of Hanumangarhi temple by Muslims. Colonial government splits the site. 1949: Shortly after independence from Britain, the site is ritually cleaned as a Hindu temple. Continuing wrangling prompts Indian Government to close the site and proclaim it a disputed area. December 22-23 surreptitious installation of an idol of infant Rama, interpreted as a miracle. 1969-70 Archaeological excavations by Roy – small stratigraphic soundings mid-1970s Archaeological excavations by B.B. Lal 1984: Hindus form a committee to "liberate" what they say is the birthplace of Lord Rama, spearheaded by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad party (VHP). 1986: February- Indian Government opens the sacred site for Hindu worship, giving in to Hindu demands. The VHP places a symbolic pillar on the site for a proposed new temple. 1986 - 89: Tensions rise over the future of the site. Muslims set up the Babri Mosque Action Committee. High level negotiations fail to resolve the issue. 1992: Mosque torn down by supporters of the VHP, the Shiv Sena party and the BJP party, which came to power in Uttar Pradesh state a year earlier. More than 2,000 people killed in nationwide religious rioting.

  19. December 6, 1992 Ayodhya

  20. Ayodhya Chronology 2 1994: Land comprising site is taken over by the Indian Government. 4-12 December 1994 World Archaeological Congress in New Delhi. 2001: Tensions rise on the anniversary of the demolition of the mosque. VHP pledges again to build Hindu temple at the site. Feb 2002: VHP confirms deadline of 15 March to begin construction. Hundreds of volunteers converge on site. Muslims torch a train, killing 55 Hindu activists returning from Ayodhya. In retaliation, Hindus rampage through Ahmedabad, killing Muslims and destroying homes and businesses. Over 2 000 are dead, and the military has to be sent in to quell the violence. April 2002: UK report suggests riots were partly organized as ethnic cleansing by the state. Then… spring 2003…. archaeologists involved once more….

  21. Archaeology and the discourse on “scientiific objectivity” Asked whether his alled finding of the remains of a “columned temple” indicated that a Hindu templemarking Rama’s birthplace existed under the Babri Mosque, he is quoted saying: “I am not saying so. But my spade is.” (Bernbeck and Pollock 1996: 139)

  22. Ayodhya debate : today’s arguments • Places of memory are multi-layered. Especially speaking of sacred/holy sites, which often have complex and layered histories, frequently feature hybrid materialities, hybrid histories. As the locus of the sacred and the site of continued cult activity, sacred places are appropriated by new religious traditions. 2. Places of memory are political and politically contested. Often become theaters of secterian violence. 3. Archaeology is deeply political, by definition, as a discipline that explores the material history of places. Its claims to “scientific objectivity” and expertise to provide “historical facts” can be hugely dangerous in justifying violence.

  23. Shia Shrines of Kerbela, Iraq: site of conflict and secterian violence

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