Ayodhya protest over temple ends peacefully

More than 75,000 Hindu activists and monks protesting near a disputed religious site in Ayodhya dispersed peacefully yesterday after demanding the government build a temple at the site of the16th-century Babri mosque.A similar rally in 1992 led to a Hindu mob tearing down the mosque, sparking riots that killed about 2,000 people in one of the worst instances of communal violence in India.Tensions have again been running high ahead of the latest rally, with a heavy security presence at the site.Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Hindu activists affiliated with it have ratcheted up demands for a temple at the site ahead of a general election due by May next year.The mosque, built in 1528, has been at the centre of conflict between Hindus and Muslims.Hindu groups say there was a temple at the site before the mosque was built.Both Hindu and Muslim groups have petitioned the Supreme Court to resolve the issue.But the court has sought more time and the heavily fortified site, which looks like a small garrison town, is under its control.Speakers criticised the Supreme Court for not delivering a quick verdict in the favour of the temple, while protesters chanted: “To hell with the Supreme Court”.The delay has disappointed the Hindu community, which cannot wait endlessly for a verdict, said Sharad Sharma, spokesman for the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which has close ties with the BJP.Champat Rai, international vice president of the organisation, said the VHP will not cede an inch of land for anything but a temple and demanded from the Sunni Waqf Board that they withdraw their case over distribution of the disputed land as ordered by the Allahabad High Court. “The distribution of land is not acceptable to us and we want the whole land for the temple,” he said.“Some intelligent people think that the whole matter began after the destruction of the Babri mosque in 1992...they are ignorant...the matter goes back to 490 years,” the VHP leader said.Both the BJP and VHP and their parent movement, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), have asked the government to issue an ordinance, an executive order, to build a temple and by-pass the Supreme Court.Anti-Muslim chants rang out on roads leading to the gathering, while the streets of the towns of Ayodhya and Faizabad were deserted as local residents feared violence.“Many people thought that the issue of the temple had died down but we must warn them that now we’ll not sit idle until we see a temple,” Krishna Gopal of RSS said.Yesterday’s gathering would be followed up with bigger protests in New Delhi, Sharma of the VHP said.Meanwhile, the All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat (AIMMM) wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking his intervention.“The peace loving Muslim community of the twin cities of Ayodhya and Faizabad is being terrorised in the name of temple. There are reports that a large number of peace loving citizens have left the city amid fear.“There is a genuine apprehension that the demonstrations may go out of control and attempts will be made to change the status quo of the Babri masjid site,” the letter signed by AIMMM president Naved Hamid, read.