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'As some karsevaks started to break down the mosque, an RSS functionary stood on the watchtower directing them, frequently blowing a whistle, as if he was directing an athletic team'

By about 7 am on December 6, the entire area surrounding the Babri Masjid had been cleared of ordinary karsevaks and was under the control of small teams of RSS men. One of them contained about fifteen men from Maharashtra; its task was to ensure an orderly karseva. But apart from that, they were unwilling to reveal anything about themselves, which may or may not have been under instructions. But a group of teenagers, also from Maharashtra, who were being hustled out of the grounds along with an elderly man by the RSS volunteers and two policemen were more vocal.

'Jab hum idhar se finally jayenge na, to idhar kuch nahin bachneka' (When we finally leave this place, nothing here will survive), they declared confidently, amidst much laughter in which the RSS workers and the police joined. The elderly man, obviously not one of them, chided the boys for their disobedience and urged them to follow the directive of the Marg Darshak Mandal. 'I am also a karsevak,' he told them, 'but I believe that our karseva should be as disciplined as Gandhiji's satyagraha.' The boys jeered at him for taking Gandhi's name with respect, 'Are tum use Gandhiji bolte ho, par hum to use sala buddha, harami bolte hain' (You call him Gandhiji, but we call him a bloody old bastard), they said, leaving the old man staring after them.

By mid-morning, the area surrounding the disputed site was overflowing with karsevaks straining at the barricades. Their mood was belligerent. They were being held back by RSS volunteers and a handful of policemen. Some of them who managed to break the cordon from time to time and rush into the grounds looked almost possessed; they broke down when they were dragged out. Assorted sadhus, including the better known ones -- such as Paramhans in a canary yellow sweater, his normally unkempt beard and hair neatly combed out -- bustled about importantly, airing their views.

Sadhu Vishwas Bapu of Junagadh, who said he had been a paratrooper in the Indian army before renouncing the world, was one of them. According to his not terribly cogent argument, if the government and the secularists wanted the people to believe that the disputed structure was indeed a mosque and not a temple, they would first have to say that Godse, Beant Singh and Sivarasan (assassins of M K Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi respectively) were the heroes and Gandhi, Indira and Rajiv the offenders. 'If they agree, so will we,' concluded Vishwas Babu in fluent English, before wandering off in search of a new audience.

From 11 am onwards, the top leaders of the Parivar including Advani, Joshi, (VHP secretary general Ashok) Singhal, (RSS leaders H V) Seshadri and (K S) Sudarshan, Katiyar, Bharati and (Gorakhpur MP Mahant) Avaidyanath began arriving at the disputed site. They did not go anywhere near the spot where they were going to perform karseva in less than an hour, but moved around aimlessly and left as hurriedly as they had come, surrounded by security men and small groups of karsevaks.

Soon after the bigwigs of the Parivar had left, at about 11.45 am, a group of not more than twenty boys suddenly rushed into the fenced ground, ostensibly to help the RSS men evict some of the karsevaks who had earlier broken the police cordon. This group was not wearing the usual saffron headband with Jai Shri Ram written on it, but lemon yellow bands that could be clearly seen from a distance because of the brightness of the colour. No one quite remembered seeing headbands of this colour before.

The yellow-banded group moved towards the gate where the police was perfunctorily trying to control a rapidly swelling crowd which outnumbered them hopelessly. This could have been a signal, for no sooner had these boys been sighted by the karsevaks straining at the barrier, than there was an announcement on the public address system asking the boys to withdraw from there immediately.

As the boys left, followed by the RSS men who had been positioned there since the morning, the crowd of karsevaks broke through and rushed to the mosque armed with hammers, iron rods, pickaxes, crowbars, bamboos and shovels. Simultaneously, hordes of karsevaks appeared on top of the outer wall of the mosque from the sides and back, pelting the police with stones and bricks.

As the force ran for safety, D B Rai, senior superintendent of police, Faizabad, could be seen shouting at them to return. They chose not to obey him and, instead, stood around watching from the sidelines.

As some of the karsevaks started to break down the mosque with their bare hands, an RSS functionary stood on the watchtower in front of the mosque, directing them, and frequently blowing a whistle and waving a flag, as if he was directing a world squad or athletic team. Small groups of women collected on the rooftops of adjoining buildings, and threw gulal at the karsevaks. They sang and clapped, even as a few others began to uproot telephone wires.

Excerpted from Creating a Nationality, by Ashis Nandy, Shikha Trivedy, Shail Mayaram and Achyut Yagnik, Oxford University Press, 1995, Rs 295, with the publisher's permission.

'One group of karsevaks blocked all entry points into Ayodhya to keep out central security forces, while another began to loot and burn Muslim homes'

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