A new book "Bombay after Ayodhya: A City in Flux" is set to release on December 1 that examines the changes faced by Mumbai after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. The book written by Jitendra Dixit recounts not just what happened in the immediate aftermath, but also how the event caused fundamental changes in the very character of the city.
The demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992 triggered riots across the country. And for a city that had always been susceptible to communal violence the incident sparked unprecedented violence in December 1992 and January 1993. Only two months later, in March, the commercial capital of the country was shaken by serial blasts that killed over 250 and injured 700.
Communal strife was followed by gang wars, and unforeseen natural calamities ravaged the city that changed Mumbai forever. Though there was a brief lull, terrorist attacks rocked the city once more in 2002, which later culminated into the horrific 26/11 attacks in 2008.
Bombay after Ayodhya chronicles how the past three decades- after the Babri Masjid demolition- have been for Mumbai. In the aftermath of 1992, a split in the Mumbai underworld led to new equations in politics, which altered the demography of the city and led to the rise of new townships. After a brief lull, blasts and terrorist attacks rocked it once more in 2002, a cycle of violence that reached a crescendo with the horrific 26/11 terror attacks in 2008.
Jitendra Dixit grew up in Mumbai and has reported from the city for much of the three decades he writes about. He has covered the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks from ground zero and also wrote a book about it. He is currently the west India editor of the ABP Network based in Mumbai.