In December 1992, thousands of Hindu nationalists in India avenged a four century old wrong and tore down the ancient Babri mosque in the northern town of Ayodhya. The mosque was built in the 16th Century by Mogul (Moslem) conquerors after they demolished a central Indian temple on the site. As a result of the 1992 takeover, Moslem riots swept India, leading to the deaths of over 2,000 Moslems and Hindus, and even spread to other countries with large Hindu and Moslem minorities. Moslems deny the veracity of the existence of a Hindu temple at the Ayodha site.
However, now, after nine years of conflicting demands to reconstruct either a temple or a mosque on the site, reports Naharnet.com, India's Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said that the dispute is likely to be resolved by March. Until then, the Indian government has committed itself to abide by a Supreme Court ruling against any construction at the site.
This is in itself a victory for the mosque in that, as the Arab website points out, it was Prime Minister Vajpayee?s Hindu nationalist party that originally led the campaign against the mosque and three of his ministers have been accused of incitement of the mobs that destroyed it. Meanwhile, the World Hindu Council, a nationalist Indian movement, has demanded the reconstruction of the temple by March 12.
However, now, after nine years of conflicting demands to reconstruct either a temple or a mosque on the site, reports Naharnet.com, India's Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said that the dispute is likely to be resolved by March. Until then, the Indian government has committed itself to abide by a Supreme Court ruling against any construction at the site.
This is in itself a victory for the mosque in that, as the Arab website points out, it was Prime Minister Vajpayee?s Hindu nationalist party that originally led the campaign against the mosque and three of his ministers have been accused of incitement of the mobs that destroyed it. Meanwhile, the World Hindu Council, a nationalist Indian movement, has demanded the reconstruction of the temple by March 12.