New York Hindu Community Grieves Over New Delhi Bombings

October 30, 2005

Source: Newsday

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/nyc-indi1030,0,2073890.story?coll=ny-top-headlines

On October 30, 2005 Newsday reported, "Members of the Hindu community in the city and on Long Island expressed deep sadness, mixed with grieved resignation, at the carnage in Saturday's series of explosions in New Delhi. At least 65 people were killed and scores were injured in the coordinated explosions at two markets crowded with people shopping for the religious Diwali Festival and on a bus. Police declared a state of emergency and closed all New Delhi markets. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombings. 'It's an inhumane activity. My sympathies go out to the victims. Through no fault of their own they have lost their lives,' said Padmanabhan Ganapathy, a spokesman for the Hindu Temple Society of North America, a prominent Hindu temple in Flushing. 'But the terrorists know Diwali is a time for new clothes and new ornaments. Naturally, a market is the most crowded place to get the most victims,' he said. The Diwali Festival, or festival of lights, is the celebration of the end of the Hindu calendar year when families exchange gifts, light candles and celebrate with fireworks."