'One more push': How Hindu zealots razed centuries-old mosque in India

On January 22, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a grand temple built at the site where a centuries-old mosque was demolished by a Hindu right-wing mob three decades ago.

The inauguration of the temple in Ayodhya marks the culmination of a long campaign by Modi’s political party BJP and its ideological fountainhead, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), to reclaim what they claim is the birthplace of the Hindu deity Ram.

Though the chain of events was triggered in the 19th century, with Hindus laying claim to the mosque site, the most tumultuous event took place on December 6, 1992 – when a mob comprising hundreds of thousands of right-wing people stormed the Muslim place of worship and razed it to the ground in a matter of few hours.

The destruction of the mosque triggered deadly communal riots that killed more than 2,000 people across India – most of them Muslim – and paved the way for the emergence of Modi’s party, which has dominated the country’s political landscape by unapologetically fusing religion with politics.

This is what happened on that fateful day in December 1992.

Secret rehearsals

In the lead-up to the demolition, Hindu groups led by the RSS and BJP had organised what was expected to be the initial construction of a temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya.

The group had assured authorities that it would only be a symbolic start that included a religious ceremony and no mosque damage would occur.

However, journalists covering the event had recorded a preplanned conspiracy despite the presence of thousands of security personnel.

On assignment with The Pioneer newspaper, Praveen Jain, Associate Photo Editor with Indian Express, said there was "a rehearsal for the demolition of the Babri mosque on the morning of December 5."

On the day, he said the mob had sought to curtail any media access to keep any reporting under wraps.

In his testimony to a government panel later, Jain explained that the foundations were laid for the prominent demolition. Dressed as a volunteer, donning saffron clothing with special access, he found himself among many dressed like him.

He went on to behold what he described as"the incredible scene unfolding before me".

The mob was attempting to undertake the rehearsal in secret. Jain saw men with various tools, including crowbars, pickaxes, shovels and iron rods, bidding to topple a large amount of earth.

"Everything was done with precision. These were not mere volunteers but professionals who knew how to bring down a building," he told the BBC.

The following day, on December 6, 1992, the Babri Mosque's demolition was led by the Hindu nationalist BJP, with events captured on camera and in broad light.

On the fateful day, a large-scale rally was organised by the RSS and its political wing, the BJP that today rules the country, as around 150,000 people gathered at the site of the disputed building.

According to reports, many of the men who were present had travelled from outside the city to be present.

The day began with speeches from several prominent BJP leaders, including LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, who went on to gain key positions in the BJP government.

Authorities had reportedly erected barriers to maintain order. However, some, reportedly wearing bright yellow headbands, broke through into a cordoned area.

According to the reports, the police took a lax attitude, standing around and passively watching. Others wearing saffron clothing and involved in the organisation sought to control the country.

Mob rule and chaos

The organisers reportedly soon gave up and joined the mob who took to physically assaulting reporters and breaking their equipment.

It led to the thousands charging towards the outer cordon that authorities had installed to safeguard the mosque. As the cordon collapsed, men headed towards the mosque.

Police reportedly backed away and protected themselves by raising their shields as crowds hurled items in their direction.

Young men began to ascend the mosque's central dome and, according to witness testimony from the BBC's Mark Tully, who was present at the time, said they "started hacking away at the mortar" before others joined.

According to reports, many carried different tools to level the building. There are even reports that many took bricks as keepsakes.

Some, like Balbir Singh, a Hindu at the time and later an Islam convert, recalled the sequence of events.

"There was no effective security around the mosque, which encouraged us. We were mentally prepared to destroy the mosque," he told Anadolu Agency before he died in 2021.

Singh was among the first group from adjourning cities to reach the city of Ayodhya.

Targeting reporters

Tully and other local reporters were also threatened, captured and locked up in a room by the Hindu mob. A priest eventually rescued them.

As the mosque was eventually demolished, the incident also led to widespread violence across India.

More than 900 people died amid the political and social instability in the financial capital of Mumbai amid other killings in cities including Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.

Some of the mob ended up facing charges and spent time in prison in the aftermath.

However, nobody has been convicted of demolishing the masjid, and many remember the date as a day of terror and lawlessness.

Others consider the demolition to be "illegal and immoral", while some view it as the worst chapter of "sectarian conflict" in the country's history.

One of the most damning proofs of the involvement of BJP’s leaders came in the form of an admission by former BJP parliamentarian Ram Vilas Vedanti who said he and others had provoked the activists – known as kar sevaks – to bring down the mosque.

“It was I who said ‘ek dhakka aur do, Babri Masjid tod do’,” – give one more push, bring down the Babri mosque, he said in 2017.

That final ‘push’ changed the course of history in India. An officially secular country had taken the first steps towards becoming a Hindu majoritarian country.