Nirmohi Akhara: A Hindu religious order

AYODHYA - The Nirmohi Akhara, one of the main litigants in the Ayodhya dispute, is a Hindu religious order which follows its own faith and customs.

In Thursday’s Ayodhya verdict by the Allahabad High Court, the akhara was allotted a one-third share in the disputed land.

It is one of the 14 akharas recognized by the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad and

belongs to the Vaishnava sampradaya. It is headed by Mahant Bhaskar Das.

It has been in the light in connection with the Ayodhya debate since 1959 when it filed a suit to take over the disputed site of Babri mosque.

Nirmohi Akhara filed a suit in January 1885 with the sub-judge of Faizabad, seeking consent to construct a temple for Hindu god Ram in the area called the Ram Chabutra, adjacent to the Babri mosque.

The sub-judge held then that two large religious structures in close proximity could potentially be a threat to public order.

Permission was denied by the court, though the Nirmohi Akhara has since kept up its effort to reclaim the land and construct the temple.