What do you think?
Rate this book
The Battle for Rama: Case of the Temple at Ayodhya
In her new book, 'The Battle for Rama: Case of the Temple at Ayodhya', Prof. Jain gives a contents-wise overview of the controversy. It hardly touches upon the street riots and political campaigns but focuses on the documentary and archaeological evidence and the scholarly debate about these. The book carries plenty of photographs of the artefacts found at the site. With only 160 pages and a pleasant layout, it ought to reach the larger public and henceforth serve as the definitive guide to what the stake of the whole affair was.
160 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2017
About the author
Meenakshi Jain
36 books210 followersMeenakshi Jain is an associate professor of History at Gargi College, University of Delhi. She was Fellow, Nehru Memorial Museum & Library, Teen Murti. Her recent works include Parallel Pathways. Essays on Hindu-Muslim Relations (1707-1857). She is the co-author of The Rajah Moonje Pact. Documents on a Forgotten Chapter of Indian History.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 27, 2019
Great book on the case of Ram Temple. Everyone should read it and educate themselves. Book show lot of evidences and facts. Indeed Ram temple should be built on Ayodhya on that very spot. Dont fall into propaganda of leftist and so called "secular" people.
October 22, 2017
An excellently researched and dispassionately argued book which clearly establishes the legitimacy of the Hindu claim at the Ram Janmabhoomi site while categorically disabusing the half-baked theories of the Marxist historians of the JNU brigade. At a time when the hearings on this case are going to start soon in the apex court, this book is a must-read for anyone who wishes to understand the entire history of this dispute while taking a look at the historical, archaeological and other pieces of evidence.
October 9, 2020
A very elaborate compilation of case files as well as excavation on Ayodhya site. Those who are in pursuit of truth, shall be reading this and further works of Meenakshi Jain ji.
March 8, 2023
Meenakshi Jain wrote this book before the judgment of Ram Janmabhoomi. She provided lots of evidences.
April 13, 2018
Completely balanced, quoting primary sources and no interpolation of any kind. Gave the exact lead to the information I was looking for in this case. It is no wonder that the Allahabad High Court found no substance in the statements from the "Eminent" Historians supporting the BMAC. A fantastic historical account of the case.
August 2, 2020
Wow. Just wow. A must read for every indian.
February 13, 2024
The three stars for this book must be put in context.
In terms of readability, it’s a slog even for a book of mere 150 or so pages. Professor Jain is a historian, and it shows. The writing is so frigging dense, it might have been a research paper. The organisation of information is also haphazard and all over the place - we jump between time zones and topics without any sense of why did we just do that. It’s a shame that her editors made no efforts to make this book atleast somewhat more accessible. In addition to that , there is very little effort to call out the seeming contradictions in historical excerpts, inscriptions etc that are quoted . Surely an author’s job is to explain those, or atleast acknowledge them ? The book is one breathless exposition - one set of historical evidence after another, with very limited contextualisation. So 2/5 for that
In terms of being an effort to bring out the obvious omissions of history, and to set the truth upon this world , the book must be lauded. No stone has been left unturned in gathering all manner of evidence (archaeological, epigraphical , linguistic) - and it’s right there for the reader to go through. Yes there are some gaps which should have been better acknowledged and contextualised, but this is by and large a very clear case for the existence of a mandir at the site of the babri masjid. It was always kind of obvious, but this is a pretty rigorous establishment of a long held belief. A little less of the categorisation of the other side as being “leftist” or “pro babri” would have been nicer, but that’s the world we live in. All in all though, a pretty solid case for the existence of a mandir at the site before 1528, and why there should be one now. It is not a justification of the politics of the BJP, or an excuse for their nauseous triumphalism, or an excuse for daily crusade against muslims in India; but it is an exoneration of the belief that the janmabhoomi site belongs to Ram, and why there is a need for a Mandir at the site. So 4/5 for that
All in all - 3 out of 5!
In terms of readability, it’s a slog even for a book of mere 150 or so pages. Professor Jain is a historian, and it shows. The writing is so frigging dense, it might have been a research paper. The organisation of information is also haphazard and all over the place - we jump between time zones and topics without any sense of why did we just do that. It’s a shame that her editors made no efforts to make this book atleast somewhat more accessible. In addition to that , there is very little effort to call out the seeming contradictions in historical excerpts, inscriptions etc that are quoted . Surely an author’s job is to explain those, or atleast acknowledge them ? The book is one breathless exposition - one set of historical evidence after another, with very limited contextualisation. So 2/5 for that
In terms of being an effort to bring out the obvious omissions of history, and to set the truth upon this world , the book must be lauded. No stone has been left unturned in gathering all manner of evidence (archaeological, epigraphical , linguistic) - and it’s right there for the reader to go through. Yes there are some gaps which should have been better acknowledged and contextualised, but this is by and large a very clear case for the existence of a mandir at the site of the babri masjid. It was always kind of obvious, but this is a pretty rigorous establishment of a long held belief. A little less of the categorisation of the other side as being “leftist” or “pro babri” would have been nicer, but that’s the world we live in. All in all though, a pretty solid case for the existence of a mandir at the site before 1528, and why there should be one now. It is not a justification of the politics of the BJP, or an excuse for their nauseous triumphalism, or an excuse for daily crusade against muslims in India; but it is an exoneration of the belief that the janmabhoomi site belongs to Ram, and why there is a need for a Mandir at the site. So 4/5 for that
All in all - 3 out of 5!
December 29, 2025
This is not a casual read. The Battle for Rama is a deeply researched, evidence-driven book that examines the Ram Janmabhoomi issue through records, not rhetoric.
Meenakshi Jain brings together accounts of foreign travellers, British administrators, Muslim sources, archaeological findings, and court judgments to show that Ayodhya’s association with Ram Janmabhoomi was known long before the dispute became political. The ASI excavations, ancient references to Rama worship, and the legal journey—from the Allahabad High Court to the Honourable Supreme Court—are documented with clarity and care.
More than a court case, this book reads like 500 years of faith, resistance, and collective memory carried forward through generations.
Fact-heavy, well-referenced, and impossible to dismiss lightly—an essential read for anyone who wants to understand Ayodhya beyond headlines.
Meenakshi Jain brings together accounts of foreign travellers, British administrators, Muslim sources, archaeological findings, and court judgments to show that Ayodhya’s association with Ram Janmabhoomi was known long before the dispute became political. The ASI excavations, ancient references to Rama worship, and the legal journey—from the Allahabad High Court to the Honourable Supreme Court—are documented with clarity and care.
More than a court case, this book reads like 500 years of faith, resistance, and collective memory carried forward through generations.
Fact-heavy, well-referenced, and impossible to dismiss lightly—an essential read for anyone who wants to understand Ayodhya beyond headlines.
March 8, 2021
An exceptional book that explores the antiquity of the Rama cult in the country and the dispute over the land of a historical temple that was ravaged by a Mughal invader in order to construct Babri mosque with the help of ravaged temple pillars (the book contains official photographs too). The reader experiences profound grief and pain upon unearthing the deliberate distortion by Marxist historians in their peddling a narrative that ultimately demolished the chances of a peaceful out-of-court settlement between the two communities. The book exposes this particular narrative that presented the victims as aggressors and vice-versa.
October 1, 2023
The Battle for Rama is a concise reference book on one of the most critical and controversial issues in Bharāt- the birthplace of Lord Sri Rama at Ramjanmabhumi at Ayodhya. The book details the entire history of the place, the continued worship and faith of millions at the site, and the various conflicts due to the construction of the Babri Masjid by Babur and its subsequent demolition.
As always, Meenakshi Jain's book is highly academic, with many primary source reference materials. Page by page, she lays out the history of Rama at Ayodhya, records from Babur and other foreign travelers on the continued worship and the destruction of the Mandir, the resistance from the Muslim side, the subsequent filing of cases under the British Raj, the archaeological excavations conducted by ASI to ascertain the nature of the pillars and the structure beneath it, the various inscriptions recovered and finally the judgment delivered by the Allahabad High Court after detailed examination of the evidence and testimony from both sides.
The most revealing part of the book is when Dr. Jain exposes the blatant hypocrisy and active misinformation peddled by the Left Historians to discredit any claim of the existence of a Hindu Temple underneath the Masjid and the importance of the site for Hindus. Most notable among these are Prof. Irfan Habib and Prof. Romila Thapar, both of whom went out of their way to continually change their stance from the lack of existence of any temple to claiming it to be Buddhist and Jain structures to then claiming it to be a mosque underneath Babri Masjid and openly refuting the ASI surveys and reports pre-emptively. The court acknowledged this hypocrisy, and Dr.Jain rightly wonders what a damaging effect this handful of historians had on a subject of such national importance. By their admission, none of these historians were even qualified archaeologists, but they still had no qualms in dismissing evidence without justification.
Today, we know the outcome of the Supreme Court verdict, but at the time of this book's writing, we only knew the ruling of the High Court. Despite overwhelming evidence of continued existence since the 13th century BCE and a massive temple structure underneath the mosque, the court still split the site among the three parties, which was not acceptable to the Left Historians and hence moved to the Supreme Court.
On the eve of the Ram Mandir inauguration at Ayodhya next year, this book is an essential reminder of the endless struggles Hindus went through to reclaim their rightful claim to build a temple and worship Lord Rama at his birthplace.
As always, Meenakshi Jain's book is highly academic, with many primary source reference materials. Page by page, she lays out the history of Rama at Ayodhya, records from Babur and other foreign travelers on the continued worship and the destruction of the Mandir, the resistance from the Muslim side, the subsequent filing of cases under the British Raj, the archaeological excavations conducted by ASI to ascertain the nature of the pillars and the structure beneath it, the various inscriptions recovered and finally the judgment delivered by the Allahabad High Court after detailed examination of the evidence and testimony from both sides.
The most revealing part of the book is when Dr. Jain exposes the blatant hypocrisy and active misinformation peddled by the Left Historians to discredit any claim of the existence of a Hindu Temple underneath the Masjid and the importance of the site for Hindus. Most notable among these are Prof. Irfan Habib and Prof. Romila Thapar, both of whom went out of their way to continually change their stance from the lack of existence of any temple to claiming it to be Buddhist and Jain structures to then claiming it to be a mosque underneath Babri Masjid and openly refuting the ASI surveys and reports pre-emptively. The court acknowledged this hypocrisy, and Dr.Jain rightly wonders what a damaging effect this handful of historians had on a subject of such national importance. By their admission, none of these historians were even qualified archaeologists, but they still had no qualms in dismissing evidence without justification.
Today, we know the outcome of the Supreme Court verdict, but at the time of this book's writing, we only knew the ruling of the High Court. Despite overwhelming evidence of continued existence since the 13th century BCE and a massive temple structure underneath the mosque, the court still split the site among the three parties, which was not acceptable to the Left Historians and hence moved to the Supreme Court.
On the eve of the Ram Mandir inauguration at Ayodhya next year, this book is an essential reminder of the endless struggles Hindus went through to reclaim their rightful claim to build a temple and worship Lord Rama at his birthplace.
October 22, 2024
There were many pieces of evidence, like documents, ASI excavations, and temple remains where the Babri structure stood. So why did this issue take so long to resolve? Leftist Historians who made claims without proper knowledge, just based on their ideology, what happened to them? Ridiculing them isn't enough. These are historians who wrote many books and articles, and this case should damage their credibility. From now on, their statements and books should be seen as the fantasies of their corrupt mind.
They acted with intent, and the court recognized this, but mere acknowledgment isn't enough. They have already messed alot and should face consequences. Without repercussions, they and others like them will continue to repeat these actions.
They acted with intent, and the court recognized this, but mere acknowledgment isn't enough. They have already messed alot and should face consequences. Without repercussions, they and others like them will continue to repeat these actions.
February 26, 2021
The book brings together various archaeological and documentary evidences supporting the existence of a Ram Mandir below the "disputed structure". Besides it also brings to the light the intellectual dishonesty and pettiness of "left intellectuals" in academia. They prevented reconciliation between the two largest communities in India by peddling a false historical narrative without any basis or evidence. For this they were even rebuked by the Supreme Court. The book discusses in detail archaeological evidence collected by Prof. BB Lal and his team which was later highlighted by archaeologist KK Muhammad who was part of his team. It describes continuous efforts by the Hindu community to reclaim one of its most sacred place. It summarizes the legal battle that went on for more than 150 years (book was written before 2019 SC judgement in M Siddiq v. Mahant Suresh Das).
February 3, 2024
This fascinating book provides irrefutable evidence for existence of Rama temple in Ayodhya.
The book contains 13 chapters. The first chapter introduces several works in Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and English that explicitly referred to the demolition of the Rama temple in Ayodhya and its replacement by Babri Masjid. It also highlights how a handful of Left historians remained undeterred despite the mounting evidence stacked against them, and how they systematically derailed attempts at a peaceful resolution of the issue.
The second chapter on Babur shows how the construction of mosques on sites associated with non-Islamic traditions was a new beginning for Babur. The next four chapters summarize accounts of foreign travellers and British administrators on the Hindus worshiping at the Ramjanmabhumi site, the attempts to reclaim sacred spaces, Muslim sources on the demolition of the Ramjanmabhumi temple and its replacement by Babri Masjid, and the documentation of the conflict at Ayodhya. The Babri Masjid appeared to have been deserted soon after its construction. The local Hindus availed of the opportunity to raise a symbolic structure to continue worship at the site they believed to be the birthplace of Rama.
Chapter 7 explains how the Left historians intervened to stoke the conflict by totally ignoring all available evidence. Chapter 8 outlines Hindu sources on Rama worship and the Janmabhumi temple. The last five chapters present compelling archaeological evidence and the Allahabad High Court judgment. A handful of historians have been stalling the resolution of the conflict, though their voluble assertions on Babri Masjid have all been found to be erroneous.
This is a wonderful book that details the long battle that had to be waged for stolen property to be returned. This book should definitely be read by everyone who wishes to know the facts of this inspiring battle.
The book contains 13 chapters. The first chapter introduces several works in Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and English that explicitly referred to the demolition of the Rama temple in Ayodhya and its replacement by Babri Masjid. It also highlights how a handful of Left historians remained undeterred despite the mounting evidence stacked against them, and how they systematically derailed attempts at a peaceful resolution of the issue.
The second chapter on Babur shows how the construction of mosques on sites associated with non-Islamic traditions was a new beginning for Babur. The next four chapters summarize accounts of foreign travellers and British administrators on the Hindus worshiping at the Ramjanmabhumi site, the attempts to reclaim sacred spaces, Muslim sources on the demolition of the Ramjanmabhumi temple and its replacement by Babri Masjid, and the documentation of the conflict at Ayodhya. The Babri Masjid appeared to have been deserted soon after its construction. The local Hindus availed of the opportunity to raise a symbolic structure to continue worship at the site they believed to be the birthplace of Rama.
Chapter 7 explains how the Left historians intervened to stoke the conflict by totally ignoring all available evidence. Chapter 8 outlines Hindu sources on Rama worship and the Janmabhumi temple. The last five chapters present compelling archaeological evidence and the Allahabad High Court judgment. A handful of historians have been stalling the resolution of the conflict, though their voluble assertions on Babri Masjid have all been found to be erroneous.
This is a wonderful book that details the long battle that had to be waged for stolen property to be returned. This book should definitely be read by everyone who wishes to know the facts of this inspiring battle.
June 21, 2022
When we first hold this book, it is solid hardcover book with thick papers and in between there are coloured photos on thick photo paper for readers convenience. As evident from the title, the book is about battle for Ram Janmbhumi Temple at Ayodhya. It discusses the issue from beginning to present. In starting it has records from foreign traveller’s account, where a number of foreign travellers has recorded the presence of Ram Janmbhumi Temple, its subsequent demolition and erecting a mosque there.
Then it shows resolution of Hindu society to reclaim their sacred places. Further, the book discusses the mention of Ram Janmbhumi Temple from Muslim sources.
It can be said the author has successfully exposed the lies of left historians. Then it discusses Ram Janmbhumi Temple from Hindu sources and later from ASI reports.
In this book one can hardly find any unnecessary word on sentence. Author has presented it in a compact way and had not invented anything of her own like left historians. I recommend this book highly to the aspirants of UPSC examination and state PSC examinations and it should be read as text book not as time pass book. Very few knows about the author, because she prefer to devote her full time on research rather than spending in public or on social media which is reflected in her writing. A very good book on this issue.
Then it shows resolution of Hindu society to reclaim their sacred places. Further, the book discusses the mention of Ram Janmbhumi Temple from Muslim sources.
It can be said the author has successfully exposed the lies of left historians. Then it discusses Ram Janmbhumi Temple from Hindu sources and later from ASI reports.
In this book one can hardly find any unnecessary word on sentence. Author has presented it in a compact way and had not invented anything of her own like left historians. I recommend this book highly to the aspirants of UPSC examination and state PSC examinations and it should be read as text book not as time pass book. Very few knows about the author, because she prefer to devote her full time on research rather than spending in public or on social media which is reflected in her writing. A very good book on this issue.
March 24, 2024
It's an excellent quick read on the Ram Janmabhoomi case, which gripped the nation of Bharat for seven decades and sparked a movement that went on for five centuries. Although this book was written two years before the Supreme Court judgement of 2019 arrived, it doesn't include information about the events after the Allahabad (city of Prayagraj) High Court judgement of 2010.
Meenakshi Ji's other book, Rama & Ayodhya, is a more detailed account of whatever has happened, even though it is a pre-Supreme Court judgement of 2019. Having said that, these two books are a very good read for someone who wants to know the history of Rama worship in Bharat, the significance of Ayodhya, the significance of the contested site, how the Hindus kept the movement alive for five centuries, the archeological evidence that conclusively proved the existence of a temple beneath the disputed site and the Islamic evidence of temple destruction.
It's definitely to be read.
Meenakshi Ji's other book, Rama & Ayodhya, is a more detailed account of whatever has happened, even though it is a pre-Supreme Court judgement of 2019. Having said that, these two books are a very good read for someone who wants to know the history of Rama worship in Bharat, the significance of Ayodhya, the significance of the contested site, how the Hindus kept the movement alive for five centuries, the archeological evidence that conclusively proved the existence of a temple beneath the disputed site and the Islamic evidence of temple destruction.
It's definitely to be read.
July 19, 2023
"To speak truth it takes courage, to falsify it only takes few fools and morally corrupt historians."
This book debunks the mindset of such Historians who think they are god and their words are word inscribed on stone, for those this book is full of evidence why one should study and go through evidences before claiming it right or wrong, Dr Meenakshi Jain is a gem, and one should follow her for the truth.
This book debunks the mindset of such Historians who think they are god and their words are word inscribed on stone, for those this book is full of evidence why one should study and go through evidences before claiming it right or wrong, Dr Meenakshi Jain is a gem, and one should follow her for the truth.
January 2, 2024
A must read for the younger generations.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews