The destruction of the 16th century mosque ‘remains an unforgivable crime because those who orchestrated it continue to walk free’
NEW DELHI — Prominent citizens, activists, and representatives of diverse political and social organisations on Saturday demanded long-delayed accountability for the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. They also denounced the “deepening normalisation of state-backed communal polarisation” in the country.
The public meeting and protest, held under the banner of “Let Us Unite to End Communal Violence,” was organised jointly by Lok Raj Sangathan, the Social Democratic Party of India, the Welfare Party of India, Communist Ghadar Party of India, Jamaat-e-Islami-Hind, Lok Paksh, the Mazdoor Ekta Committee, Purogami Mahila Sangathan, The Sikh Forum, CPI (ML) – New Proletarian, and several other groups. The broad coalition emphasised the long-standing demand for justice for the demolition of the 16th-century mosque, which they continue to call “one of the gravest assaults on India’s constitutional fabric.”
Despite cold December winds, the event drew remarkable participation from youth, women, workers, student organisations, and civil rights groups.
A long line of speakers addressed the crowd, denouncing what they called a “decades-long refusal” by successive governments to prosecute those responsible for the 1992 destruction, even though multiple official inquiries — including the Liberhan Commission and the Srikrishna Commission — have documented the involvement of senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, and Shiv Sena.
The anniversary observance took an unexpected turn as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, at a separate event held in Gujarat a couple of days ago, claimed that then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had once proposed rebuilding the Babri Masjid using public funds, but that the idea was blocked by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The statement, put up without citing any archival source, historical record, or scholarly documentation, immediately ignited a storm of criticism.
Historians, opposition leaders, and civil society activists described the remark as “factually unfounded,” “absurd,” and “a deliberate distortion of history.” They underlined that there was no need of rebuilding the mosque as its structure was intact until it was pulled down by the Hindutva forces with the alleged connivance of the State.
Several speakers at the anniversary protest condemned the statement sharply. “Instead of confronting the unpunished crimes of 1992 and acknowledging the role of political leaders who enabled the demolition, the government continues to invent new myths on sensitive dates to distort public memory,” one speaker said. Another termed the minister’s statement “a dangerous attempt to rewrite India’s freedom-era history to suit present-day communal narratives.”
Academics also noted that no credible historical record — including official correspondence, Cabinet papers, or the voluminous writings of Nehru and Patel — has ever suggested such a debate took place.
Three Decades of Impunity
The tone of the rally grew sombre as speakers recounted the events of December 6, 1992, when the 16th century mosque was demolished in the presence of top BJP leaders, despite an affidavit submitted by the then BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government assuring the Supreme Court that the structure would be protected. Speakers repeated their long-standing assertion that the demolition operation was not spontaneous as portrayed in official narratives but a meticulously planned exercise aided by the inaction of the Congress-led Union government and state police forces.
Addressing the gathering, Sucharita of Lok Raj Sangathan declared that the demolition “remains an unforgivable crime because those who orchestrated it continue to walk free.”
Other leaders — including S Raghavan, Mohd Arif, Mohd Shafi, Prakash Rao, Mohammed Salim Engineer, KK Singh, and Shahid Ali — reminded the audience that the Liberhan Commission, after 17 years of investigation, named 68 individuals responsible for the crime. Similarly, the Srikrishna Commission documented political complicity behind the communal violence that followed in Mumbai and elsewhere.
However, in 2020, a Special CBI Court acquitted all the accused, citing lack of prosecutable evidence — a verdict that activists today continue to call “an institutional failure of justice.”
Several speakers criticised the 2019 Supreme Court judgment that awarded the Babri Masjid site for the construction of a Ram temple, even as it acknowledged the unlawful nature of the mosque’s demolition. The verdict, they argued, “rewarded the perpetrators” and set a precedent that undermined the secular foundations of the Constitution.
Ram Temple, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2024, was described by activists as “the political culmination of a decades-long mobilisation built on communal polarisation, timed conveniently during periods when unemployment, agrarian distress, and economic inequality demanded public attention.”
State Repression and Targeting of Minorities
Speakers expressed grave concern over what they termed the ongoing “institutionalised demonisation” of Muslims and other minorities. They cited recent disputes around the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi and the Shahi Idgah Mosque in Mathura as examples of a deliberate strategy to stoke communal tensions.
Activists also highlighted the continued incarceration of young protesters who opposed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in 2019–20. Many remain imprisoned under stringent laws such as the UAPA and NSA, which speakers described as “instruments of state repression designed to silence dissent.” References were made to earlier draconian laws like TADA and POTA, underscoring a “continuity of state-sponsored criminalisation of political opposition.”
“These laws are being used to silence anyone who questions state-organised communal violence,” a speaker said, adding that the widening use of anti-terror legislation against peaceful protestors has contributed to “a climate of fear that is incompatible with democracy.”
Call for Unity, Conscience, and Justice
The meeting ended with a collective assertion that the struggle for justice must continue across communities, religions, and political lines.
“We, the people of India, oppose the destruction of any place of worship. We uphold the universal and inviolable right to conscience,” the concluding declaration stated.
Organisers reiterated their demand that the principle of command responsibility be applied, holding accountable those who planned, ordered, or enabled the demolition and the violence that followed. The assembled gathering responded with chants for unity and justice, vowing to continue the fight against divisive politics.
Calling for a future rooted in equality and harmony, the organisers urged citizens not to lose hope: “Let us work toward a society where every individual’s rights are protected, where the truth is not buried under political expediency, and where communal hatred finds no place.”
