India PM appeals for calm after ruling to split holy site
“The correct conclusion, at this stage, is that the status quo will be maintained until the cases are taken up by the Supreme Court,” Manmohan Singh said. –File Photo
AYODHYA: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has appealed for calm after a court ruled that Muslims and Hindus should share a hotly disputed site that has been the focus of deadly violence in the past.
Hundreds of thousands of police and paramilitary forces have been deployed across the country to prevent a repeat of violence in 1992 when Hindu zealots tore down a 16th century mosque in Ayodhya at a site they also claim as holy.
Around 2,000 people, most of them Muslims, died in the violence that followed.
According to Thursday’s ruling, the site in the northern pilgrimage town should be split, with one third going to Muslims and the rest to Hindus, including a spot in the centre where they plan to build a temple to their god Ram.
Hundreds of thousands of police and paramilitary forces have been deployed across the country to prevent a repeat of violence in 1992 when Hindu zealots tore down a 16th century mosque in Ayodhya at a site they also claim as holy.
Around 2,000 people, most of them Muslims, died in the violence that followed.
According to Thursday’s ruling, the site in the northern pilgrimage town should be split, with one third going to Muslims and the rest to Hindus, including a spot in the centre where they plan to build a temple to their god Ram.