NEW DELHI, 12 October 2003 — Police in the northern pilgrimage town of Ayodhya have arrested some 1,500 hard-line Hindu activists for violating a ban on assembling there, officials said.

The activists were campaigning to build a temple over the ruins of a razed mosque, an official said yesterday.

Senior police official Kailash Nath Dwivedi said the activists of the regional Shiv Sena party had been banned from organizing a convention of the devotees of another Hindu deity Ram at Ayodhya.

For causing “breach of peace,” Shiv Sena MPs Chandrakant Khaire and Shivaji Mane, state unit chief Vijay Tiwari and 100 activists were arrested on Friday at Ram Snehi Ghat, 90 km from Lucknow while on the way for the banned meet.

“The arrests began yesterday (Friday) morning as the Shiv Sainiks were trying to break the ban,” he said adding about 1,500 of them had been detained.

Most of the activists from the state of Uttar Pradesh, where Ayodhya is situated, had begun to assemble in Ayodhya on Thursday, Dwivedi said.

Slogans like: “Ram, we will come and construct the temple,” rent the air as the police rounded up the Shiv Sainiks, witnesses said.

The Shiv Sena is a major political force in the western state of Maharashtra and is an ally of India’s ruling Hindu nationalist BJP party led by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

The Shiv Sena and another Hindu hard-line group, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP, World Hindu Council), have been actively campaigning for the construction of a temple on the ruins of the Babri Mosque razed by Hindu zealots in 1992.

The demolition of the 16th century mosque sparked nationwide riots in which about 2,000 people were killed.

Radical Hindu groups claim that the mosque was erected by Mughal emperor Babar after destroying a temple which marked the birthplace of Ram.

Their claims have been bolstered by a recent archaeological report which said the remains of a temple were found below the razed mosque. Last month, the VHP had said it would intensify its campaign to construct a temple at Ayodhya with mass rallies across the country this month.

With their present plans virtually defeated, Shiv Sena and VHP, sources said, are pondering over on formulating a new “strategy.” More than 200,000 Hindus from all over India are expected to assemble in Ayodhya on Oct. 17 to attend a religious function and stage a demonstration for the construction of the temple.

Meanwhile, strict security arrangements have been made in Ayodhya with around 1,500 heavily armed policemen guarding the disputed site. While 3,000 paramilitary personnel are keeping a watch in other parts of Ayodhya, 2,000 more are expected to join them soon.