Thread by @kaushkrahul

30th October today - what happened in Ayodhya on this day 29 years back, changed India forever.

VHP had announced the first Karsewa in Ayodhya. It was banned by then UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh. While VHP claimed lakhs will come, Mulayam said "Parinda bhi Par nhi maar paega"

Kar sewa was announced by saints & VHP. Preparations were on all across country. Lakhs of youth came forward to participate in the kar sewa voluntarily. Youth came from every part of country. There was barricading all around Ayodhya. No private vehicle was allowed beyond Lucknow.

Karsewaks travelled in trains & buses upto the place they could. Police used to arrest every1 who said he's going to Ayodhya. 100s of schools-colleges were converted into makeshift jail & 1000s of karsewaks were kept there without any arrangement. Only motive was to stop them.

Mulayam Singh & his admin thought he got successful in stopping karsewaks from reaching Ayodhya. Rambhakt reached through fields & rivers walking for even more than 200kms & hid in mandirs & houses in Ayodhya. All their way, they used to get shelter in villages on way.

Karsewaks used to travel on foot all day and wherever they were in night, villagers used to open doors of their homes for them. When police used to raid, people said they are their relatives. The only relation they had with each other was RAMBHAKTI.

Finally the D-day arrived. Mulayam thought he has done enough arrangements and no one could reach Ayodhya but he and his administration were shell shocked to see lakhs of karsewaks coming out of Ayodhya homes. By 9 AM, the number crossed 2 lakhs as per official records.

They all started moving towards the Ram janmasthan. Police had put heavy barricading & was constantly throwing tear gas shells. Suddenly a sadhu climbed over an empty police bus, threw the driver out and started moving towards barricades. He broke all of them.

Once the barricades were broken, thousands of karsewaks started moving towards the janmasthan. Many of the rushed and even climbed over top of Babri structure. Ram & Sharad Kothari, brothers from Kolkata were among those who climbed up on Babri. They were SHOT AT in cold blood.

This was followed by an open fire on karsewaks by police. Nobody knows how many died. Those who witnessed the massacre say that 100s of dead bodies were dumped in Sarayu river. Many of them are still untraceable. 29 years have passed since that black day, but it's unforgettable.

Now as the final judgement on the #SriRamjanmabhumi case approaches, let us remember all those martyr who laid down their lives for the cause of Dharma. They are our heroes and will remain so forever. A Grand Janmasthan Mandir will be a fitting tribute to them.
Jai Shri Ram!