A lesson to rise above religious row

A desecrated temple or mosque, a motorcycle rider of one group brushing past a bicycle rider of the other, or a boy of either community teasing a girl of the other, has been enough to kindle bloodshed and burn towns and cities for days.

Last week, though, saw something remarkable and followed other recent examples of uncharacteristic restraint by Hindus and Muslims.

After suspected Kashmiri militants set off bombs in one of Hinduism's holiest pilgrimage sites in the northern city of Varanasi, killing 23 people and wounding dozens, police feared a wave of reprisal attacks.

There were none.

"The Indian state has learnt the lessons - and costs - of letting religious zealots run amok," Harish Khare, an editor with The Hindu newspaper, wrote after Tuesday's blasts in Varanasi.

"India has changed dramatically ... the new India does not want to be distracted by claims made in the name of medieval passions."

Politicians and analysts say a growing awareness of political and religious manipulation prevented any religious backlash in Varanasi. Weariness after decades of conflict and bloodshed and rising prosperity from the country's booming economy also cooled tempers.

The two sides showed similar restraint last July when suspected Islamist guerrillas raided a holy site claimed by Hindus and Muslims, and again in October when they triggered serial blasts in New Delhi, killing 66 people as they shopped ahead of the biggest Hindu and Muslim festivals of the year.

Hindus account for about 80 percent of India's 1.1 billion people and Muslims about 13 percent, giving the country the largest Muslim population after Indonesia and Pakistan.

Although they have coexisted largely peacefully since Muslim invaders brought Islam to the subcontinent more than 1,000 years ago, tensions flared during the past few centuries, particularly under British colonial rule.

More than one million people have been killed in clashes since the early 18th century, rights groups say. The worst in recent years were riots in 2002 in Gujarat state.