India to rule on holy site contested by Muslims and Hindus

In India, the federal government and opposition are appealing for calm ahead of a court ruling on a contested religious site, the cause of deadly riots that have left over 2,000 people dead. 200, 000 police and troops have been deployed throughout the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where Hindus and Muslims dispute the site of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya (see photo).

Hindus say it stands on the birthplace of their god-king Rama. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called the verdict one of the country's biggest security challenges, and it comes at an already tense time days before the Commonwealth Games start in New Delhi.

The Ayodhya case has been ongoing for almost 60 years and made international headlines following the outbreak of violence between Hindu’s and Msulims in 1992 that left an estimated 2 thousand people dead.

Archbishop Felix Machado of Vasai, former secretary at the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious dialogue, told Vatican Radio that tensions are being fomented by an “irresponsible media” and “unscrupulous politicians”.

The Archbishop points to a recent poll were respondents overwhelming chose in favour of erecting a monument or shrine on the contested site, for the victims of riots. Moreover he warns that “some politicians are using this for their own ends”, and reaffirms his belief that incidents of violence, if there any “will be isolated to pockets of the country sensitive to the issue”. This he says, is because the majority in India want to live in peace and harmony. Listen: