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News : Archive (May 2003)
- VHP now on a signature mission
Ahmedabad.com, May 31 2003
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s latest mission is to get petion supporting the consturction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya signed by 10 crore people all over the country. After this signature campaign, they plan to exert pressure in the Lok Sabha to pave the way for the temple construction.
- CBI chargesheet against Advani
By Special Correspondent, The Hindu, May 31, 2003
NEW DELHI MAY 31. The decade-old Ayodhya case appears set to gather some momentum with the Central Bureau of Investigation filing a supplementary chargesheet in a Special Court in Uttar Pradesh today against the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, and seven others.
- Gujarat: State to cash in on ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ to attract investors
Ahmedabad.com, May 30, 2003
For the state government that is making attempts to lure entrepreneurs after communal riots, the "Vibrant Gujarat: Global Investors’ Summit 2003" in September is a bright ray of hope.
Serious efforts are being made to rebuild the image of a safe investment destination. The state is looking forward to the business meet to revive confidence among both domestic and foreign entrepreneurs, and expects at least 150 MoUs, with an estimated investment amounting to at least Rs 10,500 crores, if not more, to be signed.
- The Marad massacre
By V.R. Krishna Iyer, The Hindu, May 31, 2003
The Marad massacre proves that minority Islamic communalism is as militantly blood-thirsty as majority communalism... The voice of secularism cannot be soft towards either.
- BJP to make development its next election plank
Times News Network, May 31, 2003
NEW DELHI: BJP chief M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday threw the development gauntlet at the Congress, asserting that his party would seek a positive mandate from the electorate in the next Lok Sabha election.
- Hindutva will not be part of BJP poll agenda: Venkaiah Naidu
By Staff Reporter, The Hindu, May 31, 2003
HYDERABAD MAY 30. The Bharatiya Janata Party is proud of its Hindutva ideology but will not project it as its agenda for the elections to the five State Assemblies this year and the Lok Sabha next year.
- Thackeray clarifies on `sons-of-the-soil' policy
The Hindu, May 31, 2003
Mumbai May 30. The Shiv Sena supremo, Bal Thackeray, today warned that a misinterpretation of the sons-of-the-soil policy could prove deterimental for the country as it could create differences among various States.
- Gujarat: 'Communal forces terrorising minorities'
The Hindu, May 29, 2003
Chennai, May 29 (PTI): Expressing anguish over the alleged persecution of Christians by the Gujarat Government in the form of clandestine surveys, the Tamil Nadu Bishops' Council (TNBC) today said the action clearly indicated that communal forces in that State were bent upon "intimidating and terrorising the minorities".
- VHP rejects BJP chief's suggestion on mosque
By Special Correspondent, The Hindu, May 30, 2003
NEW DELHI MAY 29. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad is not at all pleased with the assertion of the Bharatiya Janata Party president, Venkaiah Naidu, in Rampur on Wednesday that his party would be prepared to allow a mosque to come up next to a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya for a peaceful resolution of the issue.
- Election-eve Solicitude
Editorial, The Hindu, May 30, 2003
THE MINORITY-FRIENDLY POSTURE the BJP chief, M. Venkaiah Naidu, has struck at a social harmony rally in Uttar Pradesh is but an attempt to project what fundamentally is an exclusivist communal party as inclusivist, a game its leadership indulges in whenever the political exigencies warrant it.
- Election secularism
If Muslims are to stop fearing the BJP, it must do more than just say the right things
Editorial, The Indian Express, May 30, 2003
At a Samarasata rally in Rampur, Venkaiah Naidu promised Muslims ministerial berths, a quota of their own, other sops, the mosque, everything. So what should we make of Naidu’s sudden largesse? The options are: One, the BJP chief took the title of the rally terribly seriously — ‘samarasata’ translates as social harmony. Two, Naidu had his eye on the coming round of assembly polls followed by general elections next year. Three, this is the dawn of a more generous politics.
- Naidu takes back mosque offer after VHP fire
HT Correspondent/IANS, Hyderabad, May 30, 2003
BJP president Venkaiah Naidu retracted the offer he had made at a rally on Wednesday suggesting a mosque could be built in the vicinity of the proposed Ram temple in Ayodhya. On Thursday, he said media reports of his speech were “misinterpretations”.
- ‘Right of minorities to live as equals in India undermined’
Express News Service, May 29, 2003
New Delhi, May 28: Amnesty International alleges that the right of minorities to live in the country ‘‘as equals was being increasingly undermined by both state and non-state actors.’’ While referring to the Gujarat riots last year, it said that religious minorities, particularly Muslims, were ‘‘being increasingly targeted for abuse.’’ It warned that the BJP’s victory in the subsequent election in that state ‘‘on a communal platform’’ has strengthened the position of ‘‘Hindu hardliners within the party nationwide.’’
- Amnesty condemns rights abuses
BBC online, May 28, 2003
Amnesty's report for 2002 accuses the Indian Government of failing to protect the rights of minorities.
- Bajrang Dal to 'train' 7,000 youths
Press Trust of India, Jaipur, May 28, 2003
Bajrang Dal will "train" at least 7,000 youths in its nationwide training camps during May-June, convenor Prakash Sharma said on Wednesday.
- BJP favours mosque alongside Ram temple
Press Trust of India, Rampur, May 28, 2003
Making an all out bid to woo Muslim voters ahead of the crucial Assembly polls, BJP President Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday, for the first time, favoured construction of mosque alongside the Ram temple at Ayodhya and promised more ministerial berth to the community in lieu of electoral support.
- Militant Hindutva threat to Gandhianism: Patwardhan
Manoramaonline, May 27, 2003
Thiruvananthapuram: Renowned film maker Anand Patwardhan has lamented that rising right-wing militancy posed a threat to Gandhian ideology of peace and non-violence.
- Christians fear illegal survey preparation for violence
The Daily Times, May 28, 2003
AHMEDABAD: Christians in the western Indian state of Gujarat have alleged the government is collecting information on their community through illegal surveys.
- `If trishul programme crosses limits law will take its course'
By Special Correspondent, The Hindu, May 28, 2003
NEW DELHI MAY 27. Swami Chinmayanand, the BJP MP for Jaunpur, who took over today as Minister for State for Home Affairs, said the office offered him the opportunity to work with the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, and meet the challenges to internal security and fight the proxy war.
- NHRC asks Modi govt to explain lax riot probe
IANS, May 27, 2003
NEW DELHI: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked the Gujarat government to explain why riot victims were not deposing before the Nanavati Commission, probing last year's sectarian violence in the state.
- Minority panel does a VHP on syllabi
Sunando Sarkar, Telegraph India, May 27, 2003
Calcutta, May 26: Weeks after the Vishwa Hindu Parishad called for a probe into madarsas for “training jihadis”, the National Commission for Minorities has done something very similar: it has convened a meeting of madarsa board chiefs across the country and asked them to “bring along” copies of their syllabi.
- BSP worried over Katiyar’s yatra, will write to PM
Hindustan Times Correspondent, May 27, 2003
Concerned over the repercussions of a coalition government with the bjp in uttar pradesh, particularly among muslims, the bahujan samaj party has taken serious note of the “jagran yatra” launched by the state bjp chief vinay katiyar.
- Buddhism conversion gnaws VHP members
Ahmedabad.com, May 26, 2003
Vishwa Hindu Parishad, threatened World Buddhist Organisation members of dire consequences if they hold the mass conversion of about 1 lakh dalits into Buddhism on June 15.
- VHP workers disrupt meet
The Indian Express, May 26, 2003
Express News Service Vadodara, May 24: The conversion issue seems to be hotting up. On Saturday, Vishwa Hindu Parishad workers barged into a press meet convened by the World Buddhist Council (WBC), which has been responsible for conversion of Dalits to Buddhism, and ransacked the conference hall. The incident gave the organisers some tense moments though the situation was brought under control by the time the police arrived.
- CDs on Gujarat incidents seized, one arrested
Press Trust of India, Coimbatore, May 24, 2003
The city police have seized few Compact Disks containing visuals of some violent incidents in Gujarat in the aftermath of Godhra carnage and arrested one person in this connection.
- Gujarat sees dip in FDI flows
NDTV, Saturday, May 24, 2003
The economic effect of last year's communal riots in Gujarat are being felt with a dip in Foreign Direct Investment in the state over the past few months.
The Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy (CMIE) in its April report has said that no FDI was made in Gujarat during September 2002 to March 2003.
The report also says that there is a decline in the intended investment in the state.
- Interview: Narendra Modi
By Edward Luce, Financial Times UK, May 22 2003
The interview took place in Mr Modi’s chief ministerial office at the Gujarat government headquarters in Gandhinagar. Mr Modi, a former full-time activist for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (Organisation of National Volunteers), India’s main Hindu nationalist group, was in a relaxed mood and talked for 85 minutes.
- Christian Council files plea in High Court
By Special Correspondent, The Hindu, May 22, 2003
AHMEDABAD MAY 21. The All India Christian Council has filed a special civil application in the Gujarat High Court challenging the validity and constitutionality of the Freedom of Religion Act banning conversions without the prior permission of the concerned district magistrates.
- Shooting his mouth off
The Hindustan Times, May 21, 2003
There doesn’t seem to have been any need for Justice G.T. Nanavati, who is inquiring into the Gujarat riots, to virtually issue two ‘interim’ reports on the incomplete probe.
- BJP not to make Hindutva an election issue
Press Trust of India, May 21, 2003
Kolhapur, May 20: BJP general secretary Pramod Mahajan on Tuesday said the party would not make Hindutva an election issue in the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
- US team inquires about state's conversion law
Times News Network, May 19, 2003
GANDHINAGAR/AHMEDABAD: A delegation of officials from the US State Department came calling here on Monday making direct and discreet inquiries about the Freedom of Religion Act, 2003, passed in the Gujarat state assembly recently.
- Sociology of communalism in India
Asghar Ali Engineer, Daily Times, May 21, 2003
A sociological study of castes supporting the VHP will be quite an interesting phenomenon. Finding no place in established secular parties, most of the backward castes found ready acceptance in outfits like the VHP.
- Gujarat riots not one-sided: Nanavati
PTI, MAY 21, 2003
NEW DELHI: As a controversy raged over his remarks on the probe into the Gujarat violence, Justice G T Nanavati, heading the inquiry commission, on Tuesday said there was limited evidence against any individual VHP or Bajrang Dal leader based on the evidence so far.
- VHP instigated Gujarat riots: Nanavati
Central Chronicle, May 21, 2003
NEW DELHI: As controversy raged over his earlier remarks, Justice GT Nana- vati, heading the two-member Commission to probe last year's Gujarat riots, today said witnesses have told him that local Bajrang Dal and VHP people instigated others to post-Godhra violence.
- The madrassas in India
By Mushirul Hasan, The Hindu, May 21, 2003
Though conservative in outlook, the madrassas in India stand opposite to fundamentalist Islam and contribute to a rather pluralist attitude among their students.
- Turning hostile: The story of Zahira
Is it so easy to forget what happened in Gujarat?
Abhishek Kapoor, Indian Express, May 20, 2003
Let bygones be bygones is the cliche that is used a great deal in Gujarat today. Life moves ahead. Perhaps Zahira Sheikh also wants to move ahead. The MLA who was the part of the mob baying for blood, is today her protector.
- Kerala communalists to be brought to book'
George Iype in Kochi, Rediff.com, May 19, 2003
Under instructions from Chief Minister A K Antony, the Kerala police has started filing charge sheets in all the reported communal clashes that have occurred in the state since 1992.
- Gujarat riots: Best Bakery witness turns hostile
Express News Service, May 19, 2003
Vadodara, May 18: A fast track court here has adjourned till May 27 hearing in the Best Bakery case even as key witness Zahira Shaikh turned hostile.
- 'No lapse by police, Govt in checking Gujarat riots'
Press Trust of India, May 18, 2003
New Delhi, May 18: Justice G.T. Nanavati, heading the two-member Commission to probe last year's Gujarat riots, on Sunday said that the evidence recorded so far did not indicate any serious lapse on the part of the police or administration in controlling the communal clashes that followed the Godhra mayhem.
- Godhra probe: No evidence of lapse against govt
Times News Network & Agencies, May 19, 2003
GANDHINAGAR/AHMEDABAD/NEW DELHI: Justice G T Nanavati, heading the two-member commission to probe the Godhra train carnage and the riots that followed last year, said on Sunday that the evidence recorded so far did not indicate any serious lapse on the part of the police or administration in controlling the communal clashes that followed the Godhra mayhem.
- No police lapse in Gujarat riots: Justice Nanavati
Rediff.Com, May 18, 2003
Evidence recorded so far does not indicate any serious lapse on part of the Gujarat Police or administration in handling the communal clashes that erupted followed the Godhra train incident, Justice G T Nanavati, heading the two-member commission to probe last year's riots, said on Sunday.
- Trishuls, lathis and books
By Kancha Ilaiah, The Hindu, May 16, 2003
Without understanding the implications of the Hindutva project of weapon distribution other parties are aping it...These weapons can in no way empower the Dalit-Bahujans and the poor.
- Attack on Christians condemned
The Hindu, May 16, 2003
BANGALORE MAY 14. The Global Council of Indian Christians has condemned the attack on a Christian prayer group at Kyarakoppa near Dharwad and termed the Sangh Parivar activists' charge of forceful conversions to Christianity false.
- NGO plans communal harmony workshops
By Special Correspondent, The Hindu, May 16, 2003
AHMEDABAD May 15. Workshops to make people understand better the ways to fight fascism and communalism have been planned by a newly-formed voluntary organisation, ANHAD (Act Now for Harmony and Democracy).
- Antony downplays trishul
Kota Neelima, The Indian Express, May 15, 2003
New Delh, May 14: Kerala Chief Minister A.K. Antony said today that there are ‘‘other issues which are more important than trishul diksha in the state’’.
- India persecuting minorities: US
T V Parasuram, Press Trust of India, May 14, 2003
Washington, May 14: Alleging that there has been an increase in violence against minorities with the rise in political influence of groups associated with the Sangh Parivar, a US government body has renewed its call for designating India among the "countries of particular concern" that would invite sanctions under American laws.
- US panel on religious freedom again targets India
S Rajagopalan, Washington, May 14, 2003
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom has once again recommended that India, Pakistan and four other nations be listed as "countries of particular concern" for allegedly violating religious freedom.
- McCarthyism's Indian rebirth
Praful Bidwai, REDIFF, May 13, 2003
Today's culture of intolerance is pervasive -- both within the state and society. It's stridently majoritarian too. Unadulterated hate-speech against religious and ethnic minorities has become routine within our public discourse. Our television channels regularly broadcast programmes in which people like Mr Praveen Togadia vent their spleen with perverse delight and rank communalists launch foul attacks on Muslims and advocate suicide-bombing of Pakistani civilians.
- Communalising Kerala
By K.N. Panikkar, The Hindu, May 13, 2003
A transition from the communitarian to the communal has been taking place, slowly but steadily.
- Chickens return to roost
AG Noorani, The Hindustan Times, May 12, 2003
The VHP has launched a campaign for legislation to build a Ram mandir at Ayodhya. The BJP’s plea to its mentors in the Sangh parivar on May 2 was that such a law was “not possible without a majority in Parliament”.
- Pandit Miyan and Miyan Pandit
Mukul Dube, The Indian Express, May 12, 2003
“Miyan”, an ordinary, perfectly secular word, has become a term of abuse flung by bigoted self-proclaimed Hindus against all Muslims. What next? Which religion will claim the word “beti” or its exclusive use? And “bhaiya”? Will “bhabhi” be Muslim or Hindu? Will a shared language be split down the middle as a once shared country was?
- ‘McCarthy, where are you?’
By Praful Bidwai, Daily Times, Pakistan, May 12, 2003
Hindutva bigots have mounted a vilification campaign against Romila Thapar, perhaps the country’s most illustrious historian of ancient India. Unless strongly challenged, this will further vitiate our public discourse and legitimise intolerance.
- Used Out of Turn
Editorial, The Telegraph, May 10, 2003
Innocuous as a weapon, the trident can still be used to signal religious militancy that could endanger the harmony among different communities.
- Rajasthan BJP chief opts for a moderate image
DK Singh, Jaipur, May 10, 2003
Rajasthan BJP chief Vasundhara Raje appears to be trying to project the moderate image of the party, even in the face of harder line suggested by others in the BJP, in the run up to the assembly elections.
- Harsh treatment
By Aruna Roy, Bela Bhatia, Jean Dreze, Nikhil Dey & Prashant Bhushan, The Hindu, May 10, 2003
A routine method of ideological control is to hunt and harass the leading voices of dissent. Instead of addressing the concerns raised by the dissenters, the spotlight is turned on whatever fault can be found in their public activities or even personal lives.
- Not the usual rifle club
The Hindustan Times, May 10, 2003
Why then does the VHP’s plan to impart training in firearms — air guns and rifles — to more than 1,000 activists not have the same reassuring quality that a local sports club starting a shooting camp has? Quite clearly it’s because it is the VHP one is talking about here.
- VHP cadre in Gujarat to get arms training
Rathin Das, The Hindustan Times, May 8, 2003
After trishul diksha, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) now wants to upgrade. It plans to impart training in firearms to Sangh Parivar activists in Gujarat.
- Trident is not a weapon: Court
Times News Network, May 08, 2003
AJMER/JODHPUR: Observing that tridents cannot be considered as arms, a Jodhpur court granted anticipatory bail to five VHP activists accused of displaying trishuls, banned in Rajasthan under the Arms Act.
- Shock and awe at Kashi
Here’s a suggestion for Pravin Togadia, if he cares to listen
Usha Sahana, The Indian Express, May 8, 2003
A visit to the Hindu holy city of Kashi ‘shocks’ the senses and the ‘awe’ that that one expects to feel at the holiest of Hindu pilgrim centres remains an illusion. On a recent visit to the city, I was appalled at the state of the roads, buildings and, most of all, the surroundings of the Kashi Viswanath temple and the temple itself.
- Beef Stakes
Editorial, The Times of India, May 08, 2003
The Great Indian Cow Debate looks like turning into the biggest myth of our times. Forget a healthy tussle between the two principal political parties, what's happening here is competitive cow championship. The Bharatiya Janata Party says cow protection is at the centre of its ideological beliefs, and cites the Constitution in support of enacting an anti-cow slaughter legislation. The Congress says in reality the BJP doesn't care for the cow, indeed that beef production has gone up under the NDA government.
- Be firm
Editorial, The Hindu, May 8, 2003
THROUGH ITS PERSISTENCE with the "trishul diksha" ceremony, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad is not only attempting a nationwide mobilisation of the adherents of Hindutva, but also cultivating religious fanaticism and sowing seeds of communal violence.
- Sangh Parivar prevarications
By Surendra Mohan, The Hindu, May 8, 2003
Swadeshi, service of the poor ... all that the BJP had been promising the electorate throughout its existence has been given the go-by...However, frenzied Hindutva remains a trump card to quieten dissent.
- Communal spectre in the south
Religious conflict is often a ploy. Parties mustn’t fall into the blame game
By T V R Shenoy, The Indian Express, May 8, 2003
I am a son of Kerala, and I love it with all my heart. But I have always been conscious of the skull beneath the beautiful skin, that there was always a potential for communal conflict even if actual fighting didn’t break out. How could I, as a student of history, not be aware of this? The ill-named Moplah Rebellion was as horrifying a saga of Hindu-Muslim conflict - replete with murder, rape, and forcible conversion - as anything seen in India before 1947. (And without even the excuse of Partition.)
- Centre to write to States on cow slaughter ban law
By P. Sunderarajan, The Hindu, May 7, 2003
NEW DELHI May 6. The Union Cabinet today took the first step towards the formulation of a stringent Central law to ban cow slaughter by deciding to write to all States requesting them to allow the Centre to come out with such a legislation.
- Lampooning the trishul
M Hashim Kidwai, The Hindustan Times, May 6, 2003
VHP activists enjoying the blessings of the BJP-led central government are making brazen attempts to make Rajasthan the communal flashpoint after Gujarat.
- Falling for it, hook, trishul and sinker
Editorial, The Hindustan Times, May 6, 2003
National Commission for Minorities Chairman Tarlochan Singh must be extremely naive. After meeting VHP leaders — following complaints from minority commissions and members of the Muslim community against the organisation’s trishul diksha programme in Rajasthan — Mr Singh is cocksure that they will refrain from any activities or remarks that may hurt the sentiments of any minority community.
- Faith healers wanted
Swami Agnivesh & Valson Thampu, The Hindustan Times, May 6, 2003
All symbols exist within well-defined contexts, and religious symbols are no exception to this rule. If a symbol is plucked out of its native surroundings, it can be made to carry whatever innuendoes and incitements one wishes to impose on it. When this is done deliberately to religious symbols, there is a need to ask if they remain ‘religious’ at all thereafter.
- The parivar’s united front
Editorial, The Hindustan Times, May 6, 2003
The BJP leadership has lately sought to emphasise that Hindutva remains its mascot though the party is somewhat hamstrung by being the leader of the ruling alliance whose members may be at odds with the Hindu supremacist ideology.
- Opposition demands Togadia's arrest under POTA
HT Correspondent, May 6, 2003
Expressing concern over Praveen Togadia's 'trishul diksha' programme in New Delhi, livid Congress and Samajwadi Party MPs on Monday sought his arrest under POTA for disturbing communal harmony.
- ‘Ahmedabad’s healing process has begun’
Rediff Interview: Ahmedabad Mayor Aneesa Mirza, May 5, 2003
The social infrastructure of the city had collapsed after the riots. Moreover, there is always scope to improve the civic infrastructure. Getting the social infrastructure along with the civic infrastructure back in place will be my priority.
- A Leap of Faith in Indian Politics
Secular Party Shifts Strategy as Hindu Nationalism Dominates Discourse
By John Lancaster, Washington Post Foreign Service, May 5, 2003
Whatever the scientific basis for Singh's claims, there is no mystery about the political one: Singh, a leading light of India's secular-oriented Congress party, is facing a tough reelection challenge from Uma Bharti, a saffron-robed Hindu mendicant -- who also happens to be a member of Parliament -- from the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which heads India's coalition government.
- Cong in a tight spot over Sathe’s demand for Hindu rashtra
Press Trust of India, May 5, 2003
New Delhi, May 5: Congress on Monday found itself in a tight spot following veteran party leader Vasant Sathe's reported demand for declaring Bharat as a Hindu rashtra.
- Minorities commission gives clean chit to VHP
NDTV Correspondent, May 5, 2003
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leaders including Praveen Togadia and others met the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) today. And much to everyone's surprise, not only did the minorities commission avoid a reprimand, it actually endorsed the trishul diksha. "The trishul is being distributed in a religious ceremony, it is not meant to create harm," said M S Usmani, vice chairman, NCM.
- The new McCarthyism
Praful Bidwai, The Hindustan Times, May 2, 2003
Speaking for myself, I receive between 30 and 250 mails a week for each syndicated column I write. More than four-fifths are downright abusive and defamatory. The abusive bilge doesn’t come at the conclusion of an argument. The mails start and end with calumny and four-letter words.
Significantly, about 90 per cent of such abusers are North American NRIs, remarkable for their ‘long-distance’ or ‘Green Card’ hypernationalism. NRIs have emerged as a major instrument of communalism and torchbearers of intolerance.
- Lawless lathi
Editorial, The Hindu, May 2nd 2003
IN ORGANISING A rally of lathi-wielding party workers in Patna, the Rashtriya Janata Dal might have scored a political point over the BJP by highlighting the provocative nature of trident distribution at the meetings of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. But the "secular" lathi at the rally did not stay at the level of a symbolic counter to the "Hindutva" trident, as the RJD chief, Laloo Prasad Yadav, wanted his workers to arm themselves to defeat the Opposition parties in Bihar.
- Why Modi drew a blank
By Kuldip Nayar, The Hindu, May 2, 2003
I am not surprised that the Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi drew a blank at a meeting of envoys to attract foreign investment. In fact, I would have been surprised if any one of them had been taken in by his glib talk.
- VHP trying to repeat Gujarat in Rajasthan: Azmi
Press Trust of India, Jaipur, May 1, 2003
Rajya Sabha MP and actress Shabana Azmi today alleged that a political conspiracy was being hatched by Hindu fundamentalists to repeat Gujarat episode in Rajasthan by distributing trishuls (tridents) despite a ban under Arms Act.
More - Archive (April, 2003)
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