Christians demand reservations in Maharashtra

MUMBAI: Christian leaders have demanded reservations for Christian Dalits, most of whom are poor, as Muslim leaders welcomed 5% reservations for their community in education and jobs.

Abraham Mathai of the Indian Christian Voice said, "The government should give reservations to Christians too as most of them in the state are poor and tribals. Marginalized Christians should not be ignored as they are a small minority."

Dolphy D'Souza of Save Our Land (SOUL) complained that Christians have been ignored by successive governments as they "are not a big votebank". She said that the 1950 Presidential order excluded Christian Dalits and Muslim Dalits from the purview of quotas, as given to scheduled castes.

Muslim leaders demanded immediate implementation of the state cabinet's decision and said the government must strongly defend it if challenged in the Supreme Court.

Congress MLA Amin Patel, who had demanded quotas for Muslims in the last monsoon session, said, "Reservations have been a long-standing demand of the community, as panels headed by Justice Rajinder Sachar, Ranganath Mishra and Mahmoodur Rahman had also recommended quotas to empower Muslims. This will help mainstream the community, which has felt alienated due to backwardness."

Signs of Muslims getting reservations were evident when, replying to Patel's questions, minister Fauzia Khan had said, "You will soon get good news."

But M A Khalid of the All-India Milli Council said the government should have announced it earlier, as it seems like a sop before the assembly elections.

Many said the state government should not flinch from defending the decision in the apex court, if challenged. Minority affairs minister Arif Naseem Khan said, "This is not the first time Muslims have been given reservations in India. Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh had provided reservations to economically poor Muslims, and Muslims in Maharashtra too needed it." Click here for source   

Row as Bastar village body bars non-Hindus’ entry

A village body (gram sabha) in Chhattisgarh’s tribal-dominated Bastar district has allegedly adopted a resolution barring entry of non-Hindu people. The resolution, allegedly passed at a special meeting of Sirisguda gram sabha recently, apprehended that entry of other religions would undermine the tribal culture and religion. The village meeting alleged that people of a particular minority community were dissuading locals to resort to local religious practices posing a threat to tribal culture and traditions.

“We have learnt about the resolution from local media and are going to take up the matter with the chief minister Raman Singh for appropriate action,” local Church leader Bhupendra Khora said on Tuesday.

When contacted, additional superintendent of police (ASP) S.R. Salam said, “No such incident has come to our notice. We have only received reports of clashes among some people in the locality”.

Chhattisgarh Christian Forum general secretary Arun Pannanal however alleged that several gram sabhas in Bastar have taken a similar stand as was done by gram sabha of Sirisguda.

“There is no legal sanction for such decisions, but vested interests are trying to push their agenda by using gram sabha as a platform,” he added.

When contacted, a senior officer of Chhattisgarh government told this newspaper that the matter would be probed and appropriate action would be taken to ensure that social harmony is not disturbed in the village.

Click here for source

Church Locked Up, Christians attacked in Bihar

Hindu extremists locked up a church on June 5 after they beat up a Christian family in Balwanazir, Kaliyanganj, Bihar.
According to our correspondent, Pastor A. Abraham, the extremists repeatedly beat up Sadanandan Singh and his family for their faith in Christ on May and June and finally locked up the church of the Indian Evangelical Team.
Singh and his family were dragged on the road and the entire family including two minor girls were beaten up mercilessly.
"The extremists have locked up the church and told Singh that he is not allowed to pray in the future in the village." area pastor Laxmi Prasad told EFI News.
Singh and his family were socially boycotted ever since they decided to follow Christ in 2010.
Police complaint was submitted. However no action has been taken at press time.

Source: EFI NEWS

Row as Bastar village body bars non-Hindus’ entry

A village body (gram sabha) in Chhattisgarh’s tribal-dominated Bastar district has allegedly adopted a resolution barring entry of non-Hindu people. The resolution, allegedly passed at a special meeting of Sirisguda gram sabha recently, apprehended that entry of other religions would undermine the tribal culture and religion. The village meeting alleged that people of a particular minority community were dissuading locals to resort to local religious practices posing a threat to tribal culture and traditions.

“We have learnt about the resolution from local media and are going to take up the matter with the chief minister Raman Singh for appropriate action,” local Church leader Bhupendra Khora said on Tuesday.

When contacted, additional superintendent of police (ASP) S.R. Salam said, “No such incident has come to our notice. We have only received reports of clashes among some people in the locality”.

Chhattisgarh Christian Forum general secretary Arun Pannanal however alleged that several gram sabhas in Bastar have taken a similar stand as was done by gram sabha of Sirisguda.

“There is no legal sanction for such decisions, but vested interests are trying to push their agenda by using gram sabha as a platform,” he added.

When contacted, a senior officer of Chhattisgarh government told this newspaper that the matter would be probed and appropriate action would be taken to ensure that social harmony is not disturbed in the village.

Click Here for source

Priest denies Indian couple were killed because they converted

A Tibetan Catholic husband and wife were victims of a vicious murder in eastern India last week but the crime is not related to their religion or recent conversion, an official of the local diocese has claimed. "It is wrong to give a religious twist to this. It has nothing to do with religion," said Father Alex Gurung, the public relations officer for Darjeeling diocese in West Bengal. 

The attack took place in the remote Budhwar district of the state's Kalimpong subdivision on the night of June 17. Several media reports suggested that the couple may have been attacked because of their Christian faith. 

But Fr Gurung, who visited the scene and talked to neighbors and witnesses, emphasized on Monday that the assailants "just happened to be Hindus." The couple were hacked to death and their 12-year-old daughter's eye was gouged out. She is now in critical condition in hospital. 

The couple's four-year-old younger daughter escaped the attack by running away from the family home. 

"This was purely an act of vengeance," said Fr Grung, explaining that the man who was killed stood as a witness against his attackers some years ago in a separate court case. 

The killers, a Hindu father and son, were arrested soon after the incident.

Click here for source

Even though the motive for the killing is not the faith of the couple, we still request prayers for the daughters for whom this time is so traumatic.

Bastar prepares to stamps out 'foreign religion' i.e. Christianity. Only Hindu religion and its propagation allowed.

35 से अधिक गांवों में बाहरी धर्मो का प्रवेश प्रतिबंधित!

Foreign relegion restricted in more than 35 villages!

6/18/2014 8:59:00 PM

जगदलपुर। बस्तर की सिरिसगुड़ा ग्राम पंचायत ने आदिवासी संस्कृति और परंपरा के नाम पर अनूठा फैसला लिया। इस फैसले के चलते अब गांव में हिन्दू धर्म के अलावा किसी भी बाहरी धर्म का प्रवेश पूरी तरह प्रतिबंधित कर दिया गया है। साथ ही ग्राम पंचायत की अनुमति के बिना गांव में किसी भी धार्मिक स्थल का निर्माण भी वर्जित रहेगा।

यह फैसला लेने वाला सिरिसगुड़ा एकमात्र गांव नहीं है, बल्कि बस्तर के 35 से अधिक गांव विशेष ग्राम सभाओं में ऎसा ही निर्णय कर चुके हैं। मंगलवार को बस्तर के तोकापाल जनपद पंचायत के अंतर्गत आने वाली सिरिसगुड़ा में भारी जनसमूह के बीच विशेष ग्राम सभा हुई।

छत्तीसगढ़ ग्राम पंचायत अधिनियम 129 (ग) के तहत विशेष ग्राम सभा बुलाई गई थी। इसका एजेंडा गांव की सांस्कृतिक एकता और रूढिगत परंपरा को संरक्षित रखना था। इसके लिए धारा 7 में चर्चा हुई।

ग्राम सभा की अध्यक्षता गांव के महादेव नामक व्यक्ति ने की। इस दौरान सरपंच-पंच व ग्रामीण उपस्थित रहे। विशेष ग्राम सभा के एजेंडा को देखते हुए यहां पुलिस तैनात रही। ग्राम सभा के फैसले की प्रति कलक्टर, तोकापाल के तहसीलदार और बड़ांजी थाना को दी गई है। विशेष ग्राम सभा के अंतर्गत इस निर्णय को लेकर पुलिस या प्रशासन कुछ भी बोलने को तैयार नही हैं।

धर्म परिवर्तन से जुड़ा है मामला

ग्राम सभा के फैसले को धर्म परिवर्तन मामले से जोड़कर देखा जा रहा है। सिरिसगुड़ा ग्राम पंचायत की ग्राम सभा के फैसले की प्रति विश्व हिन्दू परिषद की जगदलपुर इकाई को भी भेजी गई है। बस्तर में आदिवासियों के धर्म परिवर्तन के मामले आम हैं। इनको पुन: हिन्दू धर्म से जोड़ने के प्रयास भी होते रहते हैं। इस सब के बीच अब पंचायती राज अधिनियम के तहत सरगुजा और बस्तर को मिले विशेष ग्राम सभा के अधिकार के सहारे धर्म विशेष के अलावा अन्य प्रचारकों के गांव में प्रवेश पर पाबंदी लगाई है।

हर गांव के अपने देवी-देवता

ग्रामीणों की माने तो बस्तर के हर गांव के अपने देवी-देवता होते हैं। मेला मढ़ई में इनकी पूजा की जाती है। मां दंतेश्वरी मंदिर की मढ़ई और बस्तर के प्रसिद्ध दशहरा उत्सव में सभी देवी देवता जगदलपुर पहुंचते हैं।

क्यों लिया ऎसा फैसला

ग्राम पंचायत के अनुसार पिछले कुछ सालों में बाहरी प्रचारक गांव में आकर बहका रहे हैं। ग्राम देवताओं के लिए गलत शब्दों का प्रयोग करते हैं। इससे गांव की मान्य परंपराएं खंडित हो रही हैं। गांव के प्रचलित धार्मिक आयोजनों में असहयोग की स्थिति बन रही है। इसके चलते विशेष ग्राम सभा के अधिकार का इस्तेमाल करते हुए बाहरी धर्मो के गांव में प्रवेश पर रोक लगाई गई है।

ये हैं ग्राम सभा के फैसले

- ग्राम पंचायत में सांस्कृतिक एकता और रूढिगत परंपरा को संरक्षित रखा जाएगा।
- हिन्दू धर्म के अलावा बाहरी धर्म प्रचार, प्रार्थना सभा, धार्मिक उपदेश प्रतिबंधित होगा।
- पंचायत की बिना अनुमति के धार्मिक स्थल का निर्माण पूर्ण रूप से प्रतिबंधित होगा।
- पंचायत की अनुमति के बिना उक्त कृत्य करने वाला स्वयं दोषी माना जाएगा।

This is what is happening in Chhattisgarh where the state government machinery is working with Hindutva radicals to stop 'foreign religions'. The tribals and not Hindus historically but no attempt is being spared to Hinduize them and to so called re-convert the tribals who are now Christians. Just three days ago 52 Christian families were beaten up mercilessly and 10 people ended up in Hospital just because they raised their voice against the discrimination they were facing. For more than 2 months these 52 Christian families were barred from taking ration from the ration shops of the village by an order of the elected village council head who is an active Hindu fundamentalist himself.

Now the government machinery and Hindutva brigade have gotten together to stamp out Christianity from the district and their decision says that propagation of only Hindu religion will be allowed and all other religions have to be kept out of the district. Is this India we live in anymore where the constitution promising religious freedom is still in force?