Indian police fired tear gas and water cannon yesterday as angry Hindu nationalists staged scattered protests against an attack by militants on a flashpoint holy site sacred to both Hindus and Muslims.
Security forces were on high alert at religious shrines and key installations nationwide after the opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying Hinduism itself was under attack, called for a day of demonstrations.
The biggest protest took place in the capital New Delhi, where some 1,500 BJP supporters attempting to march on parliament broke through barricades and began hurling stones at police.
They retaliated with tear gas and water cannon.
Demonstrators also clashed with police in the central city of Indore.
They stormed an airport, damaged the VIP lounge and surged onto the runway to prevent a flight taking off, television footage showed.
Scuffles also occurred in Ranchi, capital of Jharkand state, where police used batons to control crowds surging through the streets, smashing car windows and forcing shops to shut.
Peaceful demonstrations were staged in a handful of other states controlled by the BJP, with shops in some centers remaining closed.
On Tuesday six gunmen were killed when they blasted their way into a heavily-barricaded religious complex in Ayodhya, an ancient town in Uttar Pradesh state with hundreds of Hindu temples.
RSS