MINORITIES - 2002 - Indian Social Institute

was an indication of the BJP's concern for population con trol, Mr Modi challenged the Congress to come
and discuss the population policy with him on an open forum. (Asian Age 23.9.02)
100 Ajmer Muslim families convert (7)
Jaipur: As many as 108 Muslim families embraced Hinduism again at a village in Ajmer district of
Rajasthan, a VHP spokesman claimed on Sunday. The Muslims took a vow in the presence of VHP
international general secretary Praveen Togadia to follow Hindu traditions at Amba Masania village on
Saturday, he said. (Asian Age 23.9.02)
24 th September
Muslim BSP MLAs told to quit party (7)
LUCKNOW, SEPT. 23.Terming as "murder of justice" the Chief Minister, Mayawati's decision not to issue a fresh notification to
facilitate the trial in Babri Masjid demolition case, the Uttar Pradesh Muslim League to day appealed to Muslim MLAs of Bahujan
Samaj Party to quit the party. The League president, Syed Shakeel Mian, told reporters here that it would be against the interest of
the Muslim commu nity if the MLAs remain in BSP after "exposure" of the Chief Minister's "anti-Muslim poli cies. (Hindu 24.9.02)
SP petitions Kalam on Babri case (7)
New Delhi: The Samajwadi Party has requested President Kalam to ensure that the Ayodhya demo lition
case against Deputy PM Advani and his col leagues M M Joshi and Uma Bharti is not derailed by the UP
government. Leading a delegation of his party's senior func tionaries, SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav
on Monday submitted a memorandum to the Presi dent, seeking his intervention to save the judicial
process from what he termed as the Mayawati gov ernment's apathy. "The case in which senior Union
ministers are accused is being grounded on the pretext of a tech nical flaw," Mulayam said after the
meeting with the President. He demanded that the issue be treat ed with adequate seriousness in view of
the fact that the communal passions that had swept Gujarat recently had been stoked by the VHP's Ayodhya
campaign. (Times of India 24.9.02)
25th September
Pakistan Christian sites fortified after threat (7)
Islamabad, Sept. 24: Fear ing new attacks on Christ ian targets in Pakistan, the police have removed signs
identifying churches set up in private homes and forti fied other Christian sites with sandbag bunkers,
authorities said. The measures came after the police found maps of two churches and a Christ ian school,
along with weapons and explosives, during the arrest of two suspected Islamic militants in the southern
port city of Karachi, home ministry officials said on Monday. The police said the Christ ian sites were all in
central Karachi and the maps showed entry and exit points, apparently for a planned attack. The two men,
both suspected mem bers of the Harkat ul-Mujahideen al-Almi extremist group, were wrapping up plans for
an attack when they were arrested, the police said. Asian Age 25.9.02)
Boy’s hair chopped: Sikh leaders appeal to Panel (7)
NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 24: LEADERS of the Sikh community today approached the National
Commission for Minorities after five teenagers allegedly cut a Sikh boy's hair at Modern School,
Barakhamba Road last week. "We have written a complaint to the NCM, the Delhi Minorities Commission,
the L-G and the Delhi government, de manding the guilty be brought to book," said senior Sikh leader
Manjit Singh. Parents of Jaideep Singh, the Class X stu dent from Air Force Bal Bharati School, whose hair
were chopped by some students, had also complained to the community leadership. "Hair is very sacred
in our religion and the boy is obviously shocked after this episode," said RS. Saini, a close family friend.
(Indian Express 25.9.02)
BJP moves away from VHP plan to glorify Modi words (7)
New Delhi, Sept. 24: The BJP on Tuesday sought to distance itself from the VHP on the issue of
distributing Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi's controversial taped remarks against the minority
community. The VHP, on the other hand, tried to draw a distinction between the BJP's state and central
leadership. "The Gujarat BJP has gone on record saying that it does not need the central leadership's help
to win elec tions in the state," the party spokesperson said. The BJP's Muslim face, general secretary
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, refrained from making a direct comment against the VHP's decision to distribute