The fight for Ram Janmabhoomi was confined to Awadh for over 400 years until a Ram Lalla idol 'miraculously’ appeared inside Babri Masjid In 1949, and galvanised Hindus across India
The ringing of ‘ghanta-ghadial’ (bells and gongs) and chants of ‘Bhaye pragat kripala...’ (lord has appeared) drew Abdul Barkat to Babri Masjid just before dawn on December 23, 1949. He was a guard at Ram Janmabhoomi police outpost nearby.
In his testimony – summarised by former Vishwa Hindu Parishad vice-president Justice Deoki Nandan Agarwal in his book ‘Sri Rama Janma Bhumi: Historical and Legal Perspective’ – Barkat said he saw a flash of light that “...became golden and in that he saw the figure of a very beautiful godlike child of four or five years…” He also saw a crowd of Hindus performing aarti of the “idol placed on a singhasan” inside the mosque.
In his testimony – summarised by former Vishwa Hindu Parishad vice-president Justice Deoki Nandan Agarwal in his book ‘Sri Rama Janma Bhumi: Historical and Legal Perspective’ – Barkat said he saw a flash of light that “...became golden and in that he saw the figure of a very beautiful godlike child of four or five years…” He also saw a crowd of Hindus performing aarti of the “idol placed on a singhasan” inside the mosque.