E/CN.4/1997/91/Add.1 page 19 92. The Special Rapporteur considers it essential that the Representation of the Peoples Act, 1951, should be scrupulously implemented and that in addition it should be speedily supplemented by a new act debarring political parties from the post-election use of religion for political ends. As the riots in Ayodhya, Bombay and Punjab have shown, religious parties, spokesmen and standard-bearers are not always of a nature to promote tolerance and human rights. 93. The Special Rapporteur also considers that places of worship should be used exclusively for religious, and not political, purposes. As places for prayer and meditation, they should be protected against tension and partisan struggle. The State should therefore ensure that places of worship remain neutral ground and are sheltered from political currents and ideological and partisan controversy. In this connection the Special Rapporteur urges that the dispute concerning Ayodhya should be settled on terms acceptable to the Muslim and Hindu communities. Although the Babri Masjid case can be partially settled by legal means, it must be approached with an exceptional degree of caution and an equally exceptional degree of wisdom. Calling into question situations and rights that are rooted in the distant past is likely to open the door to a sequence of events which could have unforeseeable consequences and in particular lead, through acts of violence performed in the name of an extremist conception of religion, to disorders in various parts of India, the news of which, as it spreads internationally and, more especially, throughout the region, may affect peace and security within the region. The most logical solution would seem to be to restore these places of worship as they were before the riots occurred - unless the religious communities concerned decide to effect a symbolic exchange as a means of cooling passions and reducing tensions. The authorities must remain on the watch to prevent the recurrence of such traumatic incidents, which are sources of division and hate between communities. It is important that the Indian authorities should be fully aware that the dangers in this area are not purely theoretical. 94. The financial dependence of political and religious movements on foreign countries is obviously fraught with consequences at all levels. 95. Schools in particular should be protected against all forms of political and ideological indoctrination. 96. Education can play a vital role in preventing intolerance, discrimination, hate and violence (including violence motivated by extremism) by creating and disseminating a culture of tolerance among the masses and the most disadvantaged segments of the population. It can make a decisive contribution to the assimilation of values based on human rights by the use of school curricula and textbooks reflecting principles of tolerance and non-discrimination. This approach has already been adopted to some extent by the Indian authorities in the education sector through dissemination of the values of tolerance and mutual respect, as was confirmed during the course of the mission during visits to schools, in discussions with pupils and teachers and by the perusal of textbooks. However, this approach must be adopted throughout the country to cover India's entire private and public school system in order to develop the awareness of the masses. It is of vital importance that human rights and tolerance should become the concern of all and not remain the exclusive preserve of the élite.