1998 Coimbatore bombings
Encyclopedia
The 1998 Coimbatore bombings occurred on Saturday, February 14, 1998, in the city of Coimbatore
, Tamil Nadu
, India
. 46 persons - 35 men, 10 women and one child - were killed and over 200 injured in 13 bomb attacks in 11 places , all of them within a 12 km radius, 4 bombs were planted at R S Puram area, two near Bus Stand, 1 near Coimbatore Medical College Hospital and at Ukkadam area. These car bombs was the work of Muslim fundamentalist group "Al Umma" which had a strong presence in Coimbatore.
The bombings were apparently in retaliation to the earlier riots in the city the previous year, when Hindu
gangs and Fundamentalist Muslim
groups clashed with each other following the murder of a traffic policeman named "Selvaraj" , by a member of the radical Islamist group Al Umma (The Ummah
).
The first of the serial bombs exploded at 3.50 p.m. on Shanmugham Road in R.S. Puram, 100 metres from the venue of an election meeting that was to be addressed by Bharatiya Janata Party
president L.K. Advani.
There were allegations that suicide bombers were ready to target L.K.Advani on that day.
This incident came as a severe blow to the upcoming economy of Coimbatore. Real estate prices dropped temporarily, new investments to the city were temporarily halted. However, normalcy was restored within a few months.
The bomb blast also had strong political implications. The Bharatiya Janata Party
candidate C. P. Radhakrishnan won by a record margin of over 1,00,000 votes in the 1998 Lok Sabha elections.
Abdul Nasir Madani, who is well known for his provoking speeches and chief of Islamist political outfit called PDP, was arrested by the police on 31 March 1998, for his alleged link with suspects of this blast. He was finally acquitted on 2007 August 1 and released from prison.
Coimbatore
Coimbatore , also known as Kovai , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a major commercial centre in Tamil Nadu and is known as the "Manchester of South India"....
, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. 46 persons - 35 men, 10 women and one child - were killed and over 200 injured in 13 bomb attacks in 11 places , all of them within a 12 km radius, 4 bombs were planted at R S Puram area, two near Bus Stand, 1 near Coimbatore Medical College Hospital and at Ukkadam area. These car bombs was the work of Muslim fundamentalist group "Al Umma" which had a strong presence in Coimbatore.
The bombings were apparently in retaliation to the earlier riots in the city the previous year, when Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
gangs and Fundamentalist Muslim
Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the "fundamentals" of Islam: the Quran and the Sunnah. Definitions of the term vary. According to Christine L...
groups clashed with each other following the murder of a traffic policeman named "Selvaraj" , by a member of the radical Islamist group Al Umma (The Ummah
Ummah
Ummah is an Arabic word meaning "community" or "nation." It is commonly used to mean either the collective nation of states, or the whole Arab world...
).
The first of the serial bombs exploded at 3.50 p.m. on Shanmugham Road in R.S. Puram, 100 metres from the venue of an election meeting that was to be addressed by Bharatiya Janata Party
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
president L.K. Advani.
There were allegations that suicide bombers were ready to target L.K.Advani on that day.
Political Impact
The ruling party at that time, the D.M.K came under severe criticism for this incident.Aftermath
As a fallout, the Muslim fundamendalist group Al Umma was banned in Tamil Nadu within a few days.This incident came as a severe blow to the upcoming economy of Coimbatore. Real estate prices dropped temporarily, new investments to the city were temporarily halted. However, normalcy was restored within a few months.
The bomb blast also had strong political implications. The Bharatiya Janata Party
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
candidate C. P. Radhakrishnan won by a record margin of over 1,00,000 votes in the 1998 Lok Sabha elections.
Abdul Nasir Madani, who is well known for his provoking speeches and chief of Islamist political outfit called PDP, was arrested by the police on 31 March 1998, for his alleged link with suspects of this blast. He was finally acquitted on 2007 August 1 and released from prison.