32 More Killed in India Over Hindu Campaign for Temple

At least 32 more people were killed Thursday in religious strife across India over a militant Hindu campaign to build a temple where a mosque now stands, domestic news agencies said.

“More blood may spill before there is peace,” said Mulayam Singh Yadav, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh state, who has organized the defense of the mosque in the town of Ayodhya.

Fourteen people were killed Thursday in Uttar Pradesh and seven in Gujarat. They are two of the states most seriously affected by Hindu-Muslim riots that erupted after an abortive attempt Tuesday by Hindus to raze the mosque.

Dozens of towns across India--an overwhelmingly Hindu land of 850 million people with a minority of 100 million Muslims--were placed under curfew.

“This is pure politics, not religion. Where there is a political problem, there can only be a political solution,” Yadav, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, said.

At least six people were killed Tuesday in Ayodhya, an ancient town of 50,000 people and 3,000 temples, when militants tried to tear down a 16th-Century mosque that is reputed to stand on the birthplace of the Hindu god Ram, hero of the epic Ramayana.

Hindus say the mosque was built in 1528 by Emperor Babur who first demolished a temple dedicated to Ram. Muslims say they will defend the mosque at any cost.