Indian temple rally ends peacefully

Hindu activists hand over a stone for the proposed temple to an envoy of India's prime minister

AYODHYA, India (CNN) -- A last minute change of heart appears to have averted more violence in the Indian town of Ayodhya after plans to hold a prayer ceremony at a disputed holy site were aborted.

The controversial ceremony was halted when Indian police blockaded a procession of Hindu hardliners about an hour after the march started on Friday.

Chaos and confusion spread among the crowd of at least 500 people after they stopped less than a kilometer into the planned route.

The Hindu marchers were supposed to journey some three to four kilometers (2 to 2.5 miles) near the ruins of a Muslim mosque, destroyed by Hindus nearly a decade ago in the northern town of Ayodhya.

There, the marchers had planned to hand over to government authorities two stone pillars, part of a temple they want to construct on the disputed site.

But after encountering the police blockade, religious leaders entered a nearby house then emerged, announcing the group would go no further.

The leaders announced the religious ritual would be performed at the house, where they handed over the stones to government authorities.

Symbolic gesture

VIDEO CNN's Kasra Naji says Hindu hardliners plan to proceed with laying a temple cornerstone at the site of a destroyed Muslim mosque Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   FOCUS Rebuilding a temple's future  • Ayodhya: India's religious flashpoint    IN-DEPTH India's religious strife    RESOURCES Gallery: Aftermath of religious strife  Gallery: Hindu-Muslim violence flares up     CNN.com Asia More news from our Asia edition

The handover is a symbolic gesture designed to empower the government to build the temple on the disputed site.

The Supreme Court earlier in the week banned any religious activity at the site but as late as Thursday night Hindu leaders were vowing to proceed, with one threatening suicide if thwarted.

In the event, several hundred white and saffron-clad devotees followed an ornate pillar being wheeled on cycle-rickshaw through the small temple town's winding alleys, to cries of: "Lord Ram we are coming. We will build the temple".

Police heavily outnumbered devotees and appeared determined to separate the leaders from their followers while the media was kept out from the ceremony.

Paramilitary forces in full anti-riot gear have been deployed in and around the town.

Hindu radicals are still attempting to travel to Ayodhya from across the country even though the government has virtually sealed off the town and has thousands of troops patrolling its streets.

Tens of thousands of police deployed across the country have made nearly 20,000 arrests in an effort to prevent religious violence.

Flashpoint

Hindu activists say that the mosque - which was torn down brick by brick by a Hindu mob in 1992 -- stood on the birthplace of the god-king Ram and want a temple built in the area.

The mosque's destruction triggered nationwide riots that left thousands dead.

The proposed temple site was again the flashpoint for violence in the western state of Gujarat after a train carrying Hindu campaigners was firebombed by a suspected group of Muslims last month.

Fifty-eight people were killed in the February 27 train attack, which sparked bloody mob riots and secular violence throughout Gujarat.

Hundreds of people were torched alive and buildings and homes razed until security forces gained control of the situation.

Although some estimates have the death toll at over 700, the exact figure is unknown as bodies, often charred beyond recognition, are still being recovered.

-- CNN New Delhi Bureau Chief Satinder Bindra, CNN's Kasra Naji and journalist Joanna Nathan contributed to this report