India: Muslims in Ayodhya fear violence ahead of controversial Hindu temple opening

Some Muslims living near a new Hindu temple in Ayodhya, India, are planning to send their families away before next month’s inauguration of a temple that has been erected on the site of Babri Mosque, fearing possible clashes with Hindu pilgrims.

At least a dozen Muslim men have said they planned to send their families to relatives outside the city ahead of the temple’s opening ceremony which is due to take place on Jan. 22, Reuters reported.

The temple, which is built on a disputed site where a mosque was demolished by a Hindu mob in 1992, has been a source of tension and violence between the two communities for decades.