Story number 2 for 25 May 2000

Religion Today reports thirty people were injured when a powerful bomb exploded during a Christian meeting in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh earlier this week. The explosion took place in a city just east of Hyderabad, where nearly 15,000 Christians had gathered as part of a four-day festival. Although the government denies violence against Christians, believers say they have been targeted by Hindu hardliners. They think the attackers have been encouraged by the presence of the Hindu nationalist BJP-led government in Delhi.