O n December 5, 1992, a day before the demolition of the Babri Masjid, Atal Behari Vajpayee addressed kar sevaks at Jhandewalan Park in Aminabad, Lucknow. An intelligence video recording of the speech, which Outlook accessed in 2005, shows a younger Vajpayee, with a body language that is buoyant, his mood upbeat and strident, and a tone that is sarcastic. A transcript of the speech:

Inaudible)...had to reach for the evening programme but because of several programmes and because of the several people in those programmes, he hasn’t been able to reach Lucknow. He has to go to Ayodhya tomorrow. Many people along with Advaniji, Joshiji...(inaudible). Our Jaywantiben...