The demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992 constituted for many Indian Muslims, as well as for a great many other Indian citizens, a shocking landmark moment in the history of the republic. For Mushirul Hasan, Muslims’ response to this ‘cataclysmic event’ was one of ‘anger, indignation and disbelief ‘. The demolition laid bare the state's failure to uphold the rule of law and to protect its minority population from the attacks—physical and symbolic—of self-legitimising Hindutva forces. For many, this was a devastating blow not only against Muslims but against the very idea of India as a secular democracy.

This was also a moment of reckoning for Muslim leaders. A number of individuals and organisations called for a radical transformation of Muslim politics. In their minds, established Muslim leaders were partly to blame for this ‘cataclysm’. By focusing on divisive ‘emotive and symbolic issues’, they had contributed to the sharp rise of communal tensions and failed to protect Muslims. The demolition of the Babri Masjid thus prompted the emergence of new backward Muslim (pasmanda) organisations, such as Ejaz Ali's All-India Backward Muslim Morcha, which rejected these ‘traditional Muslim leaders’ and their claim to speak for all Muslims. The ‘emotive and symbolic issues’ that they stood for (including AMU's status) mattered to Muslim elites alone, they suggested. These organisations instead called pasmanda Muslims to ‘come up with their own leaders’ to champion ‘bread-and-butter issues’.