Exactly 32 years ago, on 6 Dec 1992, a dhancha built during Babur’s invasion over a site widely believed to be Shri Ram’s birthplace was brought down with bare hands by thousands of karsevaks in Ayodhya
What really unfolded that day as seen through a core karsevak’s eyes? A 🧵 x.com

That day, karsevaks dismantled the dhancha (structure) using their hands and simple tools. In Ayodhya, locals and Sangh members dislike calling it ‘Babri’ or ‘mosque’ and refer to it simply as dhancha
Once the structure fell, chaos ensued. Some even lost their lives. Many were injured
By next morning, karsevaks started clearing the debris
A message was sent out to treat every rock and brick as prasad. Some broke bricks to share, others took mud. Within two hours, the site was cleared
By evening, the site was leveled. Then, a temporary temple was built with a cement platform, bamboo sticks and cloth. Ram Lalla was enshrined there
And it is at this very spot where he sits even today

The man sharing this account is Bholendra who joined the movement after police firing on Ram bhakts in Ayodhya in 1990, killing over 50. Kothari brothers from Kolkata were among those killed (video attached)
He told me: “It felt like Jallianwala Bagh. But was even more disturbing as it happened after independence and that too in the land of Lord Ram”
Drawn to Ayodhya, Bholendra joined VHP
In this video, he shares how he was tasked with creating a tent city for an estimated 4 lakh karsevaks ahead of 6 Dec and how the team divided the tent city into Poorvanchal, Pashchimanchal, Madhyanchal, Uttaranchal, and Dakshinanchal based on region, language and food habits
Tent colonies sprang up around the Ram Janmabhoomi area with names like Shivaji Nagar, Shankaracharya Nagar and Rani Lakshmibai Nagar (for women)
Volunteers transported arrivals from railway stations and bus stands directly to their camps

From 25 Nov 1992 onwards, karsevaks began pouring into Ayodhya from across India
Bholendra says numbers exceeded expectations. So messages were sent out to halt karsevaks in nearby cities like Kashi and Prayag and let them come to Ayodhya only on 6 Dec x.com

Food queues in the tent cities stretched for kilometers, especially because of the winter chill. Seeing the problem, the VHP issued a call for food donations
“Trucks laden with puri and sabzi poured into Ayodhya from surrounding villages. Soon, the food shortage vanished,” he says.

Finally, he shares that volunteers in 1992 Karsewa were determined to not leave without “finishing our work”. The anger over 1990 firing fuel led this determination x.com