Implications of the arrest of a Pastor in Kashmir, India

Conversions, Shariah kangaroo courts, the law of the land and fragile unity of minorities

JOHN DAYAL

In retrospect, the church in India has displayed remarkable sobriety and a sense of responsibility in their response to the arrest in Srinagar of Reverend Chander Mani Khanna, pastor of the All Saints Church. The Muslim Ulema of the rest of India have been reluctant to condemn the arrest, precipitated by the demand of a local Mufti. The vital issues of the rights of minorities, and freedom faith are however involved, which impinge on all minorities even in states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Orissa and remain relevant in Kashmir. I suppose one can understand their reluctance in the backdrop of the complexities and sensitivities involved in anything that is concerned with the State of Jammu and Kashmir. The same is the reason perhaps for the silence of civil society in India and in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Only journalists and activists Seema Mustafa in New Delhi and Javed Anand in Mumbai have dared spoken, pleading for caution but articulating the voice of sanity and freedom.

Before anything else, it is important to recall the political geography of Jammu and Kashmir. It is, of course, an inseparable member state of the Union of India, as patriotic voices constantly remind us. It was once ruled by a Hindu King, the late Hari Singh, not much liked by the large Muslim population of the Valley of Srinagar, which is one of the three district entities that make up the state. The other two are the areas of Jammu, with a huge Hindu population and a record number of temples, and Ladakh, an almost entirely Buddhist region with just a handful of Muslims, Hindus and Christians. The tiny Christian minority in the State lives largely in the Jammu region, mostly of Dalit origin, with about 500 in the valley and a much smaller population in Ladakh. For some time after Independence and the ascension of the state to the Union of India, J and K, as it is known popularly, had its own prime minister and sadr-e-riyasat, [head of state] Karan Singh, before they were designated chief minister and Governor respectively. Special status is accorded to the State under Article 370, many Indian institutions have no jurisdiction in the state and many laws have to be extended to the region through the state legislature.

India and Pakistan have fought four  wars over the State, the last being the infamous Kargil glacier  encounter which cost both countries precious human lives with tension still prevailing in the uninhabitable heights. In the habitable valley, there is another confrontation. Half a million Indian soldiers, by some counts, are in the valley tackling both the border situation and a continuing confrontation with terrorists as well as with the civilian population, The confrontation has been violent most of the time. Many innocents have been killed, entirely illegally. Women and children have been victims. A major victim of the communalised situation in the valley has been the exodus of the Hindu Pundit population to Jammu, Delhi and refugee camps elsewhere. A sad aftermath has been the rise of fundamentalism and the supremacy of a doctrinaire kind of politico-religious Islamic clergy.

The seeds of the confrontation with the Christian community lies in the powerful segment of this clergy which is carving  out its space in challenge to the established state government, the other political groups, the military and the political parties. As Seema Mustafa points out, the vast majority of Kashmiris in the valley, all Muslim, are peaceful people adhering to a soft and melodious Sufi Islam, far removed from the stridency of Wahabism espoused  by the extremist groups. But there do not seem to be any routes of approaches to  the aggressive clergy,

Apart from the confrontation with the state forces, and  the occasional violence on the small number of Pundits who remain in Srinagar and some rural areas of the valley, there has been violence against Christians in the past too. On 26 February 2011 , the school run by a Christian family  was burnt. The government helped with the reconstruction. Before this the Tyndale Biscoe School  Tangmarg was burnt , The Good Shepherd School of the Roman Catholic church at Pulwama was burnt. The community as a whole has suffered much, in silence. The people, who speak with us on conditions of anonymity, and the family of Rev Khanna, say the situation is very volatile and bad, stressing they do not want to add fire to the situation there at present  “but try to apply some political pressure from outside the state in an silent manner so that we get what we want and the lives of people are safe also”.

This is a sentiment shared by Seema Mustafa who says “We must take into account the sensitivity of Kashmir as it is different from Madhya Pradesh and UP. That is imperative or anything you say will create more trouble than the initial trouble itself. Unlike the popular perception created here, Kashmiris are secular people and we can reach out to many there to ensure that sane voices emerge. The state government has created additional trouble with the arrest, and that needs to be countered as well. The separatists can be persuaded to give a statement for secular harmony, I am sure, as can civil society, and for the release of the pastor. But it has to be worked out properly.’

Pastor Khanna is a well known personality in Srinagar. Dr Richard Howell, general secretary of the Evangelical  Fellowship of India and outgoing secretary of the National United Christian Forum, says “I  have known Rev. Khanna for many years. He in fact was involved in reconciliation work in Kashmir valley. He confidently went to Srinagar from Jammu, much against the advice of all. I am sure that he has done no wrong. We need to move soon on some sort of a dialogue to stop rumours, the latest being; now it is the turn of Christians to leave the valley. There are about 400 Christians working in schools and hospitals, a few in government service.”

The events leading up to Khanna’s formal arrest at the behest of a Mullah, the Grand Mufti,  have opened up serious questions  that need to be addressed. Pastor Khanna had baptised some people in the church during the regular baptism ceremonies. A few of those were former Muslims who had been coming to the church for a long time. All were adults. A video was made of this event and put on YouTube on the Internet. The pastor was summoned, not by the police, but by the Mufti, He was questioned for seven hours, harangued, threatened. The government became scared, or possibly wanted to divert attention from other on-going crises in the state, not the least of which is an accusation against chief minister Omar Abdullah of involvement in the murder of a member of his own party who had become a criminal.

The police told Khanna they were protecting him, then raided his church, and finally arrested him on charges of fomenting communal strife. The church feels cornered. It took days for the local church to make statement. The NHRC, National Commission for Minorities and he National Advisory Council and others are silent though they have been informed by many.  The political parties are mute.    Civil society is dead in Srinagar, and silent in India. No group of activists has yet denounced the arrest or the kangaroo court. Right wing Hindutva groups agree with the mullahs. Political action is patently required and people have call upon the President of India, the prime minister, the governor of the state of J and K and the leaders of various political groups to take steps to get the priest out of the police lockup

Above all, the frail relationship between Muslims and Christians -- both minorities in India – is under great stress. Remember, Christians had made common cause with Muslims in their hour of crisis in Gujarat 2002 and elsewhere.

The media, as usual, seems barking up the wrong tree, giving tendentious stories, not questioning how religious groups  over-rule or act on behalf of the police. This is how a local newspaper reported the episode: Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Central Kashmir Range, A G Mir told ‘Kashmir Images’ that Khanna has been arrested by Police Station Ram Munshi Bagh and  FIR 186 of 2011 under section 153A and 295A registered against him. Police have also registered a case against six unidentified Kashmiri youngsters who were allegedly baptized by the Christian priest. Kashmir’s Grand Mufti, Mufti Bashir-ud-din last month summoned the priest to his court to explain about the alleged attempts of conversion. The Pastor, however, was out of station and had sought time to appear before the Grand Mufti, who heads Court of Islamic Jurisprudence in Kashmir. And finally when Khanna presented himself before a group of 15 Islamic scholars and representatives of various religious groups headed by the Grand Mufti, he denied his involvement first, but later on confessed his complicity. Initially he did not accept that he was doing this,” Mufti Bashiruddin said. The Pastor reportedly said he was on a “peace mission promoting communal harmony between Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus and Christians. But when confronted by some boys, he had no option but to accept,” the Grand Mufti said, adding that they had a CD containing evidence about how the Pastor was performing conversions. The Pastor has confessed to having converted 15 boys so far and promised to give their list to the Grand Mufti, reports said. “The Pastor said some NGOs and intellectuals were with him in this mission and some of them had accompanied him to South Africa to preach Christianity,” said the Grand Mufti. Terming the issue a “grave” one, he said Muslim ‘Ulema’ (scholars) from various organizations including the Jamat-e-Islami, the Jamiat-e-Ahle Hadees, the Islamic Study Circle and the Nadwatul Ulema would meet again to take a final decision.As of now I have reserved my judgment. The Ulema council was scheduled to meet on November 19, but it has been postponed,” the Grand Mufti said.”

The Church of North India and the local Christian community  deny any wrong doing by the pastor. They have also reaffirmed their resolve  to continue with their mission of service in the valley and the state.

The most incisive comment has come from Javed Anand, general secretary, Muslims for Secular Democracy  of Mumbai. ” Addressing the media, Kashmir’s grand mufti, Mohammed Bashiruddin warned that such activities “warrant action as per Islamic law” and will not be tolerated. “There will be serious consequences of this. We will implement our part and the government should implement its," the mufti thundered. What’s Islamic law and a shariah court doing in a secular democratic polity?  ... For what crime has Khanna been booked? Unlike states like Gujarat, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh, J&K does not have a law against conversions. But where there is a will there’s a way. The pastor has been charged under sections 153A and 295A of the Ranbir Penal Code, the J&K equivalent of the Indian Penal Code. Section 153A pertains to the offense of “Promoting enmity between different groups…” and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony”. Section 295A has to do with “Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs”.

“Why should conversion of a few Muslims to Christianity be deemed a malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings? Why should it be tantamount to promoting enmity between different groups? These might be questions for you and me. But Omar Abdullah and his police may well be wondering whether the FIR and the arrest are enough to douse the flames. The worse quite possibly is yet to come. A Dharma Sansad comprising of leaders of different Muslim sects in Kashmir is to meet soon to deliberate over the “grave issue” and decide on further course of action. The responses to the video-clip have apparently been venomous. "We promise to kill all Christian missionaries and burn their buildings, schools and churches!" pronounces one of them while another proclaims, "We should burn this priest to death!" Echoes of Pakistan’s obnoxious blasphemy laws?

“It is far from clear whether the priest is in fact guilty of a cash-for-conversion deal. Only a thorough and impartial investigation could establish if there’s any truth in the charge. But in the brand of Islam the grand mufti and most mainstream Muslim organizations espouse, the issue of inducement is irrelevant. The theology is simple: for conversion into Islam, there’s Divine reward aplenty for both the converter and the converted; but conversion out of Islam is gunaah-e-azeem(mahapaap), treason of the highest order, deserving of the harshest punishment.” Human rights groups and Muslim bodies from the Valley and elsewhere especially, must denounce the hounding of the pastor and the ‘Islamisers’ reminded that Article 25 of the Indian Constitution guarantees to all citizens “the right freely to profess, practice and propagate (their) religion”.

The last word, of course has not been said. Even as efforts continue to get the pastor out of prison on bail, or to get him transferred to the Jammu jail for safety reasons, National Commission for Minorities vice chairman Dr. Hmar T Sang liana was paying a visit to Srinagar to meet with various groups and the government. Efforts were also on to open a dialogue with various national and Kashmir Muslim groups  for a long term peace with a broad basic agreement that the dialogue must continue in an environment of mutual understanding, and not in short term grandstanding. The government, meanwhile, is being encouraged to stick to the points in law and not to exacerbate the situation in the guise of buying peace.

Pastors arrested in Chhattisgarh, Released on Bail

Three pastors belonging to the Grace Church of God Welfare Society along with two missionaries were falsely accused of forcible conversion and were arrested by the Kukdhur police on November 22nd in Pandariya town, Kawardha in Chhattisgarh.
Mr. T. Daniel, founder and Secretary of Grace Church of God Welfare Society said that a mob of around 25 Hindu radicals led by one Raghu Pathak along with the Block officer Uttam Singh reached the venue at about 6 pm where the worship service was about to be conducted.
The fundamentalist disrupted the service and accused the pastor Jivan Tigga (57), Leku Sahu and Madhav and missionaries Santosh and Itwari Lal of forcible conversions.
Later, the police came at the venue and arrested the pastors under section 295A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Presently, the pastors have been released on bail.

A different sort of Valley ‘protest’

Eating your cake and having it too may be a tempting thought. But you can’t have it both ways. The sooner Muslims realise it, the better for the ummah... and the image of Islam.

A Christian pastor — Reverend Chander Mani Khanna, the presbyter-in-charge of All Saints’ Church in Srinagar — is being hounded both by the state and society for his “crime-cum-sin” of converting, allegedly through inducements, a number of Muslim youth from the Valley to Christianity. The priest was arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir police last Saturday. More ominously, the arrest was precipitated by a growing Muslim outcry in the Valley, apparently sparked by a poor quality video clip on YouTube showing the baptism of the new converts.

There have been protests on the streets, protests on the campus. Leading the charge is Kashmir’s sharia court. After forcing the pastor to appear before them, a group of Islamic scholars claimed he had “confessed” his crime. Addressing the media, Kashmir’s official grand mufti, Mohammed Bashiruddin warned that such activities “warrant action as per Islamic law” and will not be tolerated. “There will be serious consequences of this. We will implement our part and the government should implement its,” he thundered.

What’s Islamic law and a sharia court doing in a secular democratic polity? Your guess is as good as mine. The J&K government, it seems, knows better. Acting suo motu, the police arrested the priest within 24-hours of Bashiruddin’s warning.

For what crime has Khanna been booked? Unlike states like Gujarat, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh, J&K does not have a law against conversions. But where there is a will there’s a way. The pastor has been charged under sections 153A and 295A of the Ranbir Penal Code, the J&K equivalent of the Indian Penal Code.

Section 153A pertains to “promoting enmity between different groups... and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony.” Section 295A has to do with “deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.”

Why should conversion of a few Muslims to Christianity be deemed a malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings? Why should it be tantamount to promoting enmity between different groups? These might be questions for you and me. But Omar Abdullah and his police may well be wondering whether the FIR and the arrest are enough to douse the flames.

The worse, quite possibly, is yet to come. A Dharam Sansad comprising of leaders of different Muslim sects in Kashmir is to meet soon to deliberate over the “grave issue” and decide on a further course of action. Meanwhile, as is obvious from an appeal purportedly written by his son — posted on the website Christian Persecution Update India — that the pastor’s family and flock fear his life may be in danger. The responses to the video clip have apparently been venomous. “We promise to kill all Christian missionaries and burn their buildings, schools and churches!” pronounces one commenter, while another proclaims, “we should burn this priest to death!” Echoes of Pakistan’s obnoxious blasphemy laws?

It is far from clear whether the priest is in fact guilty of a cash-for-conversion deal. Only a thorough and impartial investigation could establish if there’s any truth in the charge. But in the brand of Islam Bashiruddin and most mainstream Muslim organisations espouse, the issue of inducement is irrelevant. The theology is simple: for conversion into Islam, there’s divine reward aplenty for both the converter and the converted; but conversion out of Islam is gunaah-e-azeem (mahapaap), treason of the highest order, deserving of the harshest punishment.

What’s at issue here is not just something confined to the Valley but a global Muslim malady. Islam is today the fastest growing religion in the world, many a Muslim will proudly tell you. He’ll also tell you with equal aplomb that the punishment for a Muslim apostate is death. The ulema call this Islam; the world calls it hypocrisy, a double standard.

Obviously, not all Muslims are ethically challenged. Take the unusual case of Sudan’s Dr Hasan al-Turabi, a man accused by many in the West of fanning Islamic extremism. Turabi, otherwise an advocate of an Islamic state and sharia law said in an interview in 1995: “If a Muslim wakes up in the morning and says he doesn’t believe any more, that’s his business. There has never been any question of inhibiting people’s freedom... The function of (Islamic) government is not total.”

Human rights groups and Muslim bodies from the Valley and elsewhere must denounce the hounding of the pastor; the Islamisers should be reminded that Article 25 of the Constitution guarantees to all citizens “the right freely to profess, practice and propagate (their) religion.” Perhaps they could also be reminded of the Quranic injunction: “La ikraha fiddin” (There is no compulsion in religion).

The writer is general secretary, Muslims for Secular Democracy

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Kashmir Government files FIR against Rev. C M Khanna

To prevent worsening of law and order situation in the wake of blasphemous depictions of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) on social networking site Facebook and alleged conversion by Christian missionaries, government has lodged an FIR against incharge Churches in Kashmir, CM Khanna.

The Senior Superintendent Police Srinagar, Ashiq Bukhari said an FIR No 186 0f 2011 under section 153 A and 295 A have been registered against Khanna in police station Ram Munshi Bagh.

“Investigations into the reports of alleged conversion by Khanna are on and some arrests are expected soon,” Bukhari said.

Sources said Khanna will be arrested within a day or two. “Khana has been accused of luring people to convert to Christianity against money. He is also accused of using blasphemous words,” sources alleged.

Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohammad Sagar said government will not allow any person or group to create disharmony. “J&K is known for communal harmony and co-existence of religion. Any person who will try to create hatred or ill will against any religion will not be spared, but will be dealt under law,” Sagar said.

Regarding the complaint that an individual has hurt the sentiments of a community, he said, “It will be dealt under law and appropriate strict legal action will be taken against him. Government is sensitive about the media reports about conversion and has taken serious note of it. A probe has been ordered into it,” he added.

The Minister said that there was freedom to every person whatsoever his religion is. “Every one should cooperate to maintain the peace,” he appealed.

Sagar said that government was investigating and trying to ascertain whether there is any conspiracy in the issue.

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2007 Kandhamal riot was 'pre-planned', claim two top Odisha officials

CUTTACK: Appearing before Justice Basudev Panigrahi Commission of Enquiry, two top state officials on Wednesday said that 2007 communal riot in Odisha's Kandhamal district was 'pre-planned.'

The cross examination of the two, former revenue divisional commissioner (RDC) and ex-deputy inspector general (DIG) of south range Satyabrata Sahu and RP Kotche respectively, remained inconclusive for the day.

During the deposition the duo maintained the riot was pre-planned and to restrict the movement of police, the perpetrators were engaged in massive tree felling on roads.

They further said "the movement of armed police in the district was severely hampered resulting in wide-spread violence which could not be controlled on time."

Both the officers, summoned by the Commission under section 8-B of the Commission of Enquiry Act, maintained that the administration had taken adequate steps to prevent the flare-up in the district.

The two claimed that though efforts were made at the administrative level to maintain peace in the area, things suddenly went out of control.

Besides the two officials, a constable of local armed police force also deposed before the panel on the day.

The constable had to fire nine rounds in air to quell a mob which was heading towards the local police station.

The cross-examination would again resume on Thursday along with four more persons who have been asked to appear before the commission.

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Can’t preach in free land

The arrest of evangelist William Lee in Kochi on October 14 on charges of violation of visa regulation is nothing new.

A few years ago one Bishop Cooper was badly beaten up in Kerala by goons because he was found preaching Christianity and the Kerala police immediately served him a notice of deportation. A 69-year-old Italian nun, Sr Angela Bruno, has applied thrice for a visa to visit India since 2008 with no success.

The Indian embassy in Italy neither gives reasons for it nor issues a visa. I often receive phone calls or emails from around the world complaining of priests and nuns being denied visa by the Indian embassies without assigning any reason for denial.

In contrast, it was indeed fascinating to see the two men of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) chanting with cymbals, as if in trance and distributing free literature at Nizamuddin (Delhi) railway station a few weeks ago.

While being pleasantly reminded of Meera Bai, I was intrigued, and to some extent disturbed, observing the freedom with which the two “missionaries” performed in a public place.

When the train finally left the platform at 10.15 pm, my fellow passenger travelling to Indore said to me: “should we not be all ashamed that while we have not read the Bhagvad Gita (he didn’t know that I had), this American has internalised the Holy Book and has come to believe in Lord Krishna?”

What caused the intrigue was not the discovery that one of the two Iskcon “missionaries” was an American and a probable convert from Christianity as there are hundreds of thousands of them who have left the Church to embrace other religions, but that no one attacked him or no police went after them. This was not the first time that I had seen a white American or a European with shaved head and a ponytail, donning a dhoti and enthusiastically proclaiming the merit of the Bhagvad Gita.

On other occasions and at different places, I have come across many such “missionaries” putting on saffron robes — in Hardwar, Rishikesh, Pushkar, Varanasi — going about their business making many Hindus proud and some, like my co-traveller, guilty.

There is not a single week that passes without me receiving a message from Evangelical Fellowship of India that in some part of India or the other, a pastor — an Indian citizen — is not attacked brutally along with the congregation and his church set ablaze.

While the case of Graham Staines or Kandhamal or the series of attacks in Karnataka might be considered extreme, it is quite common to find cases of “persecutions” of Christians in different parts of the country, particularly in the BJP ruled states. The police, being largely Hindus, often refuse to register an FIR.

As the spokesperson of the Delhi Archdiocese my question to the Government of India as well as to foreign governments are:

* Why are there two sets of rules for foreigners who are Christians and those who have renounced Christianity to embrace Hinduism or a similar religion?

* If Indian sadhus and sadhvis are granted visas to go and openly proselytise Christians in America and Europe, why is that courtesy not extended reciprocally to the citizens of those countries while visiting India?

* Why is it that one can buy volumes of the Bhagvad Gita on railway stations and not copies of the Bible, Quran or the Guru Granth Sahib?

Many of my Hindu friends are seen heading for America and Europe without any visa restrictions. Baba Ramdev recently bought a 200 acre plot of land in Scotland to promote his yoga and related activities. Leave alone buying land, a Christian undergoes a harrowing time before s/he can obtain a visa to come to India.

And if at all a visa is granted, it comes with a rider, like in the case of Mr Lee that he would not be allowed to preach anywhere. And yet there are countless instances of foreigners giving discourses on various Hindu sects or philosophies.

So are Christians to live in this so-called “vibrant democracy” as second-class citizens because the religion of majority in India is Hinduism and because the rules restricting freedom to Christian foreigners are drawn up by ministers and bureaucrats who belong to that majority religion?

The first time foreign missionaries were rejected visas was in 1952. Justice Mukherjee of the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, however, in his historic 1954 judgment in the case of Ratilal Panchand vs state of Bombay wrote: “Article 25 of the Constitution guarantees to every person and not merely citizens of India, the freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion.”

Would it be the ministry of home affairs or of external affairs which would answer why Christian missionaries — be they Indians or foreigners — are discriminated against as compared to other missionaries belonging to the majority Hindu religion? Is freedom of religion only for Hindus? Will the home ministry come up with more stringent actions against those who attack Christian pastors?

The writer, a founder-member of Parliament of Religions, is currently the director of communication of the Delhi Catholic Church

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Our View: You nailed it Fr. Dominic. Asked all the right questions.

Behead those who convert Hindus–Togadia

VHP international general secretary Pravin Togadia on Monday called for a new Indian Constitution that allows for “anyone who converts Hindus to be beheaded”.

The fiery speech, seconded by right-wing leaders, came towards the conclusion of the three-day Akhil Bhartiya Dharmaprasar Karyakarta Sammelan-2011, held a few yards away from the controversial Pirana dargah on the city’s outskirts, where he stayed during the event.

Workers of the VHP from across the country had gathered here, many of them staying in the dargah premises for the three-day conference, causing a lot of anxiety for the police, Monday being Eid-ul-Azha.

Asaram Bapu’s son Narayan Sai, who also came for the concluding ceremony on Monday, said, “I would suggest that we Hindus should include Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains because their line of thinking is no different from Hindus, except for a few small habits.”

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Pastor in Kashmir, India targeted by Muslim fundamentalists on conversions

Rev. Chander Mani Khanna, the Presbyter-In-Charge of the All Saint’s Church in Sri Nagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India has been summoned by the Mufti-E-Azam (or the Grand Mufti) of the state to appear before a Sharia Court to answer charges of conversion.

 

Rev. Khanna has been accused “motivating the Muslim youth for conversion from Islam to Christianity.” The Mufti has claimed that he has sufficient proof to back up the allegation including a video footage.

 

The video clip, also present on many social media sharing websites including youtube and facebook, shows Khanna baptizing people. According to reports with EFI News the video has since been copied on CDs in large numbers and was distributed by Muslim hardliners in the valley, calling people to strike against Christianity.

 

Rev. Khanna was first summoned to appear before the Mufti on October 28, 2011. The letter from the Mufti to him said, “..law and order problem at large scale shall erupt in the entire Jammu and Kashmir state”, if he did not appear before “the Supreme Court of Islamic Shariet” for clarifications. The letter ends with a veiled threat that in failing to do so Rev. Khanna will be “personally responsible for the consequences thereof.”

 

Since Rev. Khanna was out of station the Mufti set a date of 12th November 2011. Rev. Khanna wrote an email to the Mufti asking for a fixation of the date later than 12th November, since he was pre-occupied and hence a second letter from the Mufti set the date of the appearance at 17th November. The letter demands an appearance “failing which we shall be constrained to initiate action against you (Rev. Khanna) strictly as per Shariet Law.”   

 

On 30th October 2011, the Police Inspector from R.M. Bagh police station came to Rev. Khanna’s residence in the Church at 11 PM and placed the family of Rev. Khanna under house arrest. The police however later denied that he was under house arrest but said that he was detained for his own safety. But Rev. Khanna or his family members still have been unable to move outside the Church premises because of threat on their life.

 

Meanwhile the Police arrested 7 people in connection with the conversion. These people were the same who were shown in the video as being baptized by Rev. Khanna. According to reports, these 7 were beaten up severely by the police in order to obtain a confession against Rev. Khanna that he gave them money to convert to Christianity.

 

They were let out after two days but are still being summoned daily by the Intelligence Bureau and the police and pressured to give a statement against Rev. Khanna.  

 

The situation remains tense in the valley and the statements against Rev. Khanna continue on social networking sites. There is every apprehension that some hardliners may make attempt at his life.

 

Please pray for the safety of Rev. C M Khanna and also pray that his meeting with the Mufti may go well and the result will be peaceful.

 

Christian missionaries have had a commendable record in Kashmir Valley in the education and medical care fields and Rev. Khanna has been personally responsible not only for rebuilding of houses following the earthquake in the valley but also for many peace and reconciliation initiatives.

 

Also write to the Chief Minster of Jammu and Kashmir, Mr. Omar Abdullah for an intervention in the matter. Mr. Abdullah has been silent on the matter so far.