28 years after the Babri structure was demolished on December 6, 1992, Sant Brajmohan Das, an eyewitness to that historic event, has revisited what exactly transpired on that day in Ayodhya. Sant Brajmohan Das is the Mahant of Ram-Lakhan-Vishwamitra Vishram Ashram. This ashram is situated in Bihar’s Madhubani district, in Bishaul village. Sant Brajmohan Das, who has been the Mahant of this ashram since 2001, originally hails from the Uttar Pradesh district of Deoria.
He recalls: “I am 55-56 years old now. In 1992 I was a young monk. I had, renounced my homestead rights some time ago after undergoing initiation. I had reached Ayodhya in November and was living in Hanumangarhi then”.
Speaking to OpIndia, Mahant Brajmohan Das said: “In 1992, Vishwa Hindu Parishad had announced to organises Kar Seva in Ayodhya. It was envisioned to be a symbolic event. An area was marked for the worship on December 6.”
According to the Mahant, the process of Karsevaks coming to Ayodhya began roughly 15 days before December 6. The number of people arriving n Ayodhya was increasing by the day. Not everyone who came in from the outside was a Karsevak. Security personnel were also stationed across Ayodhya. It was difficult to estimate how many police personnel and how many central forces were present in Ayodhya as many were also present in plain clothes. Likewise, it is difficult to estimate the number of Karsevaks present in Ayodhya at that time. It appeared that a camp was being organised in Ayodhya a week before December 6.
Security arrangements were unprecedented
Recalling the brutal massacre of Kersevaks and Hindu devotees in the year 1990 at the behest of the then CM Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Mahant said that in 1992, the security arrangements in Ayodhya were even tighter than it was in 1990. Nobody knew what was exactly going to happen because the city was packed with devotees on the one hand and security personnel on the other.
With the number of security officers deployed in the city, it was clear that if the 1990 massacre was replicated, none would come out alive from Ayodhya. Young sadhus like us would frequently inquire if security officers would open fire at Karsevaks as they did in 1990. They would respond that they were not strangers but fellow citizens and all they were doing was following orders.
According to Mahant, the security forces appeared to be in the same condition as the people of Ayodhya, anxious about what would happen on December 6.
There was ‘Ram Rajya’ in Ayodhya
The VHP and other Hindu organisations, according to Mahant, had made great arrangements for the Karsevaks arriving from all corners of the country. There was ample food arrangement at Karsevakapuram, ashrams and other places. Food laden trucks were arriving in Ayodhya from various places. Tents were built to accommodate the Karsevaks coming from other places. Blankets and all other basic essentials were provided in the Ashrams. People from the Sangh and the ashram were deployed at various bus stations and the railway station to ensure that visitors were not inconvenienced in any way. There was no shortage of anything as such. No chaos despite the overwhelming crowd. There seemed to be complete Ram Rajya in Ayodhya, recalled Mahant Brajmohan Das.
The Karsevaks were unstoppable
As the date of December 6 drew nearer, Mahant Brajmohan Das claims he began to hear reports that the train had been banned by the government. On the way, Karsevaks are being detained. To house them, schools were repurposed into alternative jails. Even still, the flow of people to Ayodhya continued unabated. Some arrived on their own, some by bus, and yet others by train. People were evading the administration by walking for several kilometres to get there. Karsevaks were unstoppable, they kept pouring in from all four directions.
Language was no barrier
According to the Mahant, a huge number of Karsevaks, including many women, arrived from South India as well. “We didn’t understand their language,” he says, however, the intensity of their chants and cheers as soon as they arrived at the station was incredible. Everyone was taken aback by their energy. Their enthusiasm was spoken about all across Ayodhya. Even we had to ask them to be more restrained at times, said the Mahant.
Atmosphere of Ayodhya on 5th December 1992
According to Mahant Brajmohan Das, going by the atmosphere in Ayodhya, even a day before on December 5, no one could imagine that something like the demolition would happen on December 6. Everything was absolutely normal and very festive the previous day. Karsevaks and security personnel were spurned across the city. Somewhere people were lined up for food while at other places people were making merry. Everything seemed to be in order. All the markets were operating as usual. There was no atmosphere of fear. There was only enthusiasm all around.
….’and on December 6 the magic happened’
According to Mahant, the morning of December 6, 1992, was also routine. The preparations were proceeding according to the predetermined schedule. All routes leading to the Ram Janmabhoomi were cordoned off with strong barricades and barbed wire by the administration. The administration had built a fortress around the Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya at the site of the Babri Masjid with multi-layers of security. It was almost impossible to reach the site.
An empty bus belonging to the security forces was parked near Hanumangarhi. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a Karsevak, whom Mahant Brajmohan Das says he did not recognise, entered the bus and took over the steering wheel. He raced the bus towards the site at full speed, shattering all the barricades that came in his way. Behind the bus, a horde of Karsevaks rushed uncontrollably towards the site.
Mahant Brajmohan added that “when several Karsevaks ascended atop the disputed structure, three teams were formed as part of a plan that was strategised on the spot. One team moved swiftly towards the structure. One was entrusted with the responsibility to protect the Karsevaks. Meanwhile, if the government took any action and ordered firing, it was the responsibility of the third party to protect the people while dealing with it.
“Everything happened all of a sudden on the spot,” the Mahant added when asked who was behind this plan. There was no renowned individual involved in this. All of them were regular Karsevaks. They hadn’t even met before”. The Mahant recalled how the Karsevaks completely demolished the Babri structure site to reclaim the Janmabhoomi (birthplace) of Lord Rama within four to five hours after the sadhu rampaged the bus through the multi-layered security. “No remains of the Babri structure were left to see,” recalled the Mahant.
“Until today, I feel amazed at what transpired on December 6. There was this tall structure at the Janmabhoomi a few minutes ago, and the next minute there was nothing. The barbed wire used to keep people away from the Janmabhoomi was sharp and the barricades were strong. I was shocked that the Karsevaks had ripped off those sharp barbed wires with their bare hands. Everything seems to be surreal. Till today, I am out of words, I cannot believe that it all actually happened”.
Where were the security personnel when all this was happening?
According to the Mahant, the security personnel’s condition on that day was akin to that of the jail guards during the birth of Lord Krishna born in his maternal uncle Kansa’s prison in Mathura. They were all stunned. Seeing their state, it was obvious that they did not expect something like this to happen that too so suddenly. The administration was left dumbstruck. They would not have anticipated someone to cross the one-kilometre fortress they had erected with batons and barbed wire around the structure that now stood demolished.
What is god’s miracle…ask those who were present in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992
According to the Mahant, breaking the structure of batons and barbed wire constructed around the Ram Janmabhoomi site where the disputed structure then stood without any weapons was an impossible task, which the Karsevaks accomplished in no time. He says it was unbelievable, like God’s miracle. The situation felt surreal.
“After what transpired on the 6th of December, Ayodhya was filled with joy and enthusiasm. Only those who were present in Ayodhya on that day can explain what God’s miracles and powers are”, exclaimed the Mahant adding that after the historic incident the Karsevaks slowly returned to the place from where they had come. He too returned to Vrindavan after about a month.
