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AYODHYA, INDIA, October 16, 2003: Police in northern India continue to arrest thousands of Hindu activists even as efforts are under way to defuse tensions over their plan to rally near a controversial religious site, states this BBC article. The activists, who belong to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), are heading to Ayodhya, as part of a campaign to build a temple on the ruins of a destroyed mosque (which itself was originally built after the destruction of a huge temple marking the site of Lord Rama’s birth). On Wednesday, police arrested VHP vice-president Giriraj Kishore in the northern city of Lucknow while he was leading a procession of nearly 500 activists. The police say they have arrested 43,000 people from different parts of the state as a preventive measure. The VHP wants to hold a rally at a nearby camp and then offer prayers at a makeshift temple built at the site. Heavy security is in place in Ayodhya, with thousands of special police units deployed along with regular forces. “They [the Hindu activists] will not be allowed to step outside [on Friday],” the state’s top administrative officer, A.P. Singh, said.

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