Hindu activists vow to swamp Ayodhya

"Thousands are planning to go. Some of them have reached near Ayodhya, while others will be reaching there soon," Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP -- World Hindu Council) president Vishnu Hari Dalmia told AFP.

"We will continue with the programme despite the arrests. We will brave police firing or if they try to beat us with sticks," he added.

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"We wanted to perform the whole thing in a very orderly and peaceful way, but the government does not want it to happen that way. Our democratic and religious rights are being banned."

The hardline VHP has said that more than 200,000 Hindus from all over India would assemble in Ayodhya on Friday to attend "sankalp diwas" (Resolution Day) and stage a demonstration for the construction of the temple.

The VHP is spearheading a campaign to build a temple on the ruins of the Babri Mosque razed by Hindu zealots in 1992.

The demolition of the 16th century mosque sparked nationwide riots in which about 2,000 people were killed.

Radical Hindu groups claim that the mosque was erected by Mohgul emperor Babur after destroying a temple which marked the birthplace of the god Ram.

Their claims have been bolstered by a recent archaeological report which said the remains of a temple were found below the razed mosque.

TV channels reported that police have in the past three to four days arrested more than 2,000 Hindu activists on their way to Ayodhya from various centres around India.

The dispute over the religious site is now in the hands of the courts, which had ordered the excavations.

Last month, the VHP said it would intensify its campaign to construct a temple at Ayodhya with mass rallies across the country this month.

However, the provincial chief of Uttar Pradesh Mulayam Singh Yadav, who is known to be staunchly secular, has vowed to maintain the "status quo" until the court gives its ruling in the matter.