The first such marriage was held, curiously in utmost secrecy, in Surat on Sunday. A girl who had eloped with a Muslim was married to an unmarried Hindu boy. The marriage was solemnised by Sangh Parivar activists who also stood in for the parents of the bride and the groom.

If VHP sources are to be believed, Vaishali Rathod, who turned 18 last week, and 21-year-old Rajesh Gaderia have now left for their honeymoon to Vadodara. Gaderia, a Science graduate and active Sangh worker, apparently had no qualms about marrying Vaishali, who recently joined the Durga Vahini -- the VHP's women's wing.

Vaishali was in the custody of the VHP ever since she was ``rescued''. Interestingly, the Parivar appears to want to keepthe matter under wraps. After furnishing the couple's address, Bajrang Dal (Varachha zone) chief Haresh Thummar told The Indian Express that Rajesh only came there for his meals. Then, after a ``search'' lasting half-an-hour, Thummar declared that the couple had left for Vadodara.

According to Thummar, since both Rajesh and Vaishali are unemployed they will be looked after by the Sangh Parivar once they return. The couple will be accommodated at the house of a Parishad sympathiser. ``We will bear all the expenses, '' says Thummar.

On the other hand, Surat VHP working president Laljibhai Patel maintains Rajesh is employed and drawing a ``good salary''.

Contradictions in their statements not withstanding, the activists are certain of one thing -- that this is just the beginning. ``We have been asking parents to ensure that their daughters don't fall prey to this international conspiracy of luring Hindu girls into marriages,'' adds Thummar.

The Dal, activists claim, has already received telephonecalls from three girls, who were ``lured on false promises by Muslims''. ``They have not only realised their mistake but know that they were cheated,'' says Thummar.

The marriage comes close on the heels of the Gujarat government's decision to set up a separate cell to deal with cases of harassment of Hindu women by members of the minority community. The cell, however, won't tackle marriages involving Hindu boys and Muslim girls.

The saffron brigade feels instances of Hindu boys marrying or eloping with Muslim girls are few and far between. ``The numbers speak for themselves and bear out our claim that Muslim boys are given special training to lure Hindu girls,'' activists claim. ``Show me one case of marriage or affair between a Hindu boy and a Muslim girl,'' Patel says.

And, testing if his theory holds water are some Surat-based organisations which plan to hold a function to highlight successful intercommunity marriages -- two pairs each of Hindu boy-Muslim girl and Hindu girl-Muslim boy -- to showthat the brouhaha over such marriages is just a gameplan to induce tension.

National Students Union of India (NSUI) president Asad Kalyani says these couples will be felicitated in public to expose the Sangh Parivar's claim of international conspiracy as also to prove that intercommunity marriages can be successful. Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) chief Kadir Pirzada says the uproar is deliberate as there are scores of instances of marriages between Hindu boys and Muslim girls which are conveniently overlooked.