 In February 2002, thousands of devotees of Lord Rama (known as "Ramsevaks" or "Kar Sevaks") had gone from Gujarat to Ayodhya at the behest of the Vishva Hindu Parishad to take part in a ceremony called the "Purnahuti Maha Yagna".On 25 February, 1,700 people, a mix of pilgrims and "karsevaks" boarded the Sabarmati Express which was bound for Ahmedabad.On 27 February 2002, the train made its scheduled stop at Godhra about four hours late, at 7