02-23-2005, 01:17 AM
letters to editor, Pioneer 22 Feb. 2005
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Letter to Justice Liberhan
Apropos KN Govindacharyaâs recent statement about the demolition of the Babri edifice, I was in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. The BJP leaders present in the holy city were on a terrace not far from the edifice. I reached there at 10:40 am and did not come down till 5:45 pm. It was clear from the expressions of the BJP bosses that they had no idea as to who precisely was at work under the domes. <b>The modus operandi was to hit the joints between the domes and the walls with iron crowbars.</b> No amateur was likely to have either the strength or the skill to wield those crowbars. That they were professionals was indicated in the course of the morning when they did not allow photographers to take their pictures. Two of the cameras were snatched while films were taken away from the others. Normally, kar sevaks or political workers like to be photographed. It is the Government servants who are usually reluctant to come on record for fear of losing their jobs. There was no State BJP politician on the terrace except one. UP was represented only by police officers, some of whom were delighted, especially when the second dome collapsed at 3:40 pm. (The first one had gone down at 2:30 pm while the third crumbled at 4:30 pm.) <b>While a few VHP members too were delighted, several of the senior BJP leaders appeared so shocked that their faces looked incredibly pale. When I left Ayodhya, it was cold and pitch dark. The crowds from outside were jubilant but by then preoccupied with leaving the scene. The 10 walls of the edifice were standing without the domes. They were, more or less, 30 inch thick.</b> Mr Kalyan Singhâs Government, I heard on the radio, had been dismissed by 5:45 pm, and Governorâs rule had come into effect. In Lucknow, I heard Prime Minister Narasimha Rao addressing the nation. He said he was disgusted by what had happened and promised to rebuild the masjid. Actually, all that was needed was to reconstruct the domes since the rest of the structure was intact when I left Ayodhya. <b>To my surprise, I found photographs in newspapers of December 9 showing a makeshift temple with the Ram Lalla idol in place. This temple stands till today. Clearly, in the course of about 60 hours (the night of December 6, the whole of 7 and 8), the 10 thick walls were demolished and the massive quantity of rubble cleared for the Ram Lalla idols to take their place. </b>There was no police intervention although, reportedly, 15,000 paramilitary personnel were standing in readiness at Faizabad four km away. It is my surmise that the demolition was masterminded by Narasimha Rao and Mr Kalyan Singh. If there were to be any doubt about the PMOâs involvement, would it not be cleared by recalling that the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, passed by Parliament in 1991, prohibited any change in old places of worship from its condition on August 15, 1947, except Ayodhya? The implication was the Babri edifice could be disturbed.
Prafull Goradia
General Secretary, Bharatiya Jana Sangh
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Letter to Justice Liberhan
Apropos KN Govindacharyaâs recent statement about the demolition of the Babri edifice, I was in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. The BJP leaders present in the holy city were on a terrace not far from the edifice. I reached there at 10:40 am and did not come down till 5:45 pm. It was clear from the expressions of the BJP bosses that they had no idea as to who precisely was at work under the domes. <b>The modus operandi was to hit the joints between the domes and the walls with iron crowbars.</b> No amateur was likely to have either the strength or the skill to wield those crowbars. That they were professionals was indicated in the course of the morning when they did not allow photographers to take their pictures. Two of the cameras were snatched while films were taken away from the others. Normally, kar sevaks or political workers like to be photographed. It is the Government servants who are usually reluctant to come on record for fear of losing their jobs. There was no State BJP politician on the terrace except one. UP was represented only by police officers, some of whom were delighted, especially when the second dome collapsed at 3:40 pm. (The first one had gone down at 2:30 pm while the third crumbled at 4:30 pm.) <b>While a few VHP members too were delighted, several of the senior BJP leaders appeared so shocked that their faces looked incredibly pale. When I left Ayodhya, it was cold and pitch dark. The crowds from outside were jubilant but by then preoccupied with leaving the scene. The 10 walls of the edifice were standing without the domes. They were, more or less, 30 inch thick.</b> Mr Kalyan Singhâs Government, I heard on the radio, had been dismissed by 5:45 pm, and Governorâs rule had come into effect. In Lucknow, I heard Prime Minister Narasimha Rao addressing the nation. He said he was disgusted by what had happened and promised to rebuild the masjid. Actually, all that was needed was to reconstruct the domes since the rest of the structure was intact when I left Ayodhya. <b>To my surprise, I found photographs in newspapers of December 9 showing a makeshift temple with the Ram Lalla idol in place. This temple stands till today. Clearly, in the course of about 60 hours (the night of December 6, the whole of 7 and 8), the 10 thick walls were demolished and the massive quantity of rubble cleared for the Ram Lalla idols to take their place. </b>There was no police intervention although, reportedly, 15,000 paramilitary personnel were standing in readiness at Faizabad four km away. It is my surmise that the demolition was masterminded by Narasimha Rao and Mr Kalyan Singh. If there were to be any doubt about the PMOâs involvement, would it not be cleared by recalling that the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, passed by Parliament in 1991, prohibited any change in old places of worship from its condition on August 15, 1947, except Ayodhya? The implication was the Babri edifice could be disturbed.
Prafull Goradia
General Secretary, Bharatiya Jana Sangh
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->