How Ayodhya Residents, Priests Saved Muslims After Demolition Of Babri Masjid In 1992

Amid the heightened communal tension and killings in Ayodhya in the aftermath of the Babri mosque demolition on December 6, 1992, there were also shining examples in the temple town of Hindus risking their lives to protect their Muslim neighbours.

Ayodhya residents recall several heartwarming stories of Hindu community elders sending violent karsewaks away from several neighbourhoods and priests giving shelter to vulnerable Muslims in temples.

The town had some 4,500 Muslim residents at that time.

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¡°There were some 50-60 houses of Muslims in the Godiana locality near Raiganj in Ayodhya, where I live,¡± says writer Anurag Shukla.

¡°I still remember when a mob came asking about the houses where Muslims stayed, senior residents of the locality such as Ram Chandra Mishra, Ram Shankar Shukla and K C Shrivastava stopped them.¡±

¡°These seniors insisted that their relations with Muslims of the area went back many generations and that they wouldn¡¯t allow anyone to be harmed. The elders refused to be swayed by threats, forcing the karsewaks to beat a retreat,¡± says Shukla.

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Sadiq Ali, president of Ayodhya Muslim Welfare Society, recalls how mahants and sadhus of the Hanumangarhi temple protected Muslims. ¡°Many Muslims took shelter in temples and local mahants protected them till peace returned to Ayodhya,¡± says Ali.

Says Parag Lal Yadav, a gardener who lives in Rajghat locality of the town, ¡°After the mosque¡¯s demolition, a mob started attacking Muslim homes in Rajghat, Mirapur Bulandi and Dorahi Kuan.

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Many families came to our house for shelter. We formed a human shield to keep them safe. One rioter hit my head thinking I was Muslim but we succeeded in saving many lives.¡±

Yadav¡¯s son Ajay says their neighbour Ramzaan Ali and his wife were chased by rioters but managed to escape to their house.

¡°While running they dropped their infant child. The mob was about to throw the baby into a fire, but I claimed him as my son and managed to save him,¡± he says.