The date 6 December, 2017 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya—when a violent mob attacked and brought down the medieval structure. The event dramatically altered the socio-political trajectory of India; through the violence that unleashed across the country and the irreparable chasm created between communities. For many, it defined their social and political commitments as well as future professional and creative pathways.

The present volume is a collection of intensely personal, reflective, and even emotional memories of a few who witnessed the event and lived through the painful times that followed. Journalists, activists and artists go down the memory lanes in this anthology, offering us glimpses of the violence, despair, hope and resistance they experienced. Through the well-remembered personal accounts, this compilation brings individual truth-telling on par with analysis.

With fifteen unique essays containing personal anecdotes that are supplemented by relevant contextual information, this commemorative book presents the reader with the reality that may be forgotten or that which seems unfamiliar, along with the truths that have gone unacknowledged.