This book narrates how Ayodhya's inhabitants experienced the events that led up to and followed the destruction of the Babri Masjid, the end-product of a century's effort to convert Hindus into a 'proper' modern nation. Woven into the narrative is an analysis of the culture of communal conflict, the nature of organized mass violence, and the political psychology of Hindu nationalism.

"The book remains...a very useful and insightful study of Hindu nationalism." - American Historical Review