Kochi, Dec. 10 :    Kochi, Dec. 10:  Widespread communal violence in the last four days is threatening to tarnish Kerala's reputation as a model state devoid of communal discord. A public strike called on Monday by a group of organisations such as the BJP and the Hindu Aikya Vedi to protest against attacks on devotees of the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple by alleged activists of Muslim fundamentalist organisations, turned violent when strikers clashed with police and activists of the National Democratic Front and the CPM in several parts of the state. Police fired rubber bullets at Hindutva activists trying to forcibly close shops and offices in the northern Kasarakode district. Violence spread to other parts of the state, including capital Thiruvananthapuram, when clashes erupted between supporters and opponents of the strike and strikers set fire to residences and business establishments of Muslims. Life came to a standstill as shops, offices and public service establishments could not function properly. The government's effort to operate a skeletal public transport service was disrupted when strikers resorted to organised stone pelting. Educational institutions observed a government-sanctioned holiday. Incidents over the last four days have disrupted communal harmony in Kerala, which remained free from communal problems and violence even while the rest of country was intermittently consumed by sectarian disturbances. The sequence of events that led to Monday's violence began with the strike organised by the Muslim fundamentalist People's Democratic Party on the Babri demolition anniversary on December 6. The strike called for the reconstruction of the masjid. PDP chief Abdul Naser Mahdani is one of the prime accused in the 1998 Coimbatore blasts. The PDP strike was marked by extensive attacks against people, some of it Ayyappa devotees making their annual pilgrimage to Sabarimala.