Srinagar, Feb. 1 -- In early January, India's Supreme Court upheld a lower court's directive to consolidate 15 lawsuits by Hindu activists seeking the right to investigate the possible existence of sacred Hindu places of worship beneath the Shahi Eidgah, a mosque in Mathura. The Court emphasized that the move benefits all parties, by avoiding multiple proceedings and reducing the risk of conflicting judgments. More fundamentally, however, the Court seems to be attempting to safeguard judicial stability at a time of proliferating religious disputes and prevent the escalation of tensions.

India is full of mosques established during periods of Islamic rule, between roughly the eleventh and eighteenth centuries. Many Indians believe that Mus...