On this day, December 6, 1992, India, celebrated for its secularism and democracy, confronted a harsh reality. It was a day when religious priorities overshadowed humanity. The Babri Masjid was demolished amidst demands to rebuild the Ram Mandir.
The day was marked by riots, mob violence, and the breakdown of law and order. Tragically, the violence sought to defend religion but disregarded human lives. Many observed the events as a politically motivated act, veiled in religious sentiment, that challenged the foundational principles of secularism in a democratic nation.
The Fight For Religion
A video shared on the social media page X, gives a glimpse of what enthusiasm and struggle did the Hindus face to dream for the Ayodhya Ram Mandir.
“Lathi Goli Khayenge, Mandir Wahi Banayenge”( We’ll face sticks and bullets, but will build our temple) were one of the slogan that was used during the march against Babri Masjid.
Other said, “I am a government teacher, but will caste aside our pens and take up revolvers.” Such words depicts what amouth of rage they carried and were out of patience.
The day when Hindus erased a monument of Shame that had existed for 500 years.#December6 pic.twitter.com/RXJ4BML45i
— Kashmiri Hindu (@BattaKashmiri) December 6, 2024
The mosque was reduced to rubble by a Hindu nationalist mob who claimed that an ancient Ram temple stood at the same site.
The demolition of the Babri Masjid, a mosque built during the reign of the first Mughal Emperor Babur, remains a dark chapter in India’s history, sparking months of anti-Muslim violence that claimed over 2,000 lives. The incident remains one of the worst instances of communal unrest since India’s independence from British rule in 1947.
The destruction was fueled by a campaign led by Hindu nationalist groups, alleging that the mosque stood on the birthplace of Lord Ram in Ayodhya.
In 2020, a special court in Lucknow acquitted 32 accused persons holding that the demolition in 1992 was not premeditated. Among them were senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), including former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, Vinay Katiyar, and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh. The court dismissed charges of criminal conspiracy and incitement despite widespread criticism of the verdict.
The Supreme Court Verdict In 2019
In 2019, the Supreme Court of India delivered a landmark judgment awarding the disputed 2.77-acre site to Hindus for the construction of a temple. The court acknowledged the demolition of the mosque as an illegal act but granted possession of the land for the Ram temple project, which has been controversial in its implications for secularism and minority rights in the country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the construction of this very temple in 2020, completing a longtime pledge of the BJP after rising to power on the platform of the Ram temple movement. On January 22, 2024, Modi formally dedicated the newly constructed temple for Ram at the disputed site. He described this function as the dawn of a “new era” with his presence. At any rate, the consecration function was an important time for the BJP, its conception of Hindu nationalist politics.
Opposition parties, including the Indian National Congress, criticized the event and refused to attend on grounds of the secular character of the nation. Temple consecration was a milestone in religious terms but marked the political consolidation of a majoritarian narrative, deepening India’s pluralistic society into further divisions.
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