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Jyoti Basu on the Dem olition of the Babri Masjid

I AM happy to hear that People's Democracy, our weekly paper is bringing out aspecial edition on the tenth anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid inAyodhya. I wish to place on record what I remember about that shameful eventwhich sent shock waves not only through India, but throughout the world. Oncebefore, on October 30, 1990 when Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Partywas leading the government in Uttar Pradesh, the Babri Masjid was attacked byBJP-supported kar sevaks , some of whom mounted the dome of the Masjid. Thepolice had to resort to firing and some people were killed, including one volunteer

from Kolkata. Thereafter riots took place in some parts of India and inBangladesh, where some temples were attacked.

This was the background in which once again, when the BJP was in power in UP,with its government being headed by Kalyan Singh, the kar sevaks declared amarch to Ayodhya to protest against the attack on them earlier. When asked bythe Supreme Court on a petition made before it, why the kar sevaks were goingthere, the counsel for the UP government stated that their intention was to prayand sing religious songs.

Our Party demanded a meeting of the National Integration Council and the then

Congress prime minister, P V Narasimha Rao did call a meeting on November 23,1992 in Delhi which Harkishen Singh Surjeet, our Party's general secretary and Iattended. I think no representative of the BJP spoke in the meeting. But all otherscalled upon the prime minister to take adequate steps for the protection of theMasjid. Surjeet, on behalf of our Party, urged upon the PM to use Article 356 toremove the government if there was no other alternative for protecting the Masjid,despite the fact that we have been opposing Article 356, which for most of thetime has been used wrongly by the central government. Prime Minister

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Narasimha Rao gave the assurance in the meeting that his government wouldmaintain the rule of law by any means. He also reported in the meeting that thethree-months of discussion between the centre and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad,had fallen through. It was alleged by different parties, including V P Singh, thatthe BJP and its sangh parivar was subverting the Constitution, parliamentary

democracy and the Court.

Two days before the demolition, I rang up the PM to tell him that alarming newswas coming in about the preparations being made by the kar sevaks , to attack theMasjid. He told me that the Congress Working Committee would be meeting todiscuss the situation. But no action was taken by the central government, and asplanned, the Masjid was razed to the ground, with the police looking on. It wasreported that a few top leaders of the BJP, including some who are now ministersof the BJP-led government, were present during this dastardly act, and cases arepending against them.

When Surjeet and I later met the PM we asked him why no attempt was made tosave the Masjid; his only reply was that he could not distrust the chief minister ofthe state who assured him that nothing untoward would happen.

Communalism of the majority does lead, in some areas of our country, to minoritycommunalism, helped by Pakistan and some other countries. The Congress(I),the biggest non-communal party in the Opposition at the centre, and now rulingin 14 states, is as yet not self-critical, and does not feel the necessity of anyideological campaign against the communal and fascistic forces.

EVIDENCE ON RECORD

I was asked by the Justice Liberhan Commission, set up a long time back toprobe the demolition of the Masjid, to give evidence before it. I met theCommission for two days on January 29 and March 15, in the year 2001, andplaced all these facts before it. I also presented the Commission with a cassettecontaining the speech of the ex-chief minister, Kalyan Singh in Kolkata after hisgovernment was dismissed. In the course of this speech, he gleefully, and withgreat pride, among other things, stated that the demolition was a greatachievement, and a new era had begun in India.

I think it is worthwhile to add that because of my statements on communalism

and calling such acts " uncivilised and barbaric ", the prime minister Atal BehariVajpayee, at a subsequent meeting in Kolkata said that he would ask me why Iused such language. In the discussions with me which followed the meeting, Itold him that I had not mentioned individuals, but I was of the view that viciousattacks against other religions, and demolition of their houses of prayer, are inmy view, barbarous and uncivilised. They are also against our concept of unity indiversity, and do violence to our Constitution. I reminded him that he had at leastexpressed regret after the demolition, but his other colleagues had justified the

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about the demolition of the mosque: I express before you, I did not have any repentance, nor any pangs or agony for the case, and I had a pleasure to declare it as a historic day. I can tell you, my dear friends, without the inspiration of God such a colossal job of demolition could not have been pulled off within five hours without using any explosive device. Even if we

engaged a labour contractor for the same, the contractor might have taken at least one and half months time for the said purpose, including removal of huge amount of debris. You know, the birth of new Indian era will take place with some glorious future after December 6, 1992. The demolition of the structure (though some sections of people took it for a shame for the Nation) has become an affair of pride to the Nation.

In the third week of December, 1993, Surjeet and I met the prime minister andasked him why nothing was done. He said, How could I disbelieve a chiefminister when he assured me that no harm will be done to the Masjid. I then

presented the cassette to him and told him what I told you now. I do not knowwhether he heard the cassette.

The present prime minister, Sri Vajpayee, met me on March 20, 1999, in Calcuttaand asked me why I called the BJP barbaric and uncivilised. I said I do notnormally name anybody, but I do call the demolition a barbaric act, and I askedhim how did it happen and what language should I use. He said It was anaccident and not organised. I told him about Kalyan Singhs speech. He keptquiet. Now he is saying something else - expression of national sentiment.

We shall await the findings of the Commission.