Babri Masjid demolition is one such incident that is known to be the darkest day in our history. The demolition of Babri Masjid took place on December 6, 1992. On this day, some sections celebrated the demolition while several lost their lives for the sake of religion. In 1992, a group led by Vishva Hindu Parishad and its allied organizations demolished the 16th-century mosque in the city of Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.

Many choose this day to celebrate their alleged victory over a particular religion, while many mourn this day in the memory of the lives lost due to this cause.

The Babri Masjid (now Ram Mandir) in Ayodhya, has always been a subject of a lengthy sociopolitical dispute, and in past, it has been always targeted by political leaders/parties to gain votes on the name of Ram Mandir.

In November 1990, two years before the demolition took place in Ayodhya, volunteers of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad organization entered the mosque in Ayodhya, and to stop them from causing any damage, police started firing upon the karsevaks.

What all happened on that day?

The motive of karsevaks was to demolish the mosque and on November 2, 1990, they went ahead with their plan by offering prayers at Ramlila. Later, they proceeded towards Babri Masjid. At first security personnel tried to stop them by firing tear gas and baton charges to disperse the crowd but some of the karsevaks managed to reach the Masjid and started damaging the mosque.

In reply to that police opened fire and chased karsevaks in the alleys around Hanumangarhi and killed several karsevaks, which also included the Kothari brothers who were allegedly dragged out of a house.

According to the old reports, it was stated that around 1,50,000 volunteers also known as karsevaks demolished the 16th-century mosque, which was built by the then Mughal general Mir Baqi.

The extremist group claimed that the Masjid was built on a place that belongs to their community and it was built by demolishing Ram Mandir.

On November 9, 2019, the Supreme Court delivered its verdict on the disputed place and ruled out that the land belongs to Ram Lalla. The SC also ordered the government to provide an alternative five-acre land to the Sunni Waqf Board to build a mosque.

Read Also: Babri Masjid demolition anniversary: Almost 30 years since majoritarian communalism struck roots in India

Later in February 2020, PM Narendra Modi a 15-member committee to oversee the construction of a Ram Mandir at the disputed site in Ayodhya. Later, in August, PM Modi conducted a bhumipujan at Ayodhya for the initiation of temple construction and laid the foundation stone.

Earlier in August 2021, the Yogi government had announced that there will be a road named after the Kothari brothers in Ayodhya.

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