MINORITIES - 2002 - Indian Social Institute

their activities. Police are sensing "the calm before the storm", Intelligence sources claim. A police officer
said the Bajrang Dal and Shiv Sena are distributing arms (a five-inch sharp-edged trishul) to youths for
"self-de fence", the VHP is reconverting those who had given up Hinduism more than five dec ades ago
and the RSS is organising public meetings in the "virgin areas of the state". "The RSS chief alone has
addressed over a dozen public meetings at district head quarters and other important towns. Same goes
with the Bajrang Dal, Shiv Sena, and the VHP, who are making their presence felt at the grassroots level,"
the officer said. (Statesman 21.10.02)
22 nd October
Gujarat mantri threatens Dangs Christians (7)
Ahmedabad,0ct 21: The saf fron brigade on Monday threatened Christian missionaries in Dangs , telling
them to give up luring tribals and reportedly warned them to behave or experience another spell of riots,
this time targeting foreign funded Christians. Five tribal children, boarders at a school run by the Navjyot
Social Service Society have been threatened and told to decide whether they want to live as Hindus or die
as Christians. A senior BJP minister in the Narendra Modi government Mr Karsan Patel has warned
Christians in the sensitive Dangs area to behave with restraint. (Asian Age 22.10.02)
BJP kar seva to woo Sikhs (7)
NEW DELHI, OCT. 21. Shaken by the siding of the Sikh community with the Congress during the recent
municipal elections in the Capital, the Delhi BJP today announced measures aimed at wooing back the
minority community back into the saffron fold. Apart from constituting a Sikh Cell, the par ty's State unit
president, Madan Lal Khurana, also announced installation of statues of the Sikh lead er Master Tara
Singh at different places in the city. On the issue of punishing the guilty of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Mr.
Khurana said the Vajpayee Government had constituted the Nanavati Com mission to probe the entire
matter. The Commis sion is holding its hearings and is expected to submit its report soon. (Hindu
22.10.02)
25 held in Badlapur after riots on Sunday (7)
Mumbai, Oct. 21: The Badlapur police has arrested 25 people, including two civic corporators and a
Muslim leader, allegedly involved in the communal riots that broke out in the Bazarpeth area on Sunday
night. Deputy commissioner of police Fatehsingh Patil said Masood Abdul Sattar Kun-wari and corporators
Sharad Mhatre (BJP) and Kishen Bhoir (Shiv Sena) have been arrested. They have been remanded to
police custody till October 25. Mr Patil said riots broke out due to an alter cation between youth from the
Hindu and Muslim com munities in Bazarpeth. ( Asian Age 22.10.02)
TN minorities firm on protest over ordinance (7)
Chennai, Oct. 21: Minorities and dalits supported by sever al Opposition parties in Tamil Nadu decided to
go ahead with their agitation on Thurs day to protest against the recently-promulgated
anti-conversion ordinance. Their representatives met chief minister Jayalalitha at her office here on
Monday morning but failed to assuage their apprehension that the law could be misused, accord ing to
Mr A.S. Alaudeen, deputy general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam. "The
representatives of the minorities held talks with the chief minister in the hope that some solution could
evolve out of this crisis caused by this dangerous ordinance tar geting us. As we did not get any relief from
her, we have decided to carry on with our agitation and even step up the protest in the days to come," Mr
Alaudeen told The Asian
Age. (Asian Age 22.10.002)
23 rd October
SC notice to Centre, Gujarat on relief camps (7)
NEW DELHI, OCT. 22. The Supreme Court today granted six weeks time to the Central Government to
file its response on imple mentation of its action plan to prevent sexual abuse of women and children. A
three-Judge Bench com prising Justice V.N. Khare, Jus tice Ashok Bhan and Justice Arun Kumar granted
further time on a petition filed by Shak-ti Vahini alleging that the 1998 action plan was gathering dust and
that none of the recom mendations had been implemented. Pursuant to the court directions, the Centre
had set up a committee on prostitution, child prostitutes and children of prostitutes and devised plan of
action to combat trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of women and children. (Hindu 23.10.02)