Word: ayodhya
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...Rama is worshiped by many of India's 696 million Hindus as the embodiment of chivalry and virtue. But it was Shiva, the god of destruction, who showed his face last week as thousands of Rama devotees marched toward a 462-year-old Muslim mosque in Ayodhya, a site holy to both Hindus and Muslims in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. Shouting "Break the mosque! Break the mosque!" about 100 stone-throwing crusaders pulled plaster from the walls and planted saffron-colored flags atop the shrine before they were driven off by police and paramilitary troops armed with tear...
...Ayodhya incident was just the latest blow to a government shaken by a series of crises. Two weeks ago, the Prime Minister's ruling coalition lost its majority in the parliament after Singh ordered the arrest of L.K. Advani, a Hindu nationalist who had refused to halt a five-week religious march to Ayodhya to support the construction of the Rama temple. Advani's Bharatiya Janata Party responded by withdrawing its backing from the government, a move intended to provoke Singh's downfall in a vote of confidence scheduled for this week...
Equally disturbing are signs that Hindu activism is reverberating beyond India's borders. In Bangladesh gangs of Muslims armed with knives or clubs attacked at least 11 Hindu temples in the southern port of Chittagong in retaliation for the Ayodhya assault; hundreds of Hindu homes and shops were burned. Major demonstrations also broke out in several cities in Muslim- dominated Pakistan...
Singh can probably count on the support of segments of the backward classes in the north and of the country's 96 million Muslims, who have applauded his efforts to protect the Ayodhya mosque. But he will have a harder time swaying the rest of the population, which is more concerned with rising inflation and a growing budget deficit. The B.J.P. will fight back with its platform of Hindu Rashtra, trying to convert religious fervor into votes. Where Rajiv Gandhi's Congress (I) Party might enter the equation is anyone's guess. But in order to survive, the winner must...
...verge of collapse and the country into turmoil. At the center of the controversy is L.K. Advani, president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, a Hindu nationalist group whose support is necessary for Singh's shaky coalition government to survive. Advani had embarked on a five-week religious march to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, where he vowed to begin building a temple in honor of the Hindu god Rama. But a mosque already sits on the site, and Muslims are vehemently opposed to moving...