How the Ayodhya residents, priests saved Muslims in the post-Babri frenzy?
There were shining examples in the temple town of Hindus risking their lives to protect their Muslim neighbours in the midst of the increased community tension and killings in Ayodhya following the demolition of the mosque on 6 December 1992.
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YODHYA: Amid the increased community tension and killings in Ayodhya following the demolition of the mosque on 6 December 1992, there were also shining examples in the temple town of Hindus risking their lives in order to protect their Muslim neighbours.
Residents of Ayodhya remember many heartwarming tales of Hindu group elders sending violent karsewaks away from many communities and priests in temples offering sanctuary to marginalized Muslims.
Back then, the city had some 4,500 Muslim residents.
“In the locality of Godiana, near Raiganj in Ayodhya, where I live, there were some 50-60 Muslim homes,” says writer Anurag Shukla.
“I still remember when a mob asked about the houses where Muslims were sleeping, senior local leaders including Ram Chandra Mishra, Ram Shankar Shukla and K C Shrivastava stopped them.”
“These seniors insisted that their ties with the area’s Muslims had gone back several centuries and that they would not bring harm to anyone. The elders denied being intimidated by violence, forcing the karsewaks to beat a retreat, “Shukla says.
Sadiq Ali, president of the Ayodhya Muslim Welfare Society, remembers how Muslims were protected by mahants and sadhus from the Hanumangarhi temple. “Most Muslims took shelter in temples, and they were sheltered by local mahants before peace returned to Ayodhya,” Ali says.
“After the demolition of the mosque, a mob began targeting Muslim homes in Rajghat, Mirapur Bulandi and Dorahi Kuan,” says Parag Lal Yadav, a gardener living in the town’s Rajghat locality. A lot of families came to shelter at our home. To keep them protected we built a human shield. One rioter hit my head thinking I was Muslim but we managed to save other lives.
Yadav’s son Ajay says rioters pursued their neighbour Ramzaan Ali and his wife but managed to escape to their home.
“They dropped their infant child while playing. The mob was about to throw the baby into a pit, but as my son I claimed it, and managed to save it, “he says.
