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Hindus, Muslims rise above riots
Reuters
New Delhi, March 12: Starting bloody riots between majority Hindus and minority, but large, Muslim population usually doesn't take much doing.
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 Islamist militants set off bombs in one of Hinduism's holiest pilgrimage sites in the northern city of Varanasi, killing 15 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.