By the evening of December 6, 1992, a mob of kar sevaks had set itself upon Muslim homes in localities around the Babri Masjid, a few hours after it was razed to the ground.
Much of the Muslim population in the town had fled a week prior to the demolition. However, at least 17 persons were killed, over 250 homes and shops gutted, damaged or looted in the mayhem that followed in the narrow gullies near the disputed site over the next 24 hours. Going by local accounts, two dozen mosques and over 100 tombs were desecrated and damaged by the mob.
Call for justice
On the 25th anniversary of the demolition on Wednesday, calls for “justice” for the Mughal-era mosque were raised at the mourning sessions held by Muslim groups in Ayodhya. However, for Muslim residents of the area, the tragedy was not restricted to the demolition of the mosque. The Rajghat, Alamganj Katra, Tehdi Bazaar, Meerapur Bulandi and Dorahi Kuan localities, in the vicinity of the disputed site, bore the brunt of the mob fury. President’s Rule had already been imposed when the violence took place.
Mohammad Shami’s brother Fateh was among those killed. Along with his family and a few neighbours, Mr. Shami had taken shelter in a pucca house near a police check-post, as the kar sevaks were setting kutcha homes like his on fire. While the family had a narrow escape, Fateh, who was hiding in the bushes, was killed. Eyewitnesses told his family that he was stabbed before being set on fire.
“We didn’t find his body. We found bones and remains of some charred clothes near a tree. We identified him from the silver ring he wore. He had recently been married,” said Amina Khatoon, Mr. Shami’s wife.
As kar sevaks flooded the streets with swords, rods and other weapons, the family was forced to stay undercover for more than 48 hours. “We got food and water only after two days when we were rescued and taken to Faizabad by the CRPF. When we approached the State police and PAC, they said they didn’t have any order to shoot the kar sevaks. Every year as December approaches, I get shivers recalling those moments,” Ms. Amina said.
While many were stabbed to death, some suffered extreme brutality. According to local people, a person named Khuda Baksh was stabbed and then tossed into a dry well stacked with hay and set on fire. His grandson Mohammad Arif was born a day later, on December 8, 1992. “This is a month of sadness. That’s why I don’t celebrate my birthday ever,” said Mr. Arif, who sells vegetables for a living.
Anwari, whose husband Aamin was allegedly set on fire and stabbed to death before being dumped into the river, never found his body. Though she had identified some local people who had accompanied the kar sevaks during the looting and arson, she never dared to file an FIR. “Perhaps, taking advantage of the situation, some of our neighbours also engaged in arson. But I thought we have to live in this very locality, so why embrace further trouble. There are very few Muslims living here. We don’t expect any justice,” Ms. Anwari said.
A delegation from Faizabad met Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao in January 1993 and submitted a memorandum demanding that murder cases be lodged against the guilty, a high-level inquiry be called to determine culpability and victims be given compensation.
No inquiry
“Forget about taking action, even the inquiry was not held. The government admitted that there were 15-16 deaths and post-mortem was conducted on 11 bodies. But till date, no case has been lodged. The victims’ families were, however, given ₹2 lakh each as compensation,” said Sheetla Singh, former Press Council of India member, who was in the delegation that met Mr. Rao.
Khaliq Ahmed, a social activist who has documented the case, said the then administration did not count the deaths as murders and had even stipulated that if the persons who were allegedly murdered returned, the families would have to return the compensation. Mr. Ahmed said an FIR was lodged in the case but against unknown persons, which would have no value given that the kar sevaks had fled after the incident. “A case under Section 302 should have been lodged against leaders like L.K. Advani who assembled and instigated the mob,” Mr. Ahmed said.
The casualties could have been higher that day had it not been for local Hindus like Parag Lal Yadav and his family who risked their own lives to shield their panic-stricken neighbours despite pressure by kar sevaks to identify Muslim homes. Mr. Yadav, who was a wrestler, managed to save four Muslim families by hiding them in his house and in the local park where he was chowkidar. Among those he saved was the family of a Shia landlord Hassanna Haider, who incidentally was a member of the BJP.
Mr. Haider, however, was himself not so lucky. He was hunted down by kar sevaks and put inside a bag of hay and burnt alive, locals said. “He was under the impression that since he was a BJP member and had spoken in its favour from the kar seva stage, he would be spared. That carelessness proved costly,” said Rajesh Yadav, Parag Lal’s son.
