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15 Years Since Mosque Demolished

DW Staff (du)December 6, 2007

In India, security was tight on the 15th anniversary of the demolition of the Babri mosque by Hindu hardliners. The destruction of the 16th-century mosque in 1992 led to violent clashes between Hindus and Muslims that left more than 2,000 dead.

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Cheering Hindu hard-liners at the Babri mosque in 1992
Cheering Hindu hard-liners at the Babri mosque in 1992Image: dpa - Bildarchiv

The Babri mosque was built in the northern Indian city of Ayodhya in the 16th century by Muslim emperors, who at the time ruled the country. The site has long been claimed by Hindu hard-liners as being the birth-site of their god Rama.

On 6 Dec. 1992, tens of thousands of Hindu hard-liners tore down the mosque, demanding that a temple to be built on the site.

"The authorities just stood by and watched and gave up their control of the mosque and the city of Ayodhya," recalled BBC journalist Mark Tully, who witnessed the carnage. "Journalists were beaten up. Only after two days were the police able to re-enter the city."

The incident sparked a wave of violence in the country leaving hundreds dead, mostly Muslim.

"Not ashamed"

Some of India's high-profile Hindu right-wing leaders were also involved. Pyarelal Khandelwal, an MP from the Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party, defends the act of destruction even today.

"There was no mosque there, but just remains. We had Hindu statues. Our aim was to break the old structure and build a new one -- I'm not ashamed about it, " he said.

After the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, relations between the Hindu and Muslim communities in India were relatively calm. But the demolition of the Babri mosque exacerbated tensions.

A year later, Islamist extremists retaliated by bombing a number of sites in the financial capital Mumbai, killing more than 250.

Rallies across India

On Thursday, many right-wing Hindu activists held rallies across India demanding that a temple be built on the site of the former Babri mosque.

Some Muslim groups also took to the streets to demand that those responsible for the demolition of the mosque be brought to justice.

"Why have those responsible not been punished yet?" asked Asaduddin Owaisi from the All-India Council of United Muslims on Thursday.

In 1992, the then Indian government set up a commission to investigate the incident. The commission has held several hearings over the past 15 years but no one has been found guilty.

The destruction of the Babri mosque not only tarnished India’s secular image but also raised questions about the treatment of minorities in the country, as well as the legal situation. It also proved that religious fanaticism in India had not subsided.