Forgetting a Day of Shame

Perhaps this is a sign of the times; for the first time as I can recall in nearly 20 years, the anniversary of the demolition of Babri Masjid on 6 December 1992 went unnoticed by most newspapers this year. The usual practice till recently was for the newspapers to have a brief backgrounder recounting that infamous event in the issues dated 6 December, and follow-up the next day with reports of protests, vigils and mourning of that act of vandalism of that day in 1992.

This year, there was nothing, or virtually nothing of that kind. A check on Google India News showed brief news items reporting small protest meetings. These were organised mostly by Muslim groups; the reports, too, were largely carried in the so-called Muslim media.