Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1984 Riots
Date
Target
Sikhs
Deaths
3,000 - 30,000[1]
The 1984 Sikh riots[2][3][4][5] or the 1984 Sikh Massacre was a riotdirected against Sikhs in northern India, by anti-Sikh mobs, in response to the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards, there were more than 3,000 deaths.[4] CBI is of the opinion that the acts of violence were well organized with support from the then Delhi police officials and the central government headed by Indira Gandhi's son, Rajiv Gandhi.[6] Rajiv a secular congress member, who was sworn in as the Prime Minister after his mother's death, when asked about the riots said "when a big tree falls, the earth shakes".[7] In the 1970s, during the Indian Emergency imposed by Indira, thousands of Sikhs campaigning for autonomous government were imprisoned. The sporadic violence continued as a result of an armed Sikh separatist group which was designated as a terrorist entity by the government of India. In June 1984, during Operation Blue Star, Indira Gandhi ordered the Indian Army to secure the Golden Temple and eliminate any insurgents, as it had been occupied by Sikh Separatists who were stockpiling weapons. Later operations by Indian paramilitary forces were initiated to clear the separatists from the countryside of Punjab. Even today many Sikhs perceive the actions as an assault on their religion and rights. [8]
Background
In 1973 Akali Dal and other Sikh groups introduced the Anandpur Sahib Resolution, which demanded special status forPunjab and Sikhs. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, security in Punjab started deteriorating due to State level and religious politics, leading to the sacking of the Punjab government in 1983.
After the assassination of Indira Gandhi on 31 October 1984, by two of her Sikh bodyguards, anti-Sikh riots erupted on 1 November 1984, and continued in some areas for days, killing more than 3,000 Sikhs.[4] Sultanpuri, Mangolpuri, Trilokpuri, and other Trans-Yamuna areas of Delhi were the worst affected. Mobs carried iron rods, knives, clubs, and combustible material, including kerosene. The mobs swarmed into Sikh neighbourhoods, arbitrarily killing any Sikh men or women they could find. Their shops and houses were ransacked and burned. In other incidents, armed mobs stopped buses and trains, in and around Delhi, pulling out Sikh passengers to be lynched or doused with kerosene and burnt alive.
Such wide-scale violence cannot take place without police help. Delhi Police, whose paramount duty was to upkeep law and order situation and protect innocent lives, gave full help to rioters who were in fact working under able guidance of sycophant leaders like Jagdish Tytler and H K L Bhagat. It is a known fact that many jails, subjails and lock-ups were opened for three days and prisoners, for the most part hardened criminals, were provided fullest provisions, means and instruction to "teach the Sikhs a lesson". But it will be wrong to say that Delhi Police did nothing, for it took full and keen action against Sikhs who tried to defend themselves. The Sikhs who opened fire to save their lives and property had to spend months dragging heels in courts after-wards.
On 31 October, the crowd around the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, began shouting for revenge with slogans like "Blood for blood" and turned into an unruly mob. At 5:20 PM, President Zail Singh arrived at the hospital and the mob outside stoned his car. The CBI recently told to the court that during the riot Sajjan Kumar had said that "not a single Sikh should survive".[6][25]It also said that Delhi police kept its "eyes closed" during the riot as it was pre-planned.[6] In the neighbourhood of Sharkapur, Congress (I) leader Shyam Tyagi's home was used as a meeting place for an undefined number of people.[24] H. K. L. Bhagat, the Minister of Information and Broadcasting distributed money to Boop Tyagi, Shyam Tyagi's brother, and ordered him to Keep these two thousand rupees for liquor and do as I have told you.... You need not worry at all. I will look after everything.
Investigations
Numerous commissions have been set up to investigate the riots. The most recent commission on the pogroms, headed by Justice G.T. Nanavati, submitted its 185-page report to the Home Minister, Shivraj Patil on 9 February 2005 and the report was tabled in Parliament on 8 August 2005. Ten commissions and committees have so far enquired into the riots. The commissions below are listed in the order they were formed. Many of the primary accused were acquitted or never charge-sheeted. [edit]Marwah
Commission
This commission was appointed in November 1984. Ved Marwah, Additional Commissioner of Police, was assigned the job of enquiring into the role of the police during the carnage of November 1984
Misra Commission
Misra commission was appointed in May 1985. Justice Rangnath Misra, was a sitting judge of the Supreme Court of India. Justice Misra submitted his report in August 1986 and the report was made public six months thereafter in February 1987.
The skyline of Ahmedabad filled with smoke as buildings and shops are set on fire by rioting mobs Date Location Causes 27 February 2002 Mid-June 2002 Gujarat, India Godhra train attack
Casualties
790 Muslims[1]
254 Hindus[1]
The 2002 Gujarat violence was a series of incidents starting with the Godhra train burning and the subsequent communalviolence between Hindus and Muslims in the Indian state ofGujarat. On 27 February 2002, the Sabarmati Express train was attacked at Godhra by a Muslim mob.[2][3][4][5] 58 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya were killed in the attack. This in turn prompted retaliatory attacks against Muslims and general communal riots on a large scale across the state, in which 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were ultimately killed and 223 more people were reported missing
The Best Bakery case (also called Tulsi Bakery case) was a legal case involving the burning down of the Best Bakery, a small bakery outlet in the Hanuman Tekri area in Vadodara, India, on March 1, 2002. During the incident, a mob targeted the Sheikh family which ran the bakery and had taken refuge inside, resulting in the deaths of 14[1](including 12 Muslims and Hindu employees[2] of the bakery[3]), has come to symbolize the carnage, and the alleged complicity of the state government of Gujarat, during the 2002 Gujarat violence.[4] The Sabarmati Express is a train which connects the city of Ahmedabad, India to Darbhanga city in the northern state of Bihar. The train may take up to two days to complete the journey. It travels through Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh via Ratlam Junction, Ujjain Junction, Bina Junction , Kanpur Central , Mau Terminal and Chappra Junction.
On February 27, 2002, cabin S-6 of the train was attacked and burnt at Godhra by a large mob of local Muslims in a preplanned conspiracy,[1][2] burning alive and killing 58 Hindu pilgrims who were returning from the holy city of Ayodhya. That incident lead to widespread 2002 Gujarat riots in Godhra as well as the rest of Gujarat in which 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus died, thousands more were rendered homeless and property worth hundreds of crores was lost.
a mosque in Ayodhya, a city in the Faizabaddistrict of Uttar Pradesh, India, on Ramkot Hill ("Rama's fort"). It was destroyed in 1992 when a political rally developed into a riot involving 150,000 people, [1] despite a commitment to the Indian Supreme Courtby the rally organisers that the mosque would not be harmed.[2][2][3]More than 2,000 people were killed in ensuing riots in many major cities in India including Mumbai and Delhi.[4] The mosque was constructed in 1527 by order of Babur, the firstMughal emperor of India, and was named after him.[5][6] Before the 1940s, the mosque was also called Masjid-i-Janmasthan (Hindi: , Urdu: , translation: "mosque of the birthplace").[7]The Babri Mosque was one of the largest mosques in Uttar Pradesh, a state in India with some 31 million Muslims.[8] Although there were several older mosques in the surrounding district, including the Hazrat Bal Mosque constructed by the Shariqi kings, the Babri Mosque became the largest, due to the importance of the disputed site. Numerous petitions by Hindus to the courts resulted in Hindu worshippers of Ramagaining access to the site. The political, historical and socio-religious debate over the history and location of the Babri Mosque and whether a previous temple was demolished or modified to create it, is known as the Ayodhya Debate.
Hindu account
The Muslim emperor Babur established his authority over the whole of northern India when he conquered the Rajputana kingdom of Mewar and the Hindu King of Chittodgad, Rana Sangrama Singh, at the Battle of Khanwa. After this victory, his general, Mir Baqshi became governor of the region around Awadh. Mir Baqshi built the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya naming it after Emperor Babur, after destroying a pre-existing temple of Rama[9] at the site.[10] Although there is no reference to the new mosque in Babur's diary, the Baburnama, the pages of the relevant period are missing in the diary. The contemporary Tarikh-iBabari records that Babur's troops "demolished many Hindu temples at Chanderi" On 6 December 1992, LK Advani and others met at Vinay Katiyar's residence. They then proceeded to the disputed structure, the report says. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Katiyar reached the puja platform where symbolic Kar Seva was to be performed, and Advani and Joshi checked arrangements for the next 20 minutes. The two senior leaders then moved 200 metre away to the Ram Katha Kunj. This was a building facing the disputed structure where a dais had been erected for senior leaders. At noon, a teenage Kar Sevak was "vaulted" on to the dome and that signaled the breaking of the outer cordon. The report notes that at this time Advani, Joshi and Vijay Raje Scindia made "feeble requests to the Kar Sevaks to come down... either in earnest or for the media's benefit". No appeal was made to the Kar Sevaks not to enter the sanctum sanctorum or not to demolish the structure. The report notes: "This selected act of the leaders itself speaks of the hidden intentions of one and all being to accomplish demolition of the disputed structure."
The report holds that the "icons of the movement present at the Ram Katha Kunj... could just as easily have... prevented the demolition." [28]
debate in India, centred on a plot of land in the city of Ayodhya, located in Faizabad district, Uttar Pradesh. The main issues revolve around access to a site traditionally regarded as the birthplace of the Hindu deity Rama, the history and location of the Babri Mosque at the site, and whether a previous Hindu temple was demolished or modified to create the mosque. The Babri Mosque was destroyed by hardline Hindu activists during a political rally which turned into a riot on 6 December 1992. A subsequent land title case was lodged in the Allahabad High Court, the verdict of which was pronounced on 30 September 2010. In the landmark hearing, the three judges of The Allahabad High Court ruled that the 2.77 acres (1.12 ha) of Ayodhya land be divided into 3 parts, with 1/3 going to the Ram Lalla or Infant Lord Rama represented by the Hindu Maha Sabha for the construction of the Ram temple, 1/3 going to the Islamic Sunni Waqf Board and the remaining 1/3 going to a Hindu religious denomination Nirmohi Akhara. While the three-judge bench was not unanimous that the disputed structure was constructed after demolition of a temple, it did agree that a temple or a temple structure predated the mosque at the same site.[1] The excavations by theArchaeological Survey of India were heavily used as evidence by the court that the predating structure was a massive Hindu religious building
Saffron terror is terrorism conducted by Hindu extremists. The colour saffron is associated with Hindu nationalism in India and to some right-wing groups that have been linked to militant attacks in [1] [2][3] India. The phrase "saffron terror" entered public debate in India following the 29 September 2008
[4]
"Saffron terror" on August 25, 2010 at a meeting of state police chiefs in New Delhi.
time the word was formally used by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, though it is used also by other ministers of the UPA Government. The term is referred to for right wing religious fundamentalists in India, as per the Union Home Minister of India. Hindu extremist organisations have been accused of involvement in terrorist attacks including 2006 Malegaon blasts,Mecca Masjid bombing (Hyderabad), Samjhauta Express bombings and the Ajmer Sharif Dargah Blast.[6][7][8][9][10][11] [edit]Investigation of Samjhauta Express bombing Main article: Samjhauta Express bombings#Investigation Initially the primary suspects of the bombing were considered to be Pakistan-based terror groups like the LeT and the JeM.[12] In November 2008, it was reported that Indian officials also suspected the attacks were linked to Prasad Shrikant Purohit, an Indian army officer and member of Hindu nationalist group Abhinav Bharat.[13] Wikileaks reports name David Headley as behind the Samjhauta attacks.[14] On January 8, 2011, Swami Aseemanand allegedly confessed that Saffron terror outfits were behind the bombing of Samjhauta express,[15] a statement later alleged to be obtained under duress.[16][17][18] His confessions included allegations that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was supporting the activities logistically.[19][20] On March 31, 2011 Aseemanand redacted his confession, citing government pressure. Security analyst B. Raman has termed this investigation as a "partisan political game.".[21] On July 18, 2011 Swami Aseemanand further unveiled that NIA had fabricated evidence against him and his arrest was illegal. He further alleged that he was tortured to give wrong statements.[22][23] On November 29, 2011 the Punjab and Haryana High Court issued notice to the NIA on a petition filed by Swami Aseemanand.[24] Kamal Chauhan a former RSS member confessed that he planted a bomb on the DelhiLahore Samjhauta Express that killed 68 people. This was under the leadership of Joshi a former RSS zila pracharak in Madhya Pradesh, who quit RSS for its diversion from the core idealogies.[25][26] [edit]Investigation of 2008 Malegaon blasts Police filed a chargesheet that named Indian Army officer Lt Col Prasad Purohit as the alleged main conspirator who provided the explosives, and Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur as the alleged prime accused who arranged for the men who planted the explosives.[27] A 4,000-page chargesheet, filed by Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) before the Special MCOCA court here, stated that Purohit joined the right-wing Hindu group Abhinav Bharat in 2007 with an alleged intention to propagate a separate Hindu Rashtra with its own Constitution. According to the document, the Army officer allegedly collected huge amounts to the tune of Rs 21 lakh for himself and Abhinav Bharat to promote his "fundamentalist ideology."[27] It was in the aftermath of the September 29 bomb blast in the predominantly Muslim town[28] of Malegaon in Maharashtrathat the alleged terms Saffron Terror and Hindutva Terror came to be used widely in various medias. [29] However, the accused parties confessed to police on narco-analysis that a group of Muslim individuals was used to obtain the RDX used in the blast.[30] However, Purohit allegedly admitted that a splinter group with tenuous ties to him had executed two blasts in India, which prompted investigators to look into the blasts in Ajmer and Hyderabad.[31] Three men accused of the 2006 Malegaon bombings, including Lt Col Shrikant Purohit of the India army and Pragya Singh Thakur, have been described as representing Saffron terror. [32][33] Purohit was also accused of being involved in the 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings
[edit]Investigation of Mecca Masjid bombing Main article: Mecca Masjid bombing#Suspected bombers While the United Progressive Alliance-led central government has claimed that Abhinav Bharat was behind the Mecca Masjid bombing,[34] the South Asia Terrorism Portal, the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, the United Statesand the United Nations have asserted that the Islamic outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad alIslami was behind the attacks.[35][36][37][38]Noting this, security analyst B. Raman has questioned "the two different versions that have emerged from Indian and American investigators."[39] On September 22, 2010 a report submitted by the United States National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) to the United States Department of Homeland Security, named HuJi responsible for the blasts. The CBI claimed in their response that the NCTC "do not seem to be updated with developments in the case"[40] Swami Aseemanand allegedly confessed in January 2011[41] that he and other Hindu activists were involved in bombings at Muslim religious places(including the mecca masjid). Hyderabad was chosen because the Nizam of Hyderabad wanted to opt for Pakistan at the time of partition.[41] However his lawyer claimed that confession was obtained under pressure.[16][17] [edit]Other allegations Members of Abhinav Bharat have recently been alleged to have been involved in a plot to kill Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh President Mohan Bhagwat.[42] allegedly with the help of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence.[43] Headlines Today released a recorded video tested by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory which indicated the uncovering of an alleged plot to assassinate the Vice President of India Hamid Ansari.[44] Tehelka also released alleged audio tapes transcripts of main conspirators of Abhinav Bharat which indicated involvement of Military intelligence officers with theAbhinav Bharat group in their January 2011 edition.[45] In January 2013, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde accused Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the main opposition party, for setting up camps to train "Hindu Terrorism" including planting bombs in2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Mecca Masjid bombing and 2006 Malegaon blasts.Shinde said "Reports have come during investigation that BJP and RSS conduct terror training camps to spread terrorism. Bombs were planted in Samjhauta express, Mecca Masjid and also a blast was carried out in Malegaon," .He also added, "This is saffron terrorism that I have talked about. It is the same thing and nothing new." These remarks were later rejected by Shinde's own party, Congress(I).[46] A few days later, Indian Home Secretary Raj Kumar Singh released the names of 10 people, who were involved in the blasts, also alleged to have been involved with the RSS at some point or the other.[47]BJP spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told reporters in reply to Shinde's comments, "Their [Congress's] destructive mindset is reflected in the statement of the home minister. The statement he has given at the chintan shivir [brainstorming camp] is very objectionable. It's not only unacceptable but also dangerous." Naqvi stated that Shinde's statement was aimed at "disrupting peace and harmony" in the country.[48] In February 2013, Shinde backtracked on his earlier statement by saying that "There is no colour to any terrorism. My thought is the same as partys line".[49] According to some released documents by WikiLeaks, Congress(I) party's general secretary Rahul Gandhi remarked to US Ambassador Timothy Roemer, at a luncheon hosted by Prime Minister of India at his residence in July 2009, that R.S.S. was a "bigger threat" to India than the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. RSS spokesman Panchjanya responded that the statement showed that Gandhi "is totally unaware of the history of Hindutva as well as the concept of nationalism."[50] At The Annual Conference of Director General of Police held in New Delhi on 16 September 2011, a special director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) reportedly informed the state police chiefs that the Hindutva activists have either been suspected or are under investigation in 16 incidents of bomb blasts in the country
The first known use of the term "Saffron Terror" is from an 2002 article in Frontline in reference to [55] 2002 Gujarat Riots. However it was in the aftermath of the September 29, 2008 bomb blast in the predominantly Muslim town ofMalegaon in Maharashtra that these terms came to be used widely. 2008, Indian police arrested members of a Hindu radical cell allegedly involved in an [57] attack Malegaon which killed 7 Muslims. For incidents like these, Saffron terror has been used synonymously with "Anti-Muslim terrorism" or "Anti-Muslim reprisals" Hindutva (Devanagari:
[58] [56]
In late
[59]
pamphlet entitled Hindutva: Who is a Hindu? ) is the set of movements advocating Hindu nationalism. Members of the movement are called Hindutvavadis.[1] According to a 1995 Supreme Court of Indiajudgement the word Hindutva could be used to mean "the way of life of the Indian people and the Indian culture or ethos".[2] In India, an umbrella organization called the Sangh Parivar champions the concept of Hindutva. The sangh comprises organizations such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bajrang Dal, and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. This ideology has existed since the early 20th century, forged by Savarkar, but came to prominence in Indian politics in the late 1980s, when two events attracted a large number of mainstream Hindus to the movement. The first of these events was the Rajiv Gandhi government's use of its large Parliamentary Majority to overturn a Supreme Court verdict granting alimony to an old woman, a verdict that had angered manyMuslims (see the Shah Bano case). The second was the dispute over the 16th century Mughal Babri Mosque inAyodhyabuilt by Babur after his first major victory in India which was allegedly built after destruction of a Hindu temple and considered to be birthplace of Sri Ram, one of main Hindu Gods. The Supreme Court of India refused to take up the case in the early 1990s, leading to a huge outcry. Tempers soon flared and a huge number of nationalist Hindus from all parts of India razed the disputed structure in late 1992, causing nationwide communal riots. The razing of the disputed structure claimed to be mosque and temple by Muslims and Hindus respectively, and subsequent conflict, arguably lifted the BJP and Hindutva to international prominence.
Definition
According to Veer Savarkar, Hindutva is an inclusive term of everything Indic. He makes it clear by saying:
...Hindutva is not a word but a history. Not only the spiritual or religious history of our people as at times it is mistaken to be...., but a history in full....Hindutva embrases all the departments of thought and activity of the whole Being of our Hindu race. ~ Essentials of Hindutva
[3]
In a judgment delivered in 1995, the Supreme Court of India ruled that "Ordinarily, Hindutva is understood as a way of life or a state of mind and is not to be equated with or understood as religious Hindu fundamentalism... it is a fallacy and an error of law to proceed on the assumption... that the use of words
Hindutva or Hinduism per se depicts an attitude hostile to all persons practising any religion other than the Hindu religion... It may well be that these words are used in a speech to promote secularism or to emphasise the way of life of the Indian people and the Indian culture or ethos, or to criticise the policy of any political party as discriminatory or intolerant The Hindutva rate of growth is a term that describes the high rate of growth experienced by states in India administered by the Bharatiya Janata Party, a center-right party that includes many proponents of Hindutva. The Naroda Patiya massacre took place on 28 February 2002 at Naroda, in Ahmedabad, India, during the 2002 Gujarat riots. 97 Muslims being killed by a mob of approximately 5,000 people. The massacre at Naroda occurred during the bandh(strike protest) called by Vishwa Hindu Parishad; a day after theGodhra [d] train burning. During the post-Godhra rioting, which lasted over 10 hours, the mob looted, stabbed, sexually assaulted, gang-raped and burnt people individually and in groups. After the conflict, a curfew was imposed in the state and army troops were called in to contain further violence. Nationalism is a belief system or political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a nation Ram Janmabhoomi (Hindi/Devanagiri: ) is believed by many Hindus to be the birthplace of
[b] [c]
Lord Rama, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. "Lord Rama" is referred as the god and described as an Avatar(incarnation) of Lord Vishnu according to the Hindu theology and tradition. The exact location of Lord Rama's birth as stated in holyRamayana is on the banks of Sarayu river in the city of Ayodhya in Uttar [1] Pardesh. In 1528 Babur built a mosque. From 1528 to 1853 (the year of the first riot regarding the birthplace), the Babri Mosque became a place of worship for Muslims. From 1853 to 1949, separate areas were earmarked for both Hindus and Muslims to worship and in 1949, Idols were placed inside the [3] disputed structure. The site of the Babri Mosque which was surrounded on all sides by Mata Sita Rasoi (Lord Rama's wife Sita Devi's Kitchen - actually a Temple and other Temples ofHanuman) and the disputed structure sharing walls with Sita and Hanuman Mandir was destroyed when a political rally developed into a riot involving 150,000 people. This happened due to the movement that was launched in 1984 by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP party) to reclaim the site for Hindus who want to erect a temple dedicated to the infant Rama (Ramlalla), at this spot. The Bombay Riots usually refers to the riots in Mumbai, in December 1992 and January 1993, in which around 900 people died. An investigative commission was formed under Justice B.N. Srikrishna, but the recommendations of the Inquiry were not enforced.[1] The riots were followed by a retaliatory 12 March 1993 Bombay Bombings, perpetuated by Muslim criminal groups[2] with alleged help of ganglord Dawood Ibrahim and his D-Company syndicate, in which 250 people died.[2] According to the SriKrishna report, the immediate causes of the communal riots on 6 December 1992 were: (a) the demolition of the Babri Masjid mosque, (b) the aggravation of Muslim sentiments by the Hindus with their celebration rallies and (c) the insensitive and harsh approach of the police while handling the protesting mobs which initially were not violent.[3]
[2]
Buddhas of Bamiyan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coordinates: 344955.35N 674936.49E
Bamiyan Valley
Country
Afghanistan
Type
Cultural
Criteria
Reference
[whc.unesco.org/en/list/208208]
UNESCO region
Asia-Pacific
Inscription history
Inscription 2003 (Twenty seventh Session)
Endangered
2003present
History of Afghanistan
Timeline
Ancient[show]
Medieval[show]
Modern[show]
Book
Category
Portal
but hay-e
bamiyan) were two 6th century monumental statues of standing buddha carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, 230 km (140 mi) northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2,500 meters (8,202 ft). Built in 507 AD, the larger in 554 AD,[1] the statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art.[2] The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modeled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. This coating, practically all of which wore away long ago, was painted to enhance the expressions of the faces, hands and folds of the robes; the larger one was painted carmine red and the smaller one was painted multiple colors.[3]
The lower parts of the statues' arms were constructed from the same mud-straw mix while supported on wooden armatures. It is believed that the upper parts of their faces were made from great wooden masks or casts. Rows of holes that can be seen in photographs were spaces that held wooden pegs that stabilized the outer stucco. They were dynamited and destroyed in March 2001 by the Taliban, on orders from leader Mullah Mohammed Omar,[4] after the Taliban government declared that they were idols.[5] International opinion strongly condemned the destruction of the Buddhas, which was viewed as an example of the intolerance of the Taliban. Japan and Switzerland, among others, have pledged support for the rebuilding of the statues.[6] Photojournalist David Adams filmed the Buddhas before their destruction for an episode of Journeys to the Ends of the Earth, a travel series for the Discovery Channel.[7]