The incident in which the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India, was destroyed by Hindu militants in Dec. 6, 1992, because of claims that the Mughal emperor Babur destroyed a Hindu temple on that spot in order to build the mosque, raises the question on the role of archaeologists in such a situation. Since the past is often used by people to establish their identity, archaeological research is needed to provide tangible evidence for such claims.
