The Indian government has declared a state of emergency over anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka. While Sinhalese Buddhists mobs have been blamed for the riots, moderate Buddhist monks joined other activists in protesting the riots that have left at least two people dead. Religious leaders are calling on the government to crack down on violence. CGTN's Shweta Bajaj reports.

This is Nelligala International Buddhist centre in Kandy in Sri Lanka's central province. While Sinhalese Buddhists have been accused of attacking Muslims in Sri Lanka, religious leaders have helped get the violence under control.

SHWETA BAJAJ KANDY, SRI LANKA "This area has at least 5,000 Muslims living here with 14 mosques. It was the priest of this temple who came forward to ensure that riots didn't break out."

Dhammaratana Thera, founder of the Nelligala International Buddhist Centre – along with his student monks – decided to patrol the village to protect Muslims—even though he was informed that the area near this Buddhist temple will be attacked.

WATHURAKUMNURE DHAMMARATANA THERA FOUNDER, NELLIGALA INTERNATIONAL BUDDHIST CENTRE "We are identifying and correcting problems so that this kind of violence does not take place again. I do not charge the Sinhalese Buddhists directly. Some Muslim extremist groups and certain politicians are responsible for this. I repeat, because of few elements, the innocents have had to suffer."

Sri Lanka's president Maithripale Sirisena asked religious leaders to intervene. But violence continued even after the government imposed the state-of-emergency. A charred body of a Muslim boy was found inside a burnt shop. This entire area has a large Muslim population and has lived in peace for decades now. ALM Zarook owns a tea factory in the area. He was born and brought up in this village. Most of the people who work in this factory are Buddhists. He says it's surprising that the attacks happened in an area where both Buddhists and Muslims have lived peacefully for so long.

AKRAM ZAROOK DIRECTOR, KURUGAMA TEA ESTATE "All Muslim villages in this area are small and scattered, surrounded by majority Buddhist community and temples. So, each one lives in co-existence and they live in harmony with people. And especially within our area the Buddhist priests took action immediately. Still, we are unable to know by whom it was motivated or what was the reason behind it."

Buddhist monks and activists came together in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo to protest the anti-Muslim riots. Despite this show of solidarity, the wounds will likely take some time to heal as situation remains volatile. Shweta Bajaj, CGTN, Kandy, Sri Lanka.