Babri a traumatic experience: Ex-PM

Ravi S Singh

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 25

Former PM Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said the Babri Masjid’s demolition in 1992 was a “sad day” for secular republic of India and urged all concerned, including judiciary, to safeguard constitutional values of secularism.

Delivering the second AB Bardhan memorial lecture on ‘Secularism and Constitution’, he said the Babri demolition was a “traumatic” experience. The country’s leadership faced criticism for it. He prefaced his speech saying that every civilised society is known and defined by the terms it offers to its minorities, especially its religious minorities.

He said the judiciary, media, EC and politicians have duties to protect secularism. Though Singh is renowned for his matter-of-fact approach, many would conflate his reference of the Babri demolition with Rahul Gandhi’s current pitch of being a ‘Shiv bhakt’.