NEWSLINKS US EDITION SOUTH ASIA COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF POLL THE STATES ELECTIONS ARCHIVES US ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFF
Vishwa Hindu Parishad president Vishnu Hari Dalmiya surprised the Justice M S Liberhan Commission inquiring into the demolition of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya on Thursday by claiming that there was never a mosque at the spot.
"It is a myth that the structure that was brought down by the irate kar sevaks on December 6, 1992, was a mosque," Dalmiya said. "This has been falsely propagated by pseudo-secularists as a part of their vote bank politics."
"The communal clashes that followed the demolition could have been avoided if the matter had been placed before the people in its correct perspective," he said.
Dalmiya accused the Bharatiya Janta Party-led government of trying to appease the minorities for votes.
He said the government gave in to whatever the Muslims and the Christians asked for.
"It was this minority appeasement, which resulted in the Hindu backlash."
Dalmiya said: "The structure at Ayodhya was a victory monument made by Mughal emperor Babar, who built it after destroying a temple in order to humiliate the Hindus."
An inscription in Arabic on the structure had described it as the "alighting place for angels", he said.
"When the person who built it did not describe it as a mosque, how can others give a different interpretation?" Dalmiya asked.
He said the kar sevaks pulled down the structure to pave the way for the construction of a Ram temple.
Indo-Asian News Service
Back to top
Tell us what you think of this report
