In Time: Babri Masjid Demolition

1992: Mob rips apart mosque in Ayodhya

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Hindu militants have demolished the Babri Mosque and attacked other Muslim targets, in one of India's worst outbreaks of communal violence.

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> Timeline: Ayodhya crisis

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In Context

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The destruction of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya triggered some of the worst inter-communal violence since partition in 1947. More than 2,000 people died in rioting throughout India. The BJP's leader, LK Advani, resigned as leader of the opposition, accepting "moral responsibility".

He subsequently became deputy PM in the BJP government of Atal Behari Vajpayee. He was among seven Hindu leaders ordered to stand trial in 2003 for inciting violence at Ayodhya. In February 2002, one of the Hindu groups involved in the 1992 demonstration, the VHP, again called hundreds of volunteers to the site to begin construction of the temple.


> In pictures: Ayodhya attack

> Q&A: The Ayodhya dispute


About Ayodhya: Lying on the banks of the Ghaghara River just east of Faizabad, Ayodhya in ancient times was one of India's greatest cities. It was the capital of Kosala, as described in the Ramayana.

On YouTube: Demolition of Babri Masjid

Robin Hood of India

Dadua, India’s most wanted bandit after Veerappan, was shot dead yesterday, ending the 30-year reign of a criminal hailed by poor villagers as India’s modern-day Robin Hood. No photos of Dadua has ever been taken & authorities only had a vague idea of his appearance, who was identified by local villagers.

Dadua, who was believed to be in his 50s, led one of the few remaining bands of outlaws. For centuries they have roamed central India, their exploits romanticised in Bollywood Movies.


Via Times, The Telegraph