The Indian government had its hopes pinned today on one of the country's top Hindu leaders to find a way out of a volatile religious dispute that is threatening to trigger fresh bouts of sectarian violence.
The Shankaracharya of Kanchi, Jayendra Saraswati, has emerged as the chief mediator in the row over plans by radical Hindus to build a temple on the ruins of a razed mosque in the northern town of Ayodhya.
India has four shankaracharyas - living Hindu saints who occupy the top rung of the religious ladder from their respective bases in the north, south, west and east of the country.
Saraswati, who met with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee yesterday evening, was holding a further round of talks today with the leaders of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP - World Hindu Council), which is spearheading the temple construction campaign in Ayodhya.
In the morning, he met with Defence Minister George Fernandes and discussed possible solutions to avoid a damaging showdown between the government and the VHP, which has vowed to push ahead with its construction plans from March 15.
Vajpayee and his government have been struggling to persuade the VHP to postpone its campaign in the wake of an eruption of sectarian violence in the western state of Gujarat that claimed more than 580 lives.
"Everybody has respect for the shankaracharya. I believe a path will be found with his holy presence interceding over the issue," VHP president Ashok Singhal told reporters in New Delhi.
A leading player in the temple movement, Ram Chandra Paramhans, yesterday said the construction would go ahead even if it meant a bloody confrontation with the security forces.
"Even if they fire bullets at us, we will face it," Paramhans said.
"We are not prepared to go by any assurance of the prime minister, because he keeps changing his tune."
But some religious leaders believe a compromise can be reached, with the government allowing pre-constructed sections of the temple to be taken to the disputed site at Ayodhya on March 15, if the VHP puts off the actual building work.
Both Ayodhya and neighbouring Faizabad have been sealed for the past week to all vehicular traffic. Trains have also been diverted in an attempt to prevent any influx of Hindu activists.
Hindu leaders yesterday issued a joint statement urging the government to remove all travel obstacles.
The razing of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya by Hindu zealots in 1992 triggered widespread Hindu-Muslim riots that left 2,000 dead.
Hindus believe Ayodhya is the birthplace of the warrior god Ram and that the Babri mosque had itself been built on the ruins of a Ram temple.