GUJARAT, INDIA, April 19, 2002: Thousands of Muslim students in the western Indian state of Gujarat did not attend school-leaving exams which began on Thursday, Muslim leaders said. They said parents refused to let their children travel to exam centers located in Hindu-dominated areas of the state’s largest city Ahmedabad and a number of other cities. Authorities said police and paramilitary forces have been deployed at exam centers across the state to prevent attacks. More than 700 people, mostly Muslims, have died in communal clashes in the state which began when almost 60 Hindu activists were killed after their train was torched by Muslim suspects. Authorities said some exam centers had been changed at the request of parents and school authorities. Gujarat’s Education Minister Anandiben Patel rejected complaints voiced by the Muslim parents. “The boycott is largely limited to Ahmedabad,” she said. “Adequate security protection has ensured appearance of most of the students.” New killings in religious violence are reported almost daily from Gujarat.
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