ianstone
09-30-2010, 10:43 AM
India deploys 200,000 police as it braces for Hindu-Muslim race riots over 16th-century mosque ownership
By Daily Mail Reporter (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Daily+Mail+Reporter)
Last updated at 3:07 PM on 30th September 2010
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<LI style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Some 200,000 police officers deployed to stop clashes <LI style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Over 2,000 died in 1992 when mosque burned down
More than 100,000 arrested before court verdict
Commonwealth Games in New Delhi starts on Sunday
An Indian court has ruled that a disputed holy site in the town of Ayodhya should be split between the Hindu and Muslim communities.
The conflict over the site has set off bloody communal riots in the past and India has deployed more than 200,000 police officers across the country to temper religious rows this time around.
Ravi Shankar Prasad, a lawyer for one of the parties in the suit, said the Allahabad High Court ruled today that the site should be divided. He said the Muslim community would get one third and two Hindu groups would split the remainder.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/30/article-1316466-0B698914000005DC-968_634x403.jpg Braced: Police and security line the streets in Ayodhya in northern India, ready for any fall out from the ruling on the ownership of the 16th-century mosque
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/30/article-1316466-0B6989E8000005DC-10_634x374.jpg Conflict: The Muslims and Hindus have tussled over the religious site for over a century - and in 1992 some 2,000 people died in clashes
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/30/article-1316466-0B69F0AE000005DC-854_634x419.jpg Flashpoint: Police have deployed 200,000 police across the country, which hosts the Commonwealth Games in nearby New Delhi on Sunday
Earlier the government had appealed for calm once a court in Uttar Pradesh state rules which religion owns the site of a 16th-century Babri mosque, in Ayodhya, later today - a flashpoint that flared in December 1992.
On that occasion Hindu militants razed the mosque, which was originally build in 1527 on a disputed religious site, triggering clashes with Muslims that left 2,000 people dead and plunged the country into political crisis.
Hindus say it stands on the birthplace of their god-king Rama, and was built after the destruction of a Hindu temple by a Muslim invader in the 16th century.
The verdict is almost certain to be challenged in the Supreme Court and a final decision could take years.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/30/article-1316466-0B69AAF7000005DC-656_634x383.jpg Riot: An Indian policeman stands guard in front of the landmark Charminar, ahead of a potentially explosive court verdict on whether Hindus or Muslims should control a disputed holy site in Ayodhya, in Hyderabad
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/30/article-1316466-0B698AA2000005DC-775_634x407.jpg Religious clashes: A cow walks past Indian policemen standing guard in the backdrop of a temple in Ayodhya, where in 1992 the mosque was burned down sparking riots
From the capital New Delhi to the financial hub Mumbai and towns of the northern Hindu 'cow belt' along the holy Ganges river, many Indians await today's decision with apprehension, with some staying at home and stocking up with food ahead of the verdict.
Police have arrested more than 10,000 people to prevent them from inciting violence, while another 100,000 had to sign affidavits saying they would not cause trouble after the verdict, a top official said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called the verdict one of the country's biggest security challenges, and it comes at an already tense time when India worries about its international image days before the Games begin.
'There should be no attempt whatsoever made by any section of the people to provoke any other section or to indulge in any expression of emotion that would hurt the feelings of other people,' warned Mr Singh.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/30/article-1316466-0B699F73000005DC-106_634x350.jpg Arrests: Police have arrested more than 10,000 people to prevent them from inciting violence, while another 100,000 had to sign affidavits saying they would not cause trouble after the verdict
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/30/article-1316466-0B695954000005DC-13_634x416.jpg Guard: A boy walks past paramilitary troopers guarding a road in the northern Indian town of Ayodhya
However, commentators say the verdict is unlikely to spark widespread riots that hit Mumbai and other cities in 1992 over the site which has caused quarrelling for over a century.
Political parties have called for a relaxed approach - there is little electoral headway to be made in encouraging religious riots in post-economic reform India - while markets shrugged off the verdict.
Ambareesh Baliga, vice-president of Karvy Stock Broking, said: 'There is a small risk. No doubt, investors will be cautious for a couple of days eyeing the developments.
'But it would be just a knee-jerk thing. We have had terror attacks in the past and that has not impacted foreign investments into India.'
However, the verdict's outcome is a barometer of whether a rapidly globalising India with a growing middle class and an interest in investor stability has shed some of the religious extremism that often marred its post-independence years.
Hindus wants to build a temple on the site while Muslims want the mosque rebuilt after it was demolished in 1992.
In the town of Ayodhya, Hindu temples bells rang out as priests prayed and armed police set up checkpoints across the town.
Meanwhile the 3,000 Muslims, out of the town's population of 70,000, guarded their homes.
The issue haunts the ruling Congress party, a left-of-centre group with secular roots, which will have to stand by a verdict that is likely to upset one or other major voter bloc.
About 80 per cent of India's 1.1 billion population are Hindus while Muslims represent 13 per cent - some 140 million people - putting it behind Indonesia and Pakistan in the ranks of Muslim populations.
Wary of these two sides being provoked into fighting, the government has banned bulk mobile text messaging nationally to prevent the spread of rumours and religious extremism.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316466/Ayodhya-verdict-India-braces-Hindu-Muslim-riots-Babri-mosque-ownership.html#ixzz111Y6X6Xm
By Daily Mail Reporter (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Daily+Mail+Reporter)
Last updated at 3:07 PM on 30th September 2010
Comments (16) (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316466/Ayodhya-verdict-India-braces-Hindu-Muslim-riots-Babri-mosque-ownership.html#comments)
Add to My Stories (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316466/Ayodhya-verdict-India-braces-Hindu-Muslim-riots-Babri-mosque-ownership.html)
<LI style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Some 200,000 police officers deployed to stop clashes <LI style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Over 2,000 died in 1992 when mosque burned down
More than 100,000 arrested before court verdict
Commonwealth Games in New Delhi starts on Sunday
An Indian court has ruled that a disputed holy site in the town of Ayodhya should be split between the Hindu and Muslim communities.
The conflict over the site has set off bloody communal riots in the past and India has deployed more than 200,000 police officers across the country to temper religious rows this time around.
Ravi Shankar Prasad, a lawyer for one of the parties in the suit, said the Allahabad High Court ruled today that the site should be divided. He said the Muslim community would get one third and two Hindu groups would split the remainder.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/30/article-1316466-0B698914000005DC-968_634x403.jpg Braced: Police and security line the streets in Ayodhya in northern India, ready for any fall out from the ruling on the ownership of the 16th-century mosque
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/30/article-1316466-0B6989E8000005DC-10_634x374.jpg Conflict: The Muslims and Hindus have tussled over the religious site for over a century - and in 1992 some 2,000 people died in clashes
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/30/article-1316466-0B69F0AE000005DC-854_634x419.jpg Flashpoint: Police have deployed 200,000 police across the country, which hosts the Commonwealth Games in nearby New Delhi on Sunday
Earlier the government had appealed for calm once a court in Uttar Pradesh state rules which religion owns the site of a 16th-century Babri mosque, in Ayodhya, later today - a flashpoint that flared in December 1992.
On that occasion Hindu militants razed the mosque, which was originally build in 1527 on a disputed religious site, triggering clashes with Muslims that left 2,000 people dead and plunged the country into political crisis.
Hindus say it stands on the birthplace of their god-king Rama, and was built after the destruction of a Hindu temple by a Muslim invader in the 16th century.
The verdict is almost certain to be challenged in the Supreme Court and a final decision could take years.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/30/article-1316466-0B69AAF7000005DC-656_634x383.jpg Riot: An Indian policeman stands guard in front of the landmark Charminar, ahead of a potentially explosive court verdict on whether Hindus or Muslims should control a disputed holy site in Ayodhya, in Hyderabad
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/30/article-1316466-0B698AA2000005DC-775_634x407.jpg Religious clashes: A cow walks past Indian policemen standing guard in the backdrop of a temple in Ayodhya, where in 1992 the mosque was burned down sparking riots
From the capital New Delhi to the financial hub Mumbai and towns of the northern Hindu 'cow belt' along the holy Ganges river, many Indians await today's decision with apprehension, with some staying at home and stocking up with food ahead of the verdict.
Police have arrested more than 10,000 people to prevent them from inciting violence, while another 100,000 had to sign affidavits saying they would not cause trouble after the verdict, a top official said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called the verdict one of the country's biggest security challenges, and it comes at an already tense time when India worries about its international image days before the Games begin.
'There should be no attempt whatsoever made by any section of the people to provoke any other section or to indulge in any expression of emotion that would hurt the feelings of other people,' warned Mr Singh.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/30/article-1316466-0B699F73000005DC-106_634x350.jpg Arrests: Police have arrested more than 10,000 people to prevent them from inciting violence, while another 100,000 had to sign affidavits saying they would not cause trouble after the verdict
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/30/article-1316466-0B695954000005DC-13_634x416.jpg Guard: A boy walks past paramilitary troopers guarding a road in the northern Indian town of Ayodhya
However, commentators say the verdict is unlikely to spark widespread riots that hit Mumbai and other cities in 1992 over the site which has caused quarrelling for over a century.
Political parties have called for a relaxed approach - there is little electoral headway to be made in encouraging religious riots in post-economic reform India - while markets shrugged off the verdict.
Ambareesh Baliga, vice-president of Karvy Stock Broking, said: 'There is a small risk. No doubt, investors will be cautious for a couple of days eyeing the developments.
'But it would be just a knee-jerk thing. We have had terror attacks in the past and that has not impacted foreign investments into India.'
However, the verdict's outcome is a barometer of whether a rapidly globalising India with a growing middle class and an interest in investor stability has shed some of the religious extremism that often marred its post-independence years.
Hindus wants to build a temple on the site while Muslims want the mosque rebuilt after it was demolished in 1992.
In the town of Ayodhya, Hindu temples bells rang out as priests prayed and armed police set up checkpoints across the town.
Meanwhile the 3,000 Muslims, out of the town's population of 70,000, guarded their homes.
The issue haunts the ruling Congress party, a left-of-centre group with secular roots, which will have to stand by a verdict that is likely to upset one or other major voter bloc.
About 80 per cent of India's 1.1 billion population are Hindus while Muslims represent 13 per cent - some 140 million people - putting it behind Indonesia and Pakistan in the ranks of Muslim populations.
Wary of these two sides being provoked into fighting, the government has banned bulk mobile text messaging nationally to prevent the spread of rumours and religious extremism.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316466/Ayodhya-verdict-India-braces-Hindu-Muslim-riots-Babri-mosque-ownership.html#ixzz111Y6X6Xm