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Q&A: The Ayodhya dispute
Hundreds of militant Hindu volunteers have gathered in the northern Indian town of Ayodhya where they plan to build a temple on the site of a mosque which was destroyed nine years ago. BBC News Online answers key questions about the looming confrontation and its history.
Why is the site so important to Hindus? Many believe that Ayodhya, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, is the birthplace of one of the most revered deities in Hinduism, Lord Rama. Ayodhya is mentioned in several Hindu scriptures and has been a place of holy pilgrimage for centuries. Why is the dispute over Ayodhya so dangerous? Militant Hindus demolished the 16th-century Babri mosque in 1992, vowing to replace it with a Hindu temple to Rama. They say they were justified in destroying the mosque because there used to be a Hindu temple marking Rama's birthplace on that spot before.
The mosque was torn down by supporters of the hardline Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP or World Hindu Council), the Shiv Sena party and then-opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. The destruction prompted one of India's worst bouts of nationwide religious rioting between Hindus and the country's Muslim minority, which left 2,000 people dead. The bloodshed was viewed as the most serious threat since independence in 1947 to India's secular identity. Why is Ayodhya so politically sensitive? In 1996, the Congress party suffered its worst ever electoral defeat and the BJP, which was closely involved in the destruction of the mosque, emerged as the largest single party. In 1998, the BJP formed a coalition government under Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who has found himself faced with a delicate balancing act. On the one hand, he has needed to accommodate those in his own party and the associated VHP who have been trying to push him to pursue a hardline Hindu agenda since he took office. But on the other, his hold on power has required the support of a wide range of allies in the often fractious coalition government that he leads, many of whom demand a negotiated settlement. In its election manifesto for this month's assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP ruled out committing itself to the construction of a temple . Mr Vajpayee said the issue could be resolved either by talks or through the current lengthy court battle, which he promised to speed up. The VHP say the construction of a temple is a matter of conscience and they will ignore any court decision against them. Why is the issue now coming to a head? The prime minister eventually admitted that his efforts to solve the dispute had failed as the VHP vowed to push ahead with construction of the new temple on 15 March. An estimated 15,000 Hindu activists have now converged on Ayodhya ahead of their stated deadline to begin building. Several thousand security personnel have been put on alert around the site, and tensions have risen dramatically. On 27 February, more than 50 people died when a train carrying Hindu activists returning to Gujarat from Ayodhya was set alight. Mr Vajpayee has repeated that his government will not allow any construction on or near the site, issuing a last-ditch appeal to the VHP to suspend its campaign.
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