2002: Early that year, as Uttar Pradesh headed for Assembly elections, the BJP did not commit itself to the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya in its election manifesto.
The VHP, however, remains adamant and set March 15 of that year as the deadline for construction to begin. Hundreds of volunteers start converging on the site.
2002: On February 27, at least 58 people were ****ed in Godhra, Gujarat, in an attack on a train believed to be carrying Hindu volunteers from Ayodhya. Riots followed in the state and over 1000 people were reported to have died in these.