Some less known and not known stories of AYODHYA protagonists

** In his book, 'The Babri Masjid Ram Mandir Dilemma: An Acid Test for India's Constitution', Madhav Godbole had said:  

"Rajiv Gandhi remained focused on pleasing the fundamentalists among the Muslims and the Hindus; the Muslims by getting the Muslim Women's Divorce Act enacted, and later, the Hindus, by getting the locks of the 'temple in the mosque' in Ayodhya opened, permitting shilanyas (foundation stone-laying) of the new temple, and even starting the Congress party's Lok Sabha election campaign from Ayodhya to usher in Ram Rajya,"

Godbole, who quit as Union home secretary after the demolition of the 16th century disputed structure, called Rajiv Gandhi the "second most prominent kar sevak" 

## Lalu Prasad as Bihar CM in 1990 had reportedly observed a 12-hour fast on October 23, - 1990 -- the day L K Advani was  arrested.

*** Lalu later claimed Samastipur - where Advani was arrested in Oct 23, 1990- “the home district" of his political mentor the late Karpoori Thakur, and thus he found it duty-bound to halt the Rath Yatra. The episode had made him a formidable 'secular' leader and MY (Muslim-Yadav) card meant electoral success.

**** Raj Kumar (RK) Singh, who had arrested Advani in Samastipur, is now Union Power Minister under PM Narendra Modi. Before joining the IAS, he served for a year as the Indian Police Service official.

Singh studied English literature at St. Stephens College, Delhi, and got a degree in law also. He also studied at the RVB Delft University in the Netherlands. 

## In 2003 ASI begins a court-ordered survey to find out if a Ram temple existed. The survey revealed 'evidence' of a temple but Muslims contested the finding.

1949 --- Ram idol 'appears' inside the mosque. Muslims file suit. Hindus file counter-suit, leading the government to declare the site "disputed" and lock its gate.

In 1989, the Rajiv Gandhi government played up Shilanyas politics to appease to Hindus.
     ---- Post-Shilanyas, Congress leaders were keen to garner Hindu votes, 
  Rajiv Gandhi even kick-started his party’s election campaign from Ayodhya-Faizabad on November 3, 1989. The location was selected at the last moment.

Later Congress admitted that permitting the Shilanyas was a mistake !!

On Oct 30, 1990 ---- There was violence in Ayodhya. First two people identified at the 'top' of the Babri Masjid on Dec 6, 1992 were two Kothari brothers from Kolkata - Ram and Sharad.

They were allegedly killed by police at the order of the then UP CM Mulayam Singh Yadav. Their bodies were found on November 1, 1990 near the Hanuman Garhi temple, which is in the vicinity of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple site.

##

Muslim version: Worshipping of Lord Ram at Ram Chabutara (square platform), according to Muslims, had begun during the time of Akbar.

At a Meet-the-Press programme at Mumbai Press Club in 2002, former Prime Minister V P Singh had said: "I told P V Narasimha Rao, don't trust the Sadhus. They will do just the opposite of what they are saying. Afterall, these Sadhus are wayward sons. As children, they did not listen to their fathers. 

"Yeh log apne Baap ke nahi suney, tabhi toh Sadhu baney"

(By then VP Singh used to frequently visit Mumbai for his cancer treatment and dialysis) 

## Two slogans became very popular during the peak of Ram Temple movement --- one - 

RAM MANDIR BANANA HAE and the other

--- 

Ab ki baari ATAL BIHARI

IT WAS ALSO REPORTED that 

VAJPAYEE once told ADVANI..prior to Dec 6, 1992

"Advaniji aap Ayodhya ja rahen haen; Lanka nahi (Mr Advani do not forget you are going to Ayodhya and not Lanka)" -- suggesting that the Kar Sewaks need to be kept under control.