Hindu protesters clash with police in Nepal's capital

About 500 protesters demanding Nepal be declared a Hindu state in the new constitution have clashed with police in the capital.

Demonstrators chanted slogans on Wednesday as they tried to force through a police barricade on the street leading to the Constituent Assembly building in Kathmandu. No one was injured in scuffles with police officers and there were no arrests.

Nepal was declared a secular republic after its centuries-old monarchy was abolished in 2008. Kings were believed by many Nepalese to be a reincarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. Hindu groups are now demanding that the Himalayan nation again be declared a Hindu state in the new constitution.

Political fighting has delayed an agreement on the constitution, which was initially supposed to have been drafted by 2010.