India's postcolonial history has been built upon two sturdy pillars: tolerance and nonviolence. After the outbreak of communal violence last week, it appears that both are dangerously eroded. Clashes between Hindus and Muslims have claimed more than 500 lives and there is little prospect of a return to civility between the country's two largest communities. The seeds of this conflict were sown hundreds of years ago, but they remained dormant until Hindu nationalists nurtured sectarianism for domestic political gain.

In the 16th century, Muslims built a mosque in the town of Ayodhya on the site where Ram, one of the Hindu religion's holiest figures, was reputed to have been born. Ten years ago, Hindus tore down the mosque and pledged to build a temple to Ram on the site. The razing of the building triggered violence between Hindus and Muslims -- who make up 12 percent of the population (about 130 million) and are the country's largest minority. (Indeed, India is the world's largest Muslim nation after Indonesia.) More than 3,000 people died in clashes that year. Even after order was restored, communal tensions persisted: In 1993, 800 people were killed during religious violence in Bombay.

To prevent more attacks, the Indian government took over land surrounding the site in 1993. But the World Hindu Organization, a powerful Hindu group pushing for the construction of the temple, has not given up hope. It has pledged to begin construction on March 15.