New Delhi, Dec. 6 (TNS): Indian Muslims on Wednesday observing 25th anniversary of demolition of the Babri Masjid by calling Azan at the site.
It will be 25 years since the demolition of the Babri Masjid, which incited communal violence throughout India. This will be a day after Indian Supreme Court begins the final hearing in the long-standing Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute from Tuesday.
On 6 December, 1992, the Vishva Hindu Parishad and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) organised a rally in Ayodhya involving over 1.5 lakh volunteers, known as kar sevaks.
Soon, the rally turned violent, and the crowd overwhelmed security forces before demolishing the 16th Century Babri Masjid. This prompted communal riots across India in which more than 2,000 Muslims lost their lives.
Among those present at the rally were senior figures in the BJP LK Advani, Uma Bharti and Murli Manohar Joshi. In 2009, a report by Justice Manmohan Singh Liberhan found 68 people to be responsible for the demolition of the mosque, most of who were from the BJP.
Among those named were Atal Vajpayee, Advani, Joshi and Vijay Raje Scindia.
The Liberhan Commission, which was established by the government ten days after the demolition of the Babri Masjid, said that then chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Kalyan Singh had posted bureaucrats and police officers to the city whose record suggested that they would not act during the mosque’s demolition.
Here is what the stakeholders in the case and other prominent voices have said since the incident:
In 2012, addressing reporters in Kalyan, Singh said that he owns full responsibility for the demolition of the mosque, thus reigniting the controversial dispute.
