Unseen photos of how Babri Masjid demolition was planned and executed in 1992.
A Thread

In July 1992, the foundation stone-laying ceremony (shilanyas) had taken place at the 2.77-acre plot of land acquired by Kalyan Singh’s BJP government in UP

Kar sevaks had gathered for a foundation stone-laying ceremony of the proposed main gate ‘Singhdwar’ at disputed site where the Babri Masjid stood

Human bones were found on the land that was being levelled and prepared in July 1992. The land was registered as a Muslim graveyard in revenue records

Then-Union HRD minister Arjun Singh calls then-PM P.V. Narasimha Rao from a phone booth at New Delhi railway station before leaving for Lucknow on 3 December 1992. He was headed there to monitor the situation in Ayodhya

On 5 December, a kar sevak writes ‘Rakt denge, pran denge’ (we will give blood, we will give our lives) on a wall, a day before the demolition of the Babri Masjid |

Amid a rehearsal a day before the actual demolition, an Uttar Pradesh policeman joins kar sevaks in shouting slogan ‘Jai Shri Ram’, which came to be associated with the Ram Janmabhoomi movement

Kar sevaks queue up with hammers and pickaxes on 5 December 1992

A man, with his face covered, instructs kar sevaks during the rehearsal

The morning of the demolition, BJP leader L.K. Advani meets leaders of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement

When the Babri Masjid was being demolished, many BJP leaders were at the site. Pictured here (from left): Murli Manohar Joshi, then-president of the BJP, L.K. Advani and Vijayaraje Scindia

At the Ram Katha Kunj, Vishva Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal (standing) and Uma Bharti (standing behind to his right) meet Rajnath Singh (sitting nearest the camera)

The night before the demolition of the Babri Masjid

On 6 December, kar sevaks bring sand and water from the Sarayu River, for the symbolic kar seva allowed by the Supreme Court

Kar sevaks demolishing the Babri Masjid