Source: Indian Catholic

http://www.theindiancatholic.com/news_read.asp?nid=1375

On March 30, 2006 the Indian Catholic reported, "Christians, Muslims and others have organized programs to preserve peace in Varanasi, Hinduism's holiest city, which was recently wracked by bomb blasts. On March 26, the Church of North India (CNI) conducted a prayer service for the blast victims while a Muslim organization organized a seminar on terrorism. Two explosions on March 7 killed 26 people and wounded 100 others in the city, 780 kilometers southeast of New Delhi. All the deaths resulted from an explosion at a Hindu temple. An Islamic group has claimed responsibility for that blast and another explosion minutes later at a railway station. The group has warned such events would continue until India ends its rule in Kashmir. The country's northernmost state, Jammu and Kasmir, includes the Vale of Kashmir and is India's only Muslim-majority state. Pakistan also controls part of Kashmir. The blasts in Varanasi did not trigger reprisals, whereas other violent incidents provoked further sectarian violence elsewhere in India in the past. Reverend Joshua Nath, who organized the two-hour prayer service on March 26, called the people of Varanasi blessed and God's children since they have maintained peace and order after the blasts. Some 300 people from various religions attended the program, held at a CNI church in the city."