India: Explosions in Varanasi

Multiple blasts struck a railway station and a temple in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi in northeastern India on March 7, killing at least six and as many as 12 people and wounding dozens more. The target selection and recent history suggest the perpetrators could be Muslim militants. In any case, this attack is bound to increase Hindu-Muslim tensions and perhaps even lead to riots, while the Hindu nationalist opposition, the Bharatiya Janata Party, will try to exploit the situation to its advantage.