At stake is not only the fundamental assumptions on which India's secular republican democracy rests but the values of tolerance and plurality enshrined in the heart of this country's civilisational ethos. Also in jeopardy is its image abroad as a secular and tolerant society. The

country faces a serious challenge. It must be met by the whole nation sternly rebuffing elements stoking a climate of intolerance and hatred through a campaign of pre-planned violence. The responsibility of taking firm and effective punitive measures ... rests with the coalition Government currently in power at the Centre and the State governments ... Firm action against sections of the VHP and Bajrang Dal, which constitute the Sangh Parivar's lunatic fringe, must now follow. ..