See how India tried to keep calm ahead of the historic Supreme Court verdict in the Ayodhya case

• India has seen numerous communal riots in its history with the Ayodhya dispute as the flashpointIndia has seen numerous communal riots in its history with the Ayodhya dispute as the flashpoint.
• So ahead of the SC verdict, there were numerous appeals for calm no matter which side the verdict goes in favour of⁠— starting from the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

It was announced on Friday that the Supreme Court verdict in the historic Ram Temple vs Babri Masjid standoff at Ayodhya will be announced on Saturday, November 11. Efforts to calm any tension post the verdict had begun much before but they peaked on Friday night and Saturday morning.

The dispute between Hindus and Muslims over a holy site in Ayodhya is over a century old and has proved to be an explosive issue. So while both sides⁠— one that wants a temple and the other that wants a mosque⁠— seem desperate for a closure and have their hopes pinned on the country’s Supreme Court, the anticipation has turned out to be a headache for both the local authorities, the state and central governments, as well as for people who couldn’t care less.