What Lies Beneath

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Hindus and Muslims continue to fight and die for a 1.1-hectare piece of real estate in the northern Indian city of Ayodhya. This struggle has gone on for centuries, with both sides claiming the site as sacred ground. But now an Indian court is trying to combine archaeology with technology to settle the dispute. Following a court order, government archaeologists last week began probing the dusty parcel with a ground-penetrating-radar magnometer capable of detecting a buried foundation and other subsurface ruins. Hindus hope the machine will bolster their claim that an ancient temple marking the birthplace of the god Ram once stood there—superseding the Muslim claim that dates back to the 16th century, when Mughal invaders erected a mosque on the site.

Resolving the conflict could save lives. Ten years ago, Hindu fundamentalists destroyed the mosque to build a new temple. In the violence that followed, at least 2,000 people were killed. The death toll spiked again last year when a Muslim mob torched a train carrying Hindu volunteers working on the temple's reconstruction, setting off a new round of reprisal attacks. Still, a judicial decision won't satisfy everyone. Hindu fundamen-talists say no court has jurisdiction over matters of faith. As long as ownership remains a religious issue, not a legal one, the holy war will rage on.