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Three decades after Hindu mobs demolished a historic mosque in Ayodhya, in northern Uttar Pradesh state, triggering a wave of communal violence that saw thousands killed, right-wing Hindu outfits are eyeing other Muslim sites.

There is currently a debate about the centuries-old Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, one of Hinduism's holiest cities, stoking fresh tensions between India's two largest religious communities.

Hindu groups say the mosque, located in the constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was built after a temple at the site was demolished by Muslim rulers in the 17th century.

After five women sought permission to perform Hindu rituals in a part of the mosque, a local court ordered authorities to do a video-recorded survey of the premises.

Last month, reports claimed the survey had discovered a shivalinga, a stone shaft that is a representation of the Hindu god Shiva, at the site, a claim that has been rejected by the mosque authorities.

The court then banned large Muslim gatherings at the mosque, but India's Supreme Court later overturned the ruling.

Muslims in India now fear that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists could lay similar claims to other mosques and forts that were allegedly built on temple sites in other parts of the country.

A long list of holy sites

Last month, S Eshwarappa, a former deputy chief minister of Karnataka state, claimed that at least 36,000 temples were destroyed to build mosques during the time when Muslim emperors ruled India. He said that they would all be reclaimed legally.