Authors
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
Ram Mandir has been built three kilometers away from the site in Ayodhya, where the Babri Masjid once stood.
Fact
This is a false claim. The Ram Mandir is being built on the same site where the Babri Masjid once stood, not on a different location.
As the inauguration of Ayodhya Ram Temple and Prana-Pratishapana of Ram Lalla is scheduled for January 22, many claims and narratives centred around the much anticipated consecration are doing the rounds on social media. One such claim alleges that the Ram temple is being built three kilometers away from the disputed site, where the Babri Masjid was razed. The post uses a Google Map screenshot to support this claim.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, was among the first to make the controversial claim that the Ram temple in Ayodhya was being built three kilometers away from where the Babri Masjid was destroyed. The claim made news and stirred a major controversy.
Raut’s claim was later widely shared on social media by many users. Raut himself also reposted this claim.
Many also shared an image of a Google Map screenshot to support this claim. We also received this claim on WhatsApp tipline (9999499044) and requested to verify its authenticity.
Fact Check/Verification
We took a close look at the screenshots of Google Maps used in most of the viral posts.
We noticed that on the map, two places were marked with red circles and a yellow line showed a three-kilometer distance between them. One place was labeled as ‘Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir’. The other place had the name ‘Babar Masjid’, not Babri as it is colloquially called. We looked up both the locations on Google Map.
The Google map satellite view clearly shows that the first location is indeed the site where the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple is being built.
We used Google Map to find out more about the second location that was marked as ‘Babar masjid’ and found that it was the location of the Sita-Rama Birla Temple in Ayodhya.
We thus understand that the Sita-Ram Birla Temple was wrongly marked, and a picture of Babri Masjid was uploaded in a review of this location.
We also searched Google Earth Pro for the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi temple being built in Ayodhya. In the latest satellite image taken in 2023, we found the under construction temple complex at this location.
For further verification we contacted Kameshwar Choupal, a member of Sri Ram Mandir Trust who said, “The birth place of Lord Sri Rama has been a point of contention for many years. Babur destroyed this birthplace in 1528. The struggle of the Hindu community has been going on since then. If it was a matter of changing this place and making it a temple, this conflict and controversy would not have arisen, it would have become a temple. When the conflict went to the Supreme Court, the court ruled that this place is Ram Janmabhoomi. It was on the basis of this verdict that the trust was formed and the trust built a temple at the same place. Meanwhile, some people are making such false statements and posts due to their ignorance and the viral claims are wrong.”
Conclusion
Thus, as per our investigation, we have found that the place where the Babri Masjid was demolished is the same site where the construction of the Ram temple is underway. Hence, the viral claim is false.
Result: False
Our Sources:
Google Search
Google Map
Google Earth Pro
Conversation with Shri Kameshwar Choupal, Member, Ram Mandir Trust
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Authors
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
