Indian army tightens grip on rioters

Hindu activists insist they will build a temple at Ayodhya

Indian soldiers appear to have restored some degree of order in the western state of Gujarat, which has been wracked by three days of inter-communal killings and rioting.

But a BBC correspondent in Gujarat's largest city, Ahmedabad, says the situation remains tense and volatile, and there were reports of fresh violence in parts of the state on Saturday.

The burning alive of people, including women and children ...is a blot on the country's face

Atal Behari Vajpayee

Officials admit they are having difficulties enforcing security in outlying villages, where a number of massacres were reported on Friday.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has denounced the violence - in which at least 250 people have died - as "a disgrace to the nation" and urged calm.

"Whatever the provocation, people should maintain peace and exercise restraint," he said on state television.

"The burning alive of people, including women and children, from Godhra to Ahmedabad and other places is a blot on the country's face."

Police say the final death toll may never be known in what are the most serious clashes between Hindus and Muslims in India for nearly 10 years.

Horrific injuries

In one attack late on Friday, a mob set fire to houses and shops in the village of Sardarpura, burning to death at least 27 Muslims.

Forty people have been taken to hospital, some with appalling injuries.

Many in Ahmedabad are afraid to leave their homes

News of that attack came only hours after it emerged that at least 30 Muslims had been burned to death in their homes in a village near the town of Godhra.

Curfews are now being enforced in more than 30 areas.

The violence began on Wednesday, when Muslims attacked a train carrying Hindu activists at Godhra, killing nearly 60 of them. That triggered revenge attacks in Ahmedabad and other areas.

We will all die if anyone comes in the way of the temple construction

Hindu activist at Ayodhya

The Hindus were members of the hardline Vishwa Hindu Parashad (VHP) party, returning from a disputed holy site in the town of Ayodhya in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Tensions between Hindus and Muslims had been building because the VHP has insisted that on 15 March it will begin building a temple in Ayodhya on the site where supporters of the VHP and other Hindu groups razed a mosque in 1992.

That triggered savage rioting throughout India in which more than 2,000 people died.

VHP defiant

The dispute over the construction of the temple has been a divisive issue in Indian politics ever since.

The VHP issued a defiant challenge to the federal government on Saturday, saying Prime Minster Vajpayee's appeal to postpone the construction of the temple was unacceptable.

A senior VHP leader, Ram Chandra Pramhans, told the BBC that VHP activists were prepared to face arrest by security forces trying to stop them reaching Ayodhya.

In the city of Bombay, more than 80 Hindu hardliners were prevented by police from boarding a train to Ayodhya.

But they remained defiant.

"We have our own means of reaching the temple spot. Nobody can stop us," Shankar Gaiker told the Reuters news agency.

Thousands of hardline Hindus are camped out in Ayodhya, with many saying the temple is a life-or-death issue for them.

"We will all die now if anyone comes in the way of the temple construction," Laxmi Das told the AFP news agency.

The Gujarat authorities on Friday said they had ordered the cordoning off of VHP workshops in Ayodhya where material for the construction of the temple was being prepared. Movement of the building material already stored there has also been banned.

'More confidence'

In Ahmedabad itself, police expressed confidence that the situation was improving. "Things are on the mend," said Ahmedabad police commissioner PC Pande.

"The police have gained a little more confidence and presence."

About 80 Muslim residents of one apartment block said they had gone without food for three days, fearing to venture outside.