February 12, 2007	Monday	Muharram 23, 1428

ALLAHABAD, Feb 11: Tens of thousands of Hindu hardliners converged on a northern Indian town on Sunday for a conference to renew a push for building a controversial temple at the site of an ancient mosque razed by Hindu zealots in 1992.

The proposed temple to Hindu warrior-god Ram has remained a flashpoint for Hindu-Muslim tension in India and a political tool in the hands of Hindu hardliners.

The razing of the 16th century mosque was followed by violent rioting that killed hundreds and is blamed for the serial bombings in financial capital Mumbai in 1993 in which 257 people died.

Analysts say the demand for the “Ram temple” was being renewed by the hardline Vishwa Hindu Parishad, or the World Hindu Council with an eye to provincial elections in Uttar Pradesh.

The VHP is an ideological ally of India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.

“They are pursuing a political agenda to gain Hindu votes,”

Yogeshwar Tiwari, professor of history at Allahabad University said.

No dates have been announced yet, but the state elections are expected to be held by April.

In 1993, an Indian court banned all constructions at the site of the razed mosque in Ayodhya, a sleepy river-side town in Uttar Pradesh. But hardline Hindu groups still periodically renew their demand for building the temple there.

Hindu leaders said their three-day conference in Allahabad town, one of Hinduism's holiest sites, will also discuss the “threat” to the religion from Christian missionaries and a rising Muslim population.—Reuters