India: Deadly Blast Strikes Jehovah's Witness Prayer Meeting

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Facts

  • Three people have died, with over 50 injured, after three explosions struck a Jehovah’s Witnesses prayer meeting on Sunday in Kochi, a city in the southern Indian state of Kerala.1
  • The blasts are believed to have been caused by improvised devices after a man named Dominic Martin confessed to using 50 firecrackers and eight liters of petrol to set off the explosions.2
  • Before surrendering, 50-year-old Martin posted a video on Facebook claiming responsibility and saying the Jehovah’s Witnesses theology was wrong. “I took the decision realizing that this idea is dangerous to the country,” Martin said in the video.3
  • The police are now verifying Martin's claims. They have taken another person, Santhosh Abraham, into custody after he was found under suspicious circumstances in the area a few hours after the blasts.4
  • In 1986, followers of Jehovah's Witnesses were backed by India's Supreme Court, ruling that their children could not be forced to sing the national anthem in schools. Followers of the movement had argued that singing the anthem would constitute 'a form of idolatry and an act of unfaithfulness...'5
  • The police have warned of strict action against those spreading fake news related to the blasts, incorrectly making a correlation to the Israel-Palestine conflict.6

Sources: 1Business Today, 2Onmanorama, 3ABC News, 4The New Indian Express, 5BBC News and 6The Wire.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by The News Minute. Kerala is one of India's most peaceful and socially harmonious states. It has a relatively higher share of Muslim and Christian population than other Indian provinces. An isolated crisis like this must be rationally investigated to clarify the reality of what occurred to the public.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Times of India Blog. This incident is horrific, and the incorrect linkage to the Israel-Hamas conflict speaks to a larger concern that's disturbingly far-ranging across India. There's the possibility that the Middle East conflict could indirectly affect the nation, and all levels of government must work together to prepare for any strains on social cohesion.