LUCKNOW, 27 June — Hindu and Muslim leaders yesterday vowed to amicably resolve a decades-old dispute over building a temple on the ruins of a demolished mosque in the north Indian town of Ayodhya.

The 16th-century Babri Mosque was pulled down by a mob of Hindu fanatics in December 1992, sparking communal riots in which more than 2,000 people were killed across India.

Hindus claim the mosque was built over the birthplace of their deity Ram and hard-liners, led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) want to erect a temple there.

The communities are locked in a bitter political and legal battle for ownership of the land which is now under court protection. A group of local Hindu and Muslim religious leaders met in Ayodhya on Tuesday and demanded the VHP be banned.

A prominent Hindu leader Gyan Das accused VHP leaders of trying to manufacture distrust between Hindus and Muslims in India with its temple construction campaign. “We do not want the VHP to meddle in the temple issue; we want a ban on them,” Das said. Yesterday, leaders from both the communities formed a committee — the All Religion Harmony and Protection Committee — to look into ways to solve the dispute. Hindu leaders said they were determined to ensure that no senior VHP members came to Ayodhya. “What is their business here when the two communities have decided to abide by the court orders to resolve the issue peacefully?” said Das.

The VHP had set March 12 this year as a deadline for the federal government to clear obstacles for the construction of the temple.

After intense lobbying by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, the activists agreed to a scaled-down ceremony on March 15.

On June 22 and 23, the VHP held another ceremony as a precursor to the temple’s construction and on Tuesday its leaders said they were “not ready to accept the government’s suggestion of maintaining status quo” on the disputed land.

Muhammad Yunus Siddiqui, chairman of the Babri Masjid Action Committee took part in the meeting which he said was a significant event.

“It was the first such meeting that has taken place and now we are going to meet regularly,” Siddiqui said.

“It is the VHP who have played an unwanted role creating tension between the two communities and that is why we believe that this outfit should be banned.”