Communal Clashes

FTN: Eyewitnesses recall the destruction of Babri Masjid

Exactly twenty years back, on December 6, 1992, the Babri Masjid was demolished by a frenzied crowd of Hindu right wing forces. In the communal clashes that followed, thousands were killed across the country. The eyewitnesses recall the day with Sagaika Ghose on Face The Nation.

Below is the full transcript of the show:

Sagarika Ghose: Today, 20 years ago was a sad day for India's secular state, and a day of shame for the spirit of tolerance. Today December 6 was the day that the 400-year-old Babri Masjid was demolished by Hindu activists as part of the Ram Janmabhoomi agitation. Post demolition riots led to 900 deaths in Mumbai alone. Those who were there in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992, those eyewitnesses what are their abiding memories. We're talking tonight to those who witnessed the demolition of the Babri Masjid.

The eyewitness to that demolition, Pramod Pushkarna, photographer. Pramod was in Ayodhya; he was working with India Today then, he was forced to hide in a temple to escape from the mob which was beating up journalists. Dibang, senior journalist; Dibang, was with Illustrated Weekly, he entered the Babri Masjid, in fact, while it was being broken down. And Sir Mark Tully, former South Asia bureau chief of the BBC, has written several books on India, was in Ayodhya when the Babri Masjid was demolished, and was reporting from there. Thank you very much indeed for joining us. ...