Continuing its revelations from Liberhan Commission report, the Indian Express on Tuesday again frontpaged excerpts from the report, which said, bureaucrats in Uttar Pradesh helped the then Kalyan Singh government to subvert the system so that the Sangh Parivar could achieve its goal of demolishing the Babri Masjid.
The Justice Liberhan Commission of Inquiry is said to have observed that the infiltration of the government and of the administration by pro-Sangh elements was complete.
The Liberhan report goes on to say that its “traces and remnants are still thriving all over the country,” and pose as grave a threat as ever — continuing to spread in scope to “encompass every pillar of the Constitutional system.”
The report says, after coming to power, Kalyan Singh worked to identify and replace officers who could have resisted his attempts and stopped the demolition. Transfer was a weapon used with alarming frequency, almost always to replace these officers with pliant ones. The transfers resulted in giving the Sangh Parivar and its affiliates a free run on the disputed structure, the report is said to state.
Liberhan is said to be most scathing in his condemnation of Kalyan Singh and his ministerial colleagues and officers.
The report, according to Indian Express, says Kalyan, his ministers and their chosen officers created circumstances that led to the demolition and split Hindus and Muslims, resulting in massacres across the country. And that at every step, the state government supported the imminent demolition by tacit, open and material support.
Liberhan is also learnt to have observed that as part of the same game plan, the state government stationed fresh recruits to the armed police in Faizabad and Ayodhya and these recruits got so close to the kar sevaks that they wouldn't have fired at them even if they had been asked to do so.
Referring to the role or the lack of it of the then P V Narasimha Rao-led Congress government during the build-up and afterwards, Liberhan is learnt to have said the Central government was crippled by failure of intelligence inputs as well as the fact that the matter was before the Supreme Court.
One of the key conclusions of Liberhan is said to be that Kalyan Singh stood guard against any pre-emptive and preventive action by the Union Government or the Supreme Court. He is also said to have observed that Kalyan tied the hands of security forces and agencies by issuing orders that directed them not to fire at kar sevaks come what may. Liberhan is learnt to have found that by leaking information about such directives to the police, the state government further weakened the already-dejected force and ensured that kar sevaks had no fear.
The events in the morning and afternoon of December 6, 1992 that led to the demolition of the Babri Masjid were facilitated by a compliant administration and a political leadership — including L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Vinay Katiyar — that stood barely 200 metres away and did nothing to prevent the kar sevaks from tearing down the domes.
This is said to be the key conclusion of the Justice Liberhan Commission of Inquiry as it discusses the events of December 6 under the section, “The Sequence of Events.”
Liberhan is said to have pointed out that Advani, Joshi, Ashok Singhal, Vijayaraje Scindia, RSS leader H V Seshadri etc., made only feeble attempts to make kar sevaks climb down from the domes.
No request was made to the kar sevaks not to enter the garbha griha (sanctum sanctorum) or not to demolish the domes. Liberhan is said to have observed that these “icons” of the movement could have used the administration's help — or that of the highly disciplined swayamsevaks — and prevented the demolition.
Liberhan's listing of the day's events — with District Magistrate R N Srivastava acting on direct orders of the then CM Kalyan Singh — makes this point. The sequence, as in the report:
* A “sham” decision was taken by the Kendriya Marg Darshak Samiti (central body of saints of the VHP) that kar seva, fixed for 12.15 pm, was only symbolic.
* RSS leader K S Sudarshan admitted that RSS kar sevaks were deployed for security of the disputed structure and crowd control.
* At 9.30 am, Union Home Secretary told the DG of Indo-Tibetan Border Police to keep forces ready in case of any request from the state and deploy them without waiting for formal Home Ministry orders.
* Vinay Katiyar, Advani, Joshi, Ashok Singhal, Acharya Giriraj Kishore, Uma Bharti, Sadhvi Rithambara and others were present at Katiyar's house in the morning before going to the site.
* At 10.30 am, Advani and Joshi accompanied by Katiyar, sadhus and sants, reached the platform meant for kar seva and symbolic puja. After 10-20 minutes, Advani and Joshi went to the Ram Katha Kunj, 200 m away.
* The administration “falsely” told journalists that everything was under control and they should not waste their time.
* At 11.45 am, DM and SSP surveyed the Ram Janambhoomi complex.
* At noon, a teenaged kar sevak jumped onto the dome, sparking off the breach of the outer cordon. Other kar sevaks, wielding pickaxes, hammers, iron rods and shovels, stormed the disputed structure. Police gave their canes and shields to kar sevaks who brandished them openly.
* Ek dhakka aur do, Babri Masjid tod do was the war-cry to encourage kar sevaks. In this chaotic scenario, the DM did nothing.
* At 12.15 pm, kar sevaks entered the garbha griha, removed the idols and cash box. Brickbatting on security men gave kar sevaks cover to assault the structure. Demolition was accomplished by puncturing holes in the walls and then inserting ropes to pull the walls down which razed the domes.
* 1.55 pm: Kar sevaks pulled down the first dome; security forces were outnumbered and had no means of communication with officers present in the control room. State police and UP's Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) took no action throughout. The CRPF were at the Sita Rasoi but received no orders.
* RSS leader Sudarshan says 150 kar sevaks broke through. Total numbers between 1,000 and 5,000.
* Advani made requests over the PA system to kar sevaks to climb down but no one listened. This “charade,” by these leaders at the instance of Advani contrasts with their own prior conduct and public posture, incitement and exhortations to the crowd to build a temple in place of the disputed structure.
* After initial attempts were made to pacify the kar sevaks, nothing was done thereafter to stop the assault, either by the organizers or the sadhus and sants or by the administration or police.
* Idols and cash removed were returned to their original places at the site about 7 pm. The construction of a makeshift temple commenced at about 7.30 pm.
* Riots began at 3.30 pm in Ayodhya, carried out by a group of kar sevaks different from those who carried out the demolition.
