Religion News Service
CHENNAI, INDIA, August 17, 2006: A Reuters report quoted an intelligence official saying that unidentified people had warned International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) officials not to hold any functions on Wednesday, when the country was celebrating Janmashtami, a major Hindu festival. The official said the grenade attack might have been carried out by a local group as part of a campaign to revive indigenous Hindu practices and discourage new religious movements like ISKCON. A statement from ISKCON said the attack occurred around 7 p.m. as some 1,000 worshippers were gathered at the temple. The grenade was tossed into a large tent outside the temple where devotees were watching a religious dance that depicts Lord Krishna’s pastimes. “The victims were innocent devotees of God,” said Anuttama Dasa, ISKCON’s minister of communications in Washington. “There is no excuse for such wanton acts of violence. … We pray that Lord Krishna will soon lift the terrible veil of hatred and violence that is covering our world.” The state of Manipur, with a population of around 2.5 million people, is one of seven states in northeast India that are home to at least two dozen separatist groups and more than 200 tribal and ethnic communities. The attack is the latest in a string of bombings that have targeted Hindu holy sites during major holidays. Last October, a bombing in Delhi killed more than 60 people during Diwali, and 20 people were killed last March at a temple in Varanasi. “This attack on the ISKCON temple that serves all devotees and all visitors with welcome arms is an example of the lengths that terrorists go to undermine the fabric of India and to provoke religious and sectarian conflict,” said Ramesh Rao, a member of the executive council of the Hindu American Foundation.