(A special CBI court on Wednesday, 30 September, acquitted all 32 accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case, 28 years after the incident took place. Among the accused acquitted, over lack of evidence, were LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti. This story was first published on 5 December 2017 and is being republished from The Quint’s archives in light of this development.)
6 December 1992 – a day that changed Indian politics forever. The Babri demolition incident in Ayodhya is well-known, but what were the events that unfolded prior to this day?
A Documented Rehearsal
On 5 December 1992, a rehearsal was carried out. Dozens of kar sevaks participated in this effort, in practice for the main event the next day. This activity was photographed by Praveen Jain, Associate Editor of The Indian Express who had at the time worked with The Pioneer and who says he had to disguise…