‘I demolished the mosque for Ram, and for India’
Hazaari Lal, a man in his 50s with a cataract in his right eye, is still on duty at Karsevakpuram, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s (VHP’s) base camp in Ayodhya. In 1992, Lal, in his early 20s, was one of the thousands of kar sevaks who were fired up by the war cries to pull down the Babri Masjid. He now shows visitors to Karsevakpuram, which has the biggest replica of the proposed Ram temple at the site where he, along with others, had climbed the mosque’s dome 25 years ago to bring it down. He recounts the events of the day that shook India:
I arrived in Ayodhya on the night of October 2, 1990, from my village in Shahjahanabad district, walking all the way. Many of us who had come here were angered by Mulayam Singh’s statement: “Ayodhya mein koi parinda par bhi nahin maar sakta (Not even a bird can enter Ayodhya).”
On December 6, 1992, many big leaders exhorted us not to damage the mosque. But none of us listened. Only if the mosque was demolished, could a new Ram temple be built there. And we were going to achieve that at any cost.
I managed to climb on top of the dome and we started breaking it. I fell when a portion of the dome collapsed. I remember lying in the rubble, with a broken back, jaw, arm and shoulder, and injuries across my face. I was trapped for 10-15 minutes before being pulled out. After about two hours, I was taken to a hospital in Ayodhya. A few days later, I was moved to a hospital in Faizabad and from there to a Lucknow medical centre. After being discharged, I was moved to the Lucknow central jail.
Officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had visited us in the jail and at the hospital. I and many others were told by a senior legislator (name withheld) not to give our names as those who demolished the mosque. Many elderly leaders of the organisation were listed as accused by the CBI, instead of us. The CBI officers failed to even visit many of us after we were released from jail. In a proper investigation, they should have asked us how we broke our limbs or suffered the kind of injuries they saw. But there was none of it. My case still lies buried somewhere. I have asked for my case file many times but no one knows where it is.
I had come in the service of Lord Ram and believe that I should have also been listed as an accused. Sometimes, I can’t sleep at night sometimes. What objective will remain in my life if I am not included as an accused in the case for the service I have done for Lord Ram? I did not partake of demolishing the mosque for my household. I did it for Lord Ram, for the nation, and for Ayodhya. At least, things have started changing in Ayodhya. Now the time has come for a temple to be constructed. Everyone is losing strength in fighting this case over Lord Ram.