Ayodhya (AsiaNews) – Street demonstrations following an attack against a Hindu temple in Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh) have set off alarm bells against sectarian clashes in India.
The local Catholic Church has condemned the incident and reiterated its faith in the country's tradition of religious harmony and respect for religious pluralism
India's opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)—a champion of Hindu fundamentalism—has instead called for a nationwide general strike to protest the attack which has badly shaken the country's extreme right.
The incident began yesterday when, during a gun battle, security forces killed five armed men who had attacked the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, 600 km north-east of New Delhi.
The same site was the scene of bloody sectarian strife in 1992 that left 2000 people dead throughout the country.
The dispute goes back to the December 16, 1993, takeover by Hindu extremists of the 16th century Babri Mosque, which, they claimed, had been built on top of the birthplace of the Hindu deity Ram.
After the razing the mosque, a temporary Hindu temple was built.
For some analysts, the latest incident could bring closer together the various groups that gravitate around the Sangh Parivar, a network of organisations which promotes the ideology of Hindutva.
For Pravin Togadia, international secretary of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) or World Hindu Council, a paramilitary group linked to the BJP, the attack in Ayodhya was "another attempt by Pakistan to destabilise India by using terrorist groups".
BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani said that the attack was reason to be alarmed and called for a "strong protest".
In the meantime, the government has put its security forces on a state of alert to protect the country's religious sites and has appealed for calm.
Muslim militants recently had threatened the Hindu temple but so far no one has claimed responsibility for the latest attack.
Speaking to AsiaNews, Mgr Thomas Dabre, Bishop of Vasai (north of Mumbai), said he "was profoundly saddened" by the attack.
"Every attack against any religious site, be it a mosque, a temples or a church, should be condemned," he said.
"It is a cycle of vengeance among fanatics," he explained, adding that "violence breads violence.
Instead, we should work so that peace and harmony become our common goal".
The Bishop further said that India had "a tradition of peace and respect for religious coexistence" and to illustrate his point he mentioned a recent inter-faith meeting that was held in New Delhi.
"There were representatives from the Sikh, Parsee, Hindu and Muslim communities and one could see great respect and mutual admiration among them," he said.
