Al Jazeera on Babri mosque

India's Supreme Court has awarded Hindus control of a disputed religious site in the town of Ayodhya for the construction of a temple, in a landmark verdict announced amid heightened security across the country.

In a unanimous decision over the site claimed by both Hindus and Muslims, the five-judge bench asked the government to set up a trust that will construct a temple for Hindu deity Ram.

"The judgement is not satisfactory but we respect it. We will have discussions and then decide further course of action," Zafaryab Jilani, Sunni Waqf Board lawyer, was quoted as saying by NDTV news channel.

Faizan Mustafa, vice-chancellor of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, termed the verdict "controversial".

"The judges tried their best to have a kind of a balance but ultimately it's the mystery of the faith over rule of law, because they [judges] said that we can't be doing anything about the Hindu belief and if they believe that Ram was born here ... we have to accept it," he said.

"Belief is good for the purposes of religion, but can it become a basis to resolve property disputes?"

Al Jazeera's Anchal Vohra, reporting from New Delhi, said a board of trustees [appointed by the government] would be formed in three months to essentially decide how to go about the construction of the temple.

She added the alternative site for Muslims would be decided by the central government or the state government.

"Muslim intellectuals had already offered this when the mediations took place early this year as a possible solution to have broader peace between the two communities," Vohra said.

Muslims said they prayed at the mosque for generations until 1949, when Hindu activists placed idols of Ram.

The 460-year-old mosque was demolished in 1992 by Hindu mobs triggering nationwide religious violence that left about 2,000 people dead, most of them Muslims.

Muslim-majority Pakistan, India's rival neighbour, responded to the decision on Saturday.

"This decision has shredded the veneer of so-called secularism of India by making clear that minorities in India are no longer safe; they have to fear for their beliefs and for their places of worship," the foreign office in Islamabad said in a statement. 

"The Indian government should ensure the protection of Muslims, their lives, rights and properties and avoid being yet again a silent spectator of Muslims becoming the victims of Hindu extremists and zealots.

"The international community, the United Nations and other human rights organisations in particular should play their role by restraining India from its pursuit of an extremist ideology."

Hindus welcome verdict

The streets of Ayodhya wore a deserted look with very few businesses operating.

At some places, people were seen raising slogans of Jai Shree Ram (Hail Lord Ram) and congratulating each other.

Most Hindus celebrated the court's decision while Muslims hoped that Ayodhya would remain peaceful. In 1992, dozens of Ayodhya Muslims were killed in the wake of violence.

"The Hindus of India have for so long wanted a temple at the place where Ram was born," Rajesh Kumar said.

n the Muslim-majority area of Jamia Nagar in the capital New Delhi, people said they did not get justice.

"[That] the Hindu mob which demolished Babri Masjid went unpunished only proves India's incompetence as a democracy," Nabiya Khan, a student, told Al Jazeera.

"December 6, 1992 and November 9, 2019, will be remembered as days of death of secularism in India."

Mohammad Mussa, 58, of Zakir Nagar, said the mosque on the site belonged to Muslims.

"Whatever the judgement is, we should accept it because we live in an India run by the right-wing BJP which thinks this country belongs to Hindus only. Muslims should stay calm and not react to anything because there are forces who want bloodshed in the country."

Appeals for calm

The Supreme Court on Saturday said a structure existed under the Babri Mosque, which was not built on vacant land.

A 2010 lower court ruling had divided the disputed 2.77 acres (1.12 hectares) into three equal parts, with two-thirds going to the Hindu community and one-third to Muslims. That order was challenged by both sides.

The five-judge bench, headed by the Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, opted to hand over the site to one of the Hindu groups that had staked a claim to it.

Muslim organisations have appealed for calm to prevent communal flare-ups.