BB Lal, the man who unearthed Ram Temple at Ayodhya beneath Babri mosque, is no more. His legacy lives

New Delhi: Noted archaeologist Braj Basi Lal, who led an excavation at the Ramjanmabhoomi site in the mid-1970s and was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan last year, passed away in the early hours of Saturday at the age of 101.

According to reports, Lal was on life support at a hospital in Delhi for the last few days.

“Shri BB Lal was an outstanding personality. His contributions to culture and archaeology are unparalleled. He will be remembered as a great intellectual who deepened our connect with our rich past. Pained by his demise. My thoughts are with his family and friends. Om Shanti,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.

Shri BB Lal was an outstanding personality. His contributions to culture and archaeology are unparalleled. He will be remembered as a great intellectual who deepened our connect with our rich past. Pained by his demise. My thoughts are with his family and friends. Om Shanti. pic.twitter.com/eA3MlNI27Q

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 10, 2022

Union Minister G Kishan Reddy said we have “lost one of the brightest minds who has contributed significantly towards our archeological excavations and endeavours and trained archeologists for over 4 decades.”

In the passing of Prof BB Lal Ji, we have lost one of the brightest minds who has contributed significantly towards our archeological excavations & endeavours and trained archeologists for over 4 decades.

My thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved family.

Om Shanti. pic.twitter.com/sZlvBCMCLq

— G Kishan Reddy (@kishanreddybjp) September 10, 2022

Born in 1921 at Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh, BB Lal was the director general of the Archaeological Survey of India between 1968 and 1972. He has worked extensively on archaeological sites associated with the Harappan civilisation and the Hindu epic Mahabharata.

“The contribution of Padma Vibhushan Prof BB Lal in Archaeology is beyond measure. A doyen in his field, he devoted his entire 101-year life to the subject. He may be gone but his work lives on & will continue to teach & influence generations to come. Our homage to the great soul,” read a post on the official Twitter handle of the Archaeological Survey of India.

The contribution of Padma Vibhushan Prof BB Lal in Archaeology is beyond measure. A doyen in his field, he devoted his entire 101-year life to the subject. He may be gone but his work lives on & will continue to teach & influence generations to come. Our homage to the great soul. pic.twitter.com/gwX1iUGrMV

— Archaeological Survey of India (@ASIGoI) September 10, 2022

Also, Lal served on several UNESCO committees and was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2000. Among his notable works is his theory of a temple-like structure underneath the now demolished Babri mosque in Ayodhya.

Lal obtained his master’s degree in Sanskrit from Allahabad University and later on developed interest in archaeology. He became a trainee in excavation under British archaeologist, Mortimer Wheeler, starting with Taxila, and later at sites such as Harappa.

During his career, Lal is said to have worked on over 50 books and 150 research papers, which were published in national and international journals. Among these were ‘The Saraswati flows on: The continuity of Indian culture’ and ‘Rama, his historicity, mandir and setu: Evidence of Literature, Archaeology and other Sciences’.

Archaeology of the Ramayana sites

Back in 1975, BB Lal commenced on a project titled ‘Archaeology of the Ramayana sites’, which was funded by the ASI, Gwalior’s Jiwaji University and the Department of Archaeology in Uttar Pradesh.

As part of the project, five Ramayana related sites including, Ayodhya, Bharadwaj Ashram, Nandigram, Chitrakoot and Shringaverapura were excavated.

After that in 1990, Lal claimed to have found “temple-like pillars” which would have formed the foundation of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. In his book ‘Rāma, His Historicity, Mandir and Setu: Evidence of Literature, Archaeology and Other Sciences,’ Lal wrote, “attached to the piers of the Babri Masjid, there were twelve stone pillars, which carried not only typical Hindu motifs and mouldings, but also figures of Hindu deities. It was self-evident that these pillars were not an integral part of the Masjid, but were foreign to it.”

(With inputs from agencies)

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