The Babri Mosque Gates Opening

In British times, the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya was used by Muslims for worship; there was a platform outside the mosque where Hindus worshipped Ram. It was believed that the place was the birthplace of Ram. In 1949, an idol of Ram Lalla (baby) is said to have been placed inside the mosque one night. Hindu devotees saw this appearance of the idol as a miracle and now wanted the place for worship. In the wake of disturbances, it was decided by the local authorities to lock the disputed premises in Ayodhya so that neither Hindus nor Muslims could use the act of worship to press their claims.

Appeals were made before Faizabad court that the Ram Janmabhoomi gates be unlocked on the grounds that it was the Faizabad district administration, and not a court, that had ordered its closure. In the 1980s, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and other such Hindu groups launched a campaign to construct a Ram Mandir at the site. On February 1, 1986, the Faizabad district judge ordered that the doors to the mosque be opened so that the devotees could pray. According to reports at the time, the Congress government under Rajiv Gandhi ensured that the locks of the mosque were opened almost immediately after the Faizabad judge’s ruling. Television cameras were present to cover the opening, suggesting that the judge’s decision was known by the administration beforehand.

There was a strong belief that the Rajiv Gandhi government’s decision in the Ayodhya matter was made to balance the Muslim Women’s Act by placating the hard core Hindus. If the Congress thought it could undercut the BJP’s temple campaign, it was mistaken; the initiative was grabbed by the Sangh Parivar. The VHP was emboldened and its attitude hardened: now the demand for the demolition of the mosque to build a temple at the site became vociferous.

The image of Rajiv Gandhi as a modern forward-looking leader was tarnished after these two issues. As political analysts warned at the time, the policy of appeasement of communities for electoral gains could become a vicious cycle and cause much damage to the social fabric.