“Inside Ayodhya’s Karsevakpuram: Once a hideout for Karsevaks, Now VHP office and workshop for Ram Temple’s Pillars and Murtis”, Swarajyamag, December 27, 2023:
“Three decades ago, Hazarilal Rathore, a native of Shahjahanpur district in Uttar Pradesh, permanently relocated to Ayodhya. He arrived in the city in response to a nationwide call for ‘karseva‘ given by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), urging devotees of Lord Ram to converge on the contentious Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri mosque site on October 30, 1990.
Like the thousands of others, Rathore chose to heed the call as an act of defiance against then state chief minister Mulayam Singh, who famously warned that ‘not even a bird would breach Ayodhya’s borders on that day’ (“Ayodhya mein parinda bhi par nahi maar sakta”) and deployed stringent security measures to prevent karsevak entry
On November 2, the police, acting on the orders of Mulayam Singh, opened fire on karsevaks for the second time in four days. Rathore, who was present at the scene, narrowly escaped death. “I witnessed the Kothari brothers being shot dead,” he recalls…..”
Read the full article at Swarajyamag.com
