TIRUPATI, INDIA, July 1, 2003: Since armed guards are forbidden inside the Venkateswara temple, one of India’s most revered religious shrines, authorities want to assign its security to a trusted insider, a Hindu priest with a black belt in karate. K. Seshadri has been asked by officials in Tirupati to teach younger priests to defend themselves and the temple from terrorists and other attackers. The temple, which has over 30,000 visitors per day, is reputed to be the world’s richest. Security in Hindu temples has been raised since last September’s terrorist attack on the Swaminarayan Temple in which 12 people were killed. For this reason, the state government’s security adviser has asked Seshadri to train the young priests, who will form an inner ring of protection around the Deity. It is not clear how such trained priests could resist an assault by heavily-armed intruders, who required the Black Cat Commandos, India’s top special forces, to neutralize in earlier attacks.
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