The Babri Masjid—a mosque in Ayodhya, a city in northern India—was a source of tension between Hindus and Muslims for nearly a century. Hindus believe it was built on the site of the birthplace of Rama, a holy figure for devout Hindus. On December 6, 1992, a mob of Hindu nationalists destroyed the mosque. The attack sparked violence across India. Two thousand people died.
At the time, I was working as a reporter in Singapore. My mother, who lived in India, called me to point out that Mohandas Gandhi, India’s founding father, who was murdered in 1948 by a Hindu nationalist, had been killed again. By extension his doctrines of tolerance and non-violence, too. Her words have stayed with me.
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