Organization: University of Illinois at Chicago
Date: Friday, 11 Dec 1992 15:08:12 CST
From: Shyamala Parameswaran <U15297@uicvm.uic.edu>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject:    Death Toll - 1050; Violence slowly subsiding

        NEW DELHI, India (UPI) -- Authorities said Friday that violence
triggered by the destruction of an ancient mosque by Hindu extremists
was diminishing after five days of vicious communal clashes that killed
1,050 people and injured thousands more.
        Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao told foreign correspondents that
the crisis that began with the demolition of the mosque in Ayodhya had
put the country in ``great danger,'' but he said the ``worst part of it
is behind us today.''
        But even as he spoke police were firing tear gas and bullets to quell
rioting mobs in a northeastern suburb of New Delhi, where three were
killed and 100 wounded as shops and houses were torched and a police
officer was stabbed in the latest outbreak of violnce in the capital.
The attack continued in defiance of police attempts to enforce a curfew.
        The leader of Delhi's main mosque Syed Abdullah Bukhari gave Friday's
prayer over loud speakers in Old Delhi, still under curfew, calling for
and end to killings of hundreds of innocent people.
        He told thousands gathered on rooftops and at windows. ``When
Muslims' hearts are filled up with anguish and outrage the government is
trying to extinguish the fire by bullets. A volcano is erupting in our
hearts.''
        However, in other parts of India, apart from sporadic clashes,
significant improvement was reported, allowing curfews to be relaxed for
longer periods and businesses to reopen.
        In Calcutta Nobel Peace Prize winner Mother Teresa reportedly
distributed food to 4,000 women and children who sought shelter in a
school in the city after their homes were looted and burnt down by
rioting mobs Thursday.
        The clash between the government and the opposition Bharatiya Janata
Party and its closely affiliated right-wing Hindu groups deepened
Friday, in response to a government ban on powerful sectarian
organizations.
        Charged with inciting communal hatred, the government outlawed the
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council), the extremist Hindu
Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (National Volunteer Organization), another
militant Hindu group and two Islamic groups.
        The BJP and the banned Hindu groups vigorously attacked the ban,
saying it was ``dictatorial'' and would only polarize the nation
further. RSS leader Rajendra Singh told the press ``we will oppose the
ban tooth and nail.''
        Senior BJP member Atal Behari Vajpayee said the ban on the
``patriotic'' groups ``was a Himalayan blunder,'' and his party would
challenge it in court and launch a ``peaceful nationwide agitation.''
        PTI reported security had been tightened around RSS and VHP offices,
but further arrests have taken place. Press reports say many leaders and
activists of the groups have gone into hiding.
        Following their arrest Tuesday four BJP leaders and two others have
been remanded in custody awaiting their second court appearance next
week. The BJP called a general strike and totally disrupted Parliament
in protest of their leader's arrest.
        Prime Minister Rao continued Friday to deflect media and opposition
party criticism that he failed to take adequate steps to prevent the
razing of the mosque last Sunday by a frenzied crowd of radical hindus.
        He told the foreign press the Uttar Pradesh BJP-run state government
was fully responsible for the desecration of the mosque, and stood by
his government's action to arrest those responsible and ban the groups
involved.
        ``Paramilitary troops were at the disposal of the state government
and I thought the state government would be sensible enough to use them,
'' he said.
        Rao said the ban on communal organizations would be ``enforced
irrespective of which political party rules in the states.'' The BJP
still rules in three other states, and the media Friday speculated the
ban, seen as an anti-democratic imposition, would cause another center-
state showdown.
        Rao, asked in several media interviews about how and when his pledge
to have the mosque rebuilt will be fulfilled, has not given clear
answers. Nor has he clarified the controversial issue of whether the
mosque will be built in the same place.
        The BJP and its affiliates said they will steadfastly oppose the
decision to rebuild the mosque.
        Many Hindus across India believe the 16th Century structure was
erected atop the ruins of a temple marking the birthplace of Lord Ram,
the Hindu god and central figure in the religious epic Ramayana.
        Meanwhile, paramilitary forces have tightly sealed off the site of
the demolished mosque where the temporary temple built by Hindu devotees
remains.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian