An Indian court has ruled that the site of a demolished mosque will be split between Hindus and Muslims.
The Prime Minister has appealed for calm after the ruling on the disputed holy site in the town of Ayodhya that has triggered deadly Hindu-Muslim riots in the past.
Manmohan Singh appealed to all people 'to maintain peace and tranquillity and to show respect for all religions and religious beliefs in the highest traditions of Indian culture.'
His statement said the judges' ruling ordered that neither group could alter the site until the Supreme Court had heard appeals lodged by leaders from both religions.
The Uttar Pradesh court also ruled Hindus will be allowed to keep a makeshift temple that was built over the demolished central mosque dome, sparking celebrations by priests who dipped in a nearby river chanting 'The temple is now ours'.
However, a leader of the Hindu nationalist Bharat Janata Party said that nobody had won and nobody had lost.
'Let's not look at this as a victory for anyone', Yashwant Sinha added.
'It was a very sensible judgment and the court has tried to balance the parties', said Anil Verma, a political analyst.
There were no immediate reports of violence after the ruling, but 200,000 police fanned out in India to guard against any communal violence.
If the ruling soothes tensions, it would be a boost for the ruling Congress party, a left-of-centre group with secular roots that does not want to upset either voter bloc.
Major political parties have also called for calm.
The 1992 demolition of the 16th century mosque in northern India by Hindu mobs triggered some of India's worst riots that killed about 2,000 people.
The verdict came only days before Sunday's opening of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, with the government wanting to project an image of stability and modernity to the world.
