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Demonstrators tore the
mosque down using just hammers and their bare
hands |
1992: Mob rips apart mosque in
Ayodhya |
England have
A mob of Hindu militants has torn down a mosque and attacked other
Muslim targets in the north Indian town of Ayodhya, in one of India's
worst outbreaks of inter-communal violence.
The gathering at the mosque began as a religious procession organised
by three right-wing Hindu groups, including the main opposition Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP).
Hindu extremists have been campaigning to get rid of the Babri mosque
in Ayodhya, a focus for Hindu-Muslim hostility for decades.
They want to build a Hindu temple in its place, to mark what they
believe to be the birthplace of the Hindu warrior king, Lord Ram.
A court has already ordered that the mosque be protected from
demolition.
The leaders of the three parties promised to stand by the court's
decision, and said today's demonstration would be limited to a religious
ceremony symbolising the laying of the first bricks of a Hindu temple.
But before the ceremony could start, the 200,000-strong crowd broke
through police cordons.
They used hammers to knock down the three domes of the mosque, and then
tore at the bricks with their bare hands until the building was totally
destroyed.
The government had brought in hundreds of extra police, but
eyewitnesses said they stood by and allowed the destruction to take place.
The mob also turned on Indian and foreign journalists recording the
scene, before moving on to attack Muslim houses and property in the area.
The violence has sent shockwaves throughout the country.
Security forces throughout the north are on high alert, fearing a
backlash from India's 120 million strong Muslim population, and the
government has sent paramilitary reinforcements to the area.
The cabinet met in emergency session and dismissed the BJP-led
government in Uttar Pradesh for failing to protect the mosque.
The state - and its 150 million inhabitants - will be ruled directly
from New Delhi.
The Prime Minister, Narasimha Rao, has repeatedly appealed for calm in
radio and television broadcasts.
"What happened today is a matter of great concern and shame for all
Indians," he said.
The leader of the BJP, Lal Krishna Advani, described the incident as
"very unfortunate", and appealed to the crowd still at the Babri mosque
site to leave.