''Ayodhya 6 December 1992'' is a book written by

P. V. Narasimha Rao Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao (28 June 1921 – 23 December 2004) was an Indian independence activist, lawyer, and statesman from the Indian National Congress who served as the prime minister of India from 1991 to 1996. He was the first p ...

, the tenth

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...

, and published by

Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

on 1 August 2006.

Introduction

Narasimha Rao had decreed that the book be published after his death, and accordingly it was published in August 2006. He claims that the book is not an ''“exercise in self-righteousness or justification”'', the content of the book indicate an attempt by him to absolve himself and his government of the responsibility for the failure to prevent the removal of the controversial structure known as ''Babri Masjid''. Narasimha Rao had assumed office in June 1991, and by that time the Ramjanamabhoomi-

Babri Masjid The Babri Masjid (ISO: Bābarī Masjida; meaning ''Mosque of Babur'') was a mosque located in Ayodhya, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It was claimed that the mosque was built upon the site of Ram Janmabhoomi, the legendary birthplace ...

issue was already in a state of serious alarm requiring intervention, including

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

intervention, to resolve the issue.

Reason

The book attempts to offer the explanation rather than an answer to two baffling questions, namely, *In view of thousands of Karsevaks converging in the Hindu holy city of Ayodhya from all over India, including some of them from Nepal and other countries of the world, why did the federal government did not take necessary and adequate steps to protect the controversial structure (that is, the Babari Masjid) from possible damage? *The reason for non-dismissal of the state government of Uttar Pradesh, headed by Kalyan Singh, by invoking Article 356 of the

Indian constitution The Constitution of India is the supreme legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and ...

. The book endeavors to convince the readers that there was no lapse on his part as the head of the government of India or his government to protect the controversial structure. He concluded ''“there was no lapse on the part of the Central Government and that if the State Government had at least made use of the central force in time and meaningfully, the Babari structure could certainly have been saved on December, 1992.”''

Book reviews

*'' Frontline India''

References

Political books 2006 non-fiction books Ayodhya dispute {{india-poli-book-stub