It Wasn’t Just the Masjid That Fell

It has been thirty years since the demolition of the Babri Masjid. Torn down by a mob in full public view, the destruction of the mosque occurred on the back of a massive mobilisation that shook India’s secular foundations. This act of political defiance testifies to the mobilisation power of religious identities and symbols in shaping the growth of majority sentiment in politics and public affairs, and the systematic way in which priority has been given to these interests. The demolition and the violence that followed changed India. It killed thousands of people across the country and displaced even more in its aftermath. This was the climax of a political movement designed to assert the supremacy of the Hindu majority.