Ram Janmabhoomi (राम जन्मभूमि) refers to a tract of land in the North Indian city of Ayodhya which is believed to be the birthplace of the Rama. Prior to 1528, a famous and important temple stood at this site. In 1528, the temple was demolished on the orders of Mughal invader Babur and a mosque was built on its ruins. This mosque came to be known as the Babri Masjid. The name Ram Janmabhoomi means "birthplace of Rama." On the morning of December 6 1992, the building which was known as "Babri Masjid" (The Mosque of Babur) by Muslims and "Ram Mandir" by Hindus on this spot was demolished by activists. A movement was launched in 1984 by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad(VHP) eventually leading to the destruction of the building which stood here. The VHP wants to erect a temple dedicated to Ram Lala (infant Ram) at this spot. Many Muslim organizations, most of them accused of being fundamentalist in nature, on the other hand strongly oppose the building of the temple.

It was until about 1990 the standard view that an ancient Ram Janmabhoomi temple was demolished and replaced with the Babri Mosque. References such as the 1986 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica reported that "Rama’s birthplace is marked by a mosque, erected by the Moghul emperor Babar in 1528 on the site of an earlier temple". According to the Hindu view, the ancient temple could have been destroyed on the orders of Mughal emperor Babur. This view is challenged by many Muslims, 'Marxist' and 'Nehruvian' Indian historians since the early 1990s. However, several contemporary archaeologists such as Prof. B.B. Lal and Western historians, such as Koenraad Elst have provided historical evidence that lends a greater legitimacy to the Hindu claims of the Ram Janmabhoomi. Elst has alleged that the counterclaims made by Muslims and 'mainstream' Indian historians are politically motivated rather than those having a scholarly legitimacy. He has also alleged 'open hostility' on the part of (predominantly J.N.U. - based) Indian History - academia to his scholarship.http://koenraadelst.bharatvani.org/articles/ayodhya/foundnlost.htmlhttp://koenraadelst.bharatvani.org/articles/ayodhya/notemple.htmlhttp://koenraadelst.bharatvani.org/articles/ayodhya/evidence1.html.