But mistrust runs deep and there have been sporadic bouts of violence.
The worst in recent years came in 2002, in the western Gujarat state.
More than 1,000 people, most of them Muslim, were killed by Hindu mobs after a train fire killed 60 Hindus returning from a religious pilgrimage. Muslims were blamed for the train fire.
India's federal Home Minister Shivraj Patil was to hold a press conference later yesterday, although no details on the subject of his briefing were immediately available.
RSS