Locked in School as Jails Were Full: 96-year-old Karsevak Recalls Memories of Ram Mandir Movement

Ayodhya: Shalini Dabir, the 96-year-old Karsevak who actively participated in the Ram Mandir movement in the 1990s, recalled her memories of the collapse of the Babri structure and recounted how she was 'compelled' to be locked in a school as the jails were full in the city.

She has been invited for the consecration ceremony of Lord Ram at Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22. 

Dabir, who was 63 during the Ram Mandir movement, reached Ayodhya by walking over 60 km and witnessed the saffron flag waving on top of the Babri structure on October 30, 1990. 

"There were bullets firing at the Karsevaks, and the police tortured us the most. The UP Police arrested a group of women karsevaks from Dadar and placed them on school premises. I was locked in a school as the jails were full," she said.

She further claimed that she not only experienced lathicharge but also tear gas and firing around her.She claimed that a bullet had just gone past her. "The person next to me died with the bullet," she added.

"After many efforts, a wall was not falling, then a monkey sat on that wall and everything turned to dust because he had applied pressure to the wall and it collapsed. After the collapse of the Babri structure, a man belonging to the Muslim community came and offered sweet, saying, 'You people have now got what you wanted'. I also wanted to give him some sweets but I couldn't find him after that," Dabir said.

She further expressed her happiness over the construction of the Ram temple and the consecration of Ram Lalla on January 22 in Ayodhya. 

Preparations are underway in full swing for the Ram Temple inauguration on January 22, which will draw dignitaries and people from all walks of life. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to attend the installation of the idol of Ram Lalla at the grand temple.