A Muslim group in India says it will start the construction of a mosque in the northern Indian city of Ayodhya on January 26, the day the South Asian nation celebrates its Republic Day.
The project is a part of the settlement of a case surrounding the demolition of the Babri Mosque by a Hindu mob in 1992, leading to some of the worst religious violence India has witnessed, killing more than 2,000 people, and a protracted legal battle in various courts.
Right-wing groups, including the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), claimed Mughal Emperor Babur built the mosque in the 16th century at the exact site where Hindu god Lord Ram was born.