India's Supreme Court today banned hardline Hindus from holding a controversial religious ceremony in the northern town of Ayodhya, where Hindu zealots razed a 16th century mosque nearly 10 years ago.
The ruling was a setback for the militant Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP - World Hindu Council), which has been spearheading a long and volatile campaign to build a temple to the Hindu warrior god Ram on or next to the razed mosque site.
The VHP will now be barred from holding a symbolic ground-breaking ceremony in Ayodhya on Friday which had threatened to provoke an outbreak of sectarian violence.
"No religious activities of any nature, by anyone ... shall be allowed till further orders," the three-judge court said, adding that a further ruling would be made by an expanded five-judge bench in 10 weeks.
But a fresh row was brewing today over a surprise announcement by the attorney general during the Supreme Court hearing that the government would consider allowing a scaled-down Hindu ceremony in Ayodhya on Friday.
The offer was condemned by the main opposition Congress party as well as the more secular-minded allies of Prime Minister Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee's BJP party, who said they had not been consulted beforehand.
The row forced the adjournment of the lower house of parliament, with deputies demanding that Mr Vajpayee make a statement clarifying the government's position.
VHP leaders had earlier warned that whatever the court ruling they would at least go ahead with a scaled-down prayer ritual, even if it meant their supporters being arrested.
"We would like to see and study the judgement, after that we would like to decide (our next step)," said VHP Secretary General Mr Praveen Togadia.
But the VHP's lawyer in the Supreme Court, Mr Prakash Kumar Singh, said the ruling would be respected.
"The matter will come up for hearing again after 10 weeks. In the meantime, the court order will be followed and there will be no religious ceremony," Mr Singh said.
Thousands of Hindu zealots pulled down the Babri mosque in Ayodhya in 1992, claiming it was built on the site of Ram's birthplace. The incident triggered nationwide Hindu-Muslim riots in which 2,000 people were killed.
Today’s ruling brought some breathing space for the Hindu nationalist-led government of Mr Vajpayee, who had been under intense pressure from opposition parties and coalition allies to prevent any activity in Ayodhya that could spark a communal confrontation.
"The Supreme Court has said no act of a religious nature. The government is committed to that," Foreign Minister Mr Jaswant Singh said.
India is still reeling from an outbreak of Hindu-Muslim sectarian violence last month, the worst in nearly a decade, that claimed close to 700 lives in the western state of Gujarat.
The unrest was triggered on February 27th by a Muslim attack on a train carrying Hindu activists back from Ayodhya.
India's Muslim leaders welcomed today’s ruling as a victory for India's secular constitution.
AFP