Thousands of Dalit Christians "Reconverted" to Hinduism in India,Hindu Group says

Saturday, 19 February 2005

NEW DELHI, INDIA (BosNewsLife)-- Indian Church officials on Saturday, February 19, dismissed reports that a militant Hindugroup "reconverted" thousands of India's most impoverished Christiansback to Hinduism, as an attempt "to instigate" religious tensions.

The World Hindu Council, known locally as Vishwa Hindu Parishad(VHP), said its followers were responsible for the "reconversion" ofup to 5000 'Dalit' Christians from 14 churches in two key districtsof the central Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, local media reported.The churches were transferred into Hindu schools for Dalit childrenand former Catholic priests became teachers after they changed theircross tattoo for a Hindu sign, news reports said.

Krishna Prabhakar Upadhyaya, district editor of a regional Hindidaily, told BosNewsLife he obtained a list of "a total of 4096 Christians" who he claimed "reconverted" during a Hindu-ceremony lastSunday, February 13. The event reportedly took place after VHP-activists spread out to 26 villages of the Etah and Firozabad districts of Uttar Pradesh.

However "the VHP's claims about the reconversions" of Dalits "arefalse," a Catholic priest from the Archdiocese of Agra in troubled Uttar Pradesh told BosNewsLife on condition of anonymity. "They [theVHP] are merely doing this to instigate tensions between Hindus andChristians. We should ignore such incidents," he said.

"NO INFORMATION"

Father J. Logo of the regional Bishop House claimed he had not heard of the incident. "We have no information about the reconversions [ofDalits], it might be a rumor," he added.The term Dalit refers to the estimated 240 million "Untouchables" orthe "Outcastes" in the subcontinent of India, who have traditionallyoccupied the lowest place in the complicated caste system ofHinduism. Human rights groups call them "a people broken, forgottenand exploited," as many of them work in the fields or carry out slavework for the much richer men and women of the "higher caste."

There has been a growing Christian movement among the mainly Hindu Dalits, and militants are known to have attacked churches and Christians, human rights watchdogs say. Local authorities ordered aninquiry into the alleged February mass conversions to see if Dalits were forced to accept the Hindu religion, India's national dailyTribune reported. The VHP has denied that it used forceto "reconvert" Dalit Christians.

DALITS "MISLED"

"The Dalit Christians are disillusioned with Christianity," after they gave up their "Hindu heritage" the Pioneer newspaper quoted VHP Secretary Mohan Joshi as saying. He reportedly said that theDalit "Christians had been misled by Christian missionaries intoaccepting Christianity through lucrative offers of financial securityand social equality."Christians comprise less than one percent of the over 166 million population of Uttar Pradesh, according to estimates.

The latest tensions came just days after India's Supreme Court decided to study the legal implications of denying job, education quotas and socialbenefits to Dalit Christians. Under a quota system at least 15 percent of jobs and educational placements have been reserved for members of lower castes includingDalit Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs, but Dalit Christians and Muslimswere excluded.

"We hope that the Supreme Court will soon finally end a historic injustice that was done in 1950 to the Dalits professing the Christian Faith," said John Dayal, president of the All IndiaCatholic Union. "Whenever the Supreme Court gives its final judgment recognizing the cruel and debilitating inequities and injuries of the3,000 year old caste system" it will "cross all boundaries of religion, region and ethnicity in India..." he added in a statement received by BosNewsLife.

GFA Student Attackers Arrested

Police have arrested five men involved in last Sunday's attack against six Biblical Seminary students in India’s Kerala State. Gospel for Asia—the mission agency that the students are members of—reported Friday that the attackers were arrested after a raid conducted by the Deputy Superintendent of Police.

According to the Hindustan Times, those arrested were affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an armed militant Hindu group hostile to Christianity and other religious minorities. Formed even before India's independence, its leaders call for "national reconstruction" and seek to establish "uncompromising devotion" to a purely Hindu nation.

In the weeks before the attack on Feb. 13, the RSS men in Kerala’s Thiruvalla Municipality had reportedly warned the seminary students to stop witnessing in the area where they went as part of a regular weekly outreach.

“The seminary students had been regularly visiting a community of laborers on previous weekends, praying for the sick, caring for the needy, sharing the love of Christ and offering hope,” GFA reported. “Seventy percent of the family problems in this community are directly related to poverty, drug use and alcohol addiction. As a result of their regular visits and compassionate outreach, people's hearts were beginning to respond.”

"The ministry there was bringing fruitful results due to our students' continuous visits," according to a GFA field correspondent.

When the students arrived at a bus stop last Sunday, a gang of men began abusing and assaulting them before pushing them into auto rickshaws (three-wheeled taxis) and driving them to a secluded location, where they were repeatedly beaten. All the students suffered from internal pain and headaches, some severe. One was diagnosed with a broken left eardrum and facial bruising.

"Their heads are still hurting from getting hit so hard," said one GFA pastor who visited them there. "The brother whose eardrum was broken is doing better. He has lost about 30 percent of his hearing in that ear, but it should come back as his ear heals."

GFA reported that the students are recovering from their injuries in a local hospital. They are expected to return to the seminary later this week.

Meanwhile, the Chennai Online news service reports that India's National Commission of Minorities (NCM) will investigate the attacks in response to the arrests.

Conversion charges: probe ordered against Christian mission

Jaipur, Feb 19 : Rajasthan government today ordered an inquiry into the allegation that a Christian mission brought 250 children to Kota from outside the state for converting them to Christianity, an official spokesman said here today.

Ordering the inquiry into the case, Social Welfare Minister Madan Dilawar has rushed a team of four senior officials to Kota to hold a detailed probe, the spokesman said.

The minister ordered the inquiry after receiving reports that local people were protesting against bringing of the children, described as orphans, by Immanual Mission, allegedly promising them Rs 250 each and food, he said.

The officials of social welfare department would start inquiry into the matter from tomorrow itself despite being a Sunday, he added.

The children were brought to Kota by train this morning by the mission people, the Spokesman said.

The government would take action after receiving report of the team of officials, he said.
Dilawar, in a statement, said the "government would not tolerate any effort of religious conversion by allurement or force and will not hesitate in taking stern action against guilty persons".

Doubting credentials of the mission he alleged that several cases were still pending in various police stations in Kota against Immanual mission including a case of encroaching upon forest land falsely showing it as burial ground.

Police Arrest Vicar General of Krishnagar Diocese

Police Arrest Vicar General of Krishnagar Diocese

CM Paul

BIS-Kolkata, 13 Feb -- The Police arrested Salesian Fr Luciano Colussi, the Vicar General of Krishnagar diocese Saturday, 12 Feb morning. Police arriving in their jeep at the Bishop's House Krishnagar, some 110 kms north of Kolkata, adjacent to the leading Don Bosco institution in Nadia District summarily arrested the Italian born Indian citizen and took him to Krishnagar police station in the police jeep despite appeals from priests at the Bishop's House to bring Fr Colussi to the police station in their own car... It was about 11.30 am. After the intervention from the Sisters of Mary Immaculate (SMI) Fr. Luciano was released as soon as the local Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) demanded the release of the senior priest. Fr Luciano returned to the bishop's house in a cycle rickshaw in the early afternoon.

By evening, the Christians hearing the arrest of the Vicar General collected and marched towards the bungalow of the Superintendent of Police (SP) despite the futile efforts of Salesian Bishop Joseph Gomes and priests to restrain the people from doing anything violent. They demanded unconditional apology for the humiliation the police meted out to the 81 year old priest who severed the people of Krishnagar for some 50 years.

As the Police would permit only a delegation of four people to go into the SP's bunglow and submit the memorandum to the SP, the crowd demanded that the SP comes out to meet them. In the ensuing argument the police lathi (baton) charged the crowd and forced them to disperse. In the melee several people were injured and police arrested 11 people and remanded them in custody while two injured persons are hospitalized. The appeal for their bail was denied Sunday 13th Feb, and the next hearing has been fixed for 25th February.

It is further reported that the Police raided Nirmal Nagar para (village) adjacent to the Bishop's House, beat up men and women and even those passing on the road were not spared. It is alleged that the police arrested Fr Luciano Colussi as he had terminated the 11 month contract of Dr. Anirudha Das in the Church owned Daffodil Clinic for the physiotherapy for handicapped located adjacent to Don Bosco High School.

Extremists Attack, Beat Six GFA Students

Extremists Attack, Beat Six GFA Students
K.P. Yohannan calls for prayer for serious injuries

This morning, six Gospel for Asia Biblical Seminary students were forcibly abducted and beaten for sharing the Gospel. They were taken to a nearby hospital, where they are now recovering from injuries sustained during the attack.

Jaya, Yogendra, Narendra, Himansu, Kiran and Simon were involved in their regular weekly outreach--distributing Gospel literature, preaching and praying for the sick--when they were surrounded by a small group of men that quickly grew into a crowd.

"We are going to talk about God," the men mocked, and began slapping the students around. Several in the group then dragged the brothers into three-wheeled taxicabs and drove them to a secluded house that was the local headquarters for an extremist anti-Christian organization. A crowd of men, some trained in martial arts, awaited them there. They pulled the students out and began beating them.

"There were no less than five to six people beating each brother," reports a GFA field correspondent. The students were repeatedly kicked, punched and slapped, three to the point of unconsciousness. This particular organization is known for its martial arts training, not so much for defense, but for inflicting intense pain and causing internal injury without much external evidence.

At one point, the anti-Christians left the six students alone in a room for about half an hour. Writhing in pain, they feared what would happen next. But at the same time, these young men kept their focus and remembered their calling.

Kiran spoke up: "This is our reward to serve the Lord," he reminded his coworkers. "Let's tell it to the Lord," Himansu encouraged them. They prayed, clinging to God for His strength and grace.

Soon the group returned and dragged the students back into the cabs, drove them to the bus station, pushed them out and left. The six young men were able to get on a bus and return to the seminary, where they were immediately taken to the hospital. They suffered from severe headaches and internal pain. Jaya was diagnosed with a broken left eardrum, in addition to bruising on his face.

"Please pray for these six dear young men," says GFA President K.P. Yohannan, "that they will completely recover from their injuries and remain close to the Lord. I have no doubt that their suffering is not in vain, and He will use their lives to bear much fruit in the days to come.

"My prayer and firm belief is that our brothers' willingness to faithfully represent their Lord Jesus in the face of such hatred and opposition will only serve to give boldness to all our missionaries as they continue to witness of the Good News of Jesus Christ."

Yesu Darbar attacked in Uttar Pradesh

A group of Hindu activists, carrying lethal weapons, barged into Yesu Darbar near Varanasi on 30 January 2005 and attacked the believers who were participating in the prayer service. The police arrested the intruders and brought the situation under control.

Fearing a possible attack on Yesu Darbar by Bajrang Dal activists, the organisers had approached the local police seeking protection. The Hindu activists also informed the police that they would stage only a protest against the darbar. The authorities deployed policemen at the venue to prevent any possible mischief.

In spite of the police presence, the Hindu activists, numbering about 25, stormed the prayer venue and threatened the organisers, accusing them of indulging in conversions. Soon there erupted clashes between them, resulting in injury to a few believers.

Fundamentalists oppose Christian presence in Uttar Pradesh.

4 February, 2005
Hindu fundamentalists storm Christian prayer meeting
by Nirmala Carvalho
Fundamentalists oppose Christian presence in Uttar Pradesh. We shall fight against your conversions, they say. Church promotes human development.

Lucknow (AsiaNews) – Hindu fundamentalists forced their way into a large Christian prayer meeting on January 30 in Lucknow, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, central India.

Hundreds of worshippers had come from nearby towns and villages to take part in the rally, but, waving saffron flags (saffron being the colour symbolises Hinduism), members of Bajarang Dal, a Hindu fundamentalist group, stormed the premises and interrupted the event.

“These Christian rallies are aimed at conversions,” the activists said. “These Fathers lure the people with gifts of land, money, food and clothes. We strongly protest against such conversions; we are prepared to fight against such tactics of forced conversions”.

Questioned by the police, Rev Rajendra Prasad, a Protestant minister who had organised the event, said: “It is true that I am preaching in the name of Christ, but I am not converting anybody. I neither guarantee, nor promise healing.”

For Reverend Prasad, the motives behind the fundamentalists’ accusations are simple. “These poor villagers come to my conventions because they receive some consolation and are treated with dignity,” he explained. “Why doesn’t the Bajrang Dal do anything to help these marginalised people?” [All] the fundamentalists want [is for them] to remain as a depressed class of society so that they can exploit them”.

As to the accusations of tricking people into conversion, the reverend is adamant. “I only conduct prayer meeting in Christ’s name,” he said. “I repeat: no forced conversions go on. I offer my service to these poor villagers [. . .] free of charge, I demand nothing from them”.

Among Indian Protestant communities, faith healing is a common occurrence. Sita Devi, a local woman who attended the prayer meeting, said that the “Father gave me some oil for massage and now I can walk properly. He says that God is up there and we must pray to him”.

Interviewed by AsiaNews, Mgr Albert D’Souza, Catholic Bishop of Lucknow, said that, despite what many fundamentalists believe, the prayer meeting did not have the blessing of the Catholic Church.

“I made it abundantly clear to the media that we were neutral,” the Bishop said. “Questioned by some senior Bajrang Dal activists [. . .] I assured them that the Church was not involved. [But since] the rally was held in the precinct of one of our Churches [. . .] they think that we were the organisers of the event”.

Bishop D’Souza said that relations between the Church and the Uttar Pradesh state authorities were “cordial”. He stressed the need for vigilance against attempts to trick peasants into converting with promises of gifts of food and clothing during mass rallies.

Of a different order is the role the Church plays. It is committed to human development projects such as schools, hospitals and dispensaries.

Still, even these initiatives have come under fundamentalist fire. Ashok Senegar, a Bajarang Dal leader, told AsiaNews that “Christians run a centre called Yeshu Darbar in a place that is even called Christ Nagar. For the past two years, people from the neighbouring villages and towns have been regularly flocking to this place. [. . .] And we will stop these Christian conversion activities”. (NC)

Catholic Village in India Under Fundamentalist Siege

Bishop of Amravati Calls the Situation "Very Serious"

AMRAVATI, India, FEB. 7, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Hindu fundamentalists are subjecting the people of a Catholic village to threats and attacks, says a bishop in the state of Maharashtra. Rajura is the only Catholic village in Amravati, one of the six divisions of Maharashtra with an independent municipal administration.

The Catholics, all tribals, are descendants of migrants from Madhya Pradesh; their families have been in the village for centuries. They now live in fear for their lives, if they do not reconvert to the Hinduism of their ancestors. "All the people in the village are Catholics, very poor, illiterate, mainly agricultural laborers, but very faithful to the religion," Bishop Edwin Colaço told AsiaNews.

"A few days ago, a Munni, or Hindu holy man, from Ayodhya ... held a huge religious meeting here; it was well attended" by Hindus, the bishop said. "The saffron-clad, spear-bearing Munni attacked the Catholic Church and denounced the missionaries," he said. "He launched into a tirade against the Adivasi [tribals] of Rajura, alleging that missionaries had originally converted them by force, and said that it was his mission to reconvert them to Hinduism." Bishop Colaço, 67, believes that the event was "very well planned by the Hindu Religious Convention.

The Munni had done his homework well and knew the place. ... He urged Hindu villagers to 'kill the Christian Adivasi with swords.'" The group "drove into the Christian village in jeeps, carrying swords and shouting fanatical Hindu slogans. But they found only women, since the men were away at work," the bishop said. "They threatened to kill the women if they did not follow them to the Hindu meeting. The terrified women were then huddled into the jeeps and forcibly brought before the Munni," continued Bishop Colaço.

The prelate said that the "situation is very serious. The Munni has threatened the people of neighboring villages, saying they would be ostracized and would be fined 10,000 rupees if they maintained any contact with tribal Christians." For Bishop Colaço of Amravati, "this is a violation of human rights. Christian Adivasi are poor and illiterate and depend on Hindus for employment. If they are ostracized, they will be denied their means of livelihood. Worse still, many Adivasi have daughters and sisters married to Hindu men and living in other villages. Now the fundamentalists have forbidden any contact with their families."

Bishop Colaço said he wrote the Union Home Minister and the chief minister of Maharashtra asking them to investigate the escalating violence against Christians in Amravati. He also approached the Indian bishops' conference requesting that it intervene.

Hindu fundamentalists prevent Catholic celebration on Anjediva Island

by Nirmala Carvalho

The Church of Our Lady of Springs is located on an island claimed by Hindus. The Indian Navy has bans a traditional boat pilgrimage by Goa and Karwar Christians.

Goa (AsiaNews) – "Security problems" and Hindu fundamentalism are preventing Catholics from Goa and Karwar from celebrating today's annual Feast of Our Lady of Springs (Nossa Senhora das Brotas).

The Navy Command is banning the ritual procession "for security reasons because warships are in the vicinity of the church".

Fr Peter Machado, judicial vicar of the diocese of Karwar where the Church is located, told AsiaNews that the Navy's explanation "is just a lame excuse". For all intents and purposes, "this year we have been denied the right to worship in a church which belongs to our ancestors," he said.

The ancient Church of Our Lady of Springs is situated on Anjediva Island off India's western coast, facing the city of Goa, a former Portuguese colony and important Catholic centre.

The church is owned by the government and administered by the Indian Navy which is building military installations all around it.

In July 2004, Rear Admiral S Sinha, Flag Office commanding Goa Area announced the removal of restrictions for the Feast.

Behind the alleged security considerations for the arrival of many faithful in a military zone lies the problem of religious fundamentalism.

Hindu activists are opposed to the Christian presence claiming the island for themselves. Some activists of the Hindu fundamentalist group Vishwa Hindu Parishad have threatened to interfere with Catholic celebrations on Anjediva claiming the right to worship there on the grounds that prior to the arrival of the colonisers there was a temple dedicated to the Hindu deity Arya Durga which was then moved to Ankola in Karnataka.

For Father Machado, the question is sensitive and could cause social tensions. "When a place of worship becomes an object of contention, the situation puts at risk the law and order of society".

"When the church and the surrounding property were appropriated by the government of India to build a Naval Base, the Catholic Church was assured that Christians could visit the Church on Feast Days. Today it does not allow it".

The Feast of Our Lady of Springs is celebrated on February 2. It usually involves a solemn mass for some 1,500 pilgrims. "Pilgrims travel by boats [. . .] decorated with flags of different colours [. . .]. The entire atmosphere is festive," Father Machado said..

John Dayal, president of the All India Catholic Union and member of the National Integration Council, asked Oscar Fernandes, Minister for the state of Goa, to ensure that both central and local governments agree to the celebrations on Anjediva Island.

In the meantime, Father Machado still hopes that despite today's restrictions Christians "will be granted permission for the Feast of St Francis of Assisi on 4th October".

In addition to the main church, the island is also home to smaller church dedicated to the Saint from Assisi and is a destination for pilgrimage.

Religious Questionnaire In India's Gujarat State Raises Suspicions

A controversial decision to make primary students in rural areas complete a religion-based questionnaire has raised suspicions about a "hidden agenda" by the government of western India's Gujarat state.

The Opposition Congress has dubbed the census in rural areas as an "attempt to disturb communal harmony" by India's radical Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Education Minister Anandiben Patel denied any "religion-based" survey in village schools. However, she admitted that students were being asked to participate in a survey to make them better aware of their social and cultural surroundings and to sharpen their writing skills.

The four-page questionnaire seeks to find out how many people belong to which religion in a village, the festivals that are celebrated, the number of religious places, and their historical importance. The survey is being conducted as part of the government's district primary education project's documentation exercise in each of the state's 18,000 villages.

Believers are concerned that the information will be used to create a religion- based databank in rural areas. A similar exercise was secretly undertaken by Gujarat police in the Dangs district shortly before the anti-Christian attacks in 1998.

(WorldWide Religious News/The Telegraph)

Christians old age home attacked

By: PTI January 24, 2005

The cross erected on the gate of a Home for the Aged, run by a group of Christian nuns, at Ambernath in Mumbai suburb, was damaged by some miscreants, police said here today.

Some handwritten pamphlets, asking the nuns to leave the convent, were also left behind during the incident late last night, according to Sister Diana, in-charge of Teresian Carmelites Convent.

"The inmates heard some noise of motor bikes and things being broken at 2 AM on Sunday. But in the darkness the miscreants could not be identified", she told PTI.

"They broke the cross and left behind pamphlets, carrying handwritten messages `Run away, we will come back... Go away, this country is ours... Now it is the cross, next time it will be your heads'", she said.

"The Home was set up three years ago and we have never had any problem before. We received a lot of cooperation since we moved in here. There had been no opposition from any quarter so far, hence we are surprised by the attack", said Sister Diana, who was away at the time of the attack.

The convent houses 17 inmates, including 12 elderly women, who are taken care of by the nuns. Ambernath police said the matter was being investigated. "We have also provided police protection to the Home", police said.

Meanwhile, the All India Catholic Union (AICU) and the Bombay Catholic Sabha today condemned the attack. "We urge the police and government to provide police protection and apprehend culprits immediately", Dolphy D'Souza, National Vice President of AICU said.

http://ww1.mid-day.com/news/city/2005/january/102202.htm

Ongoing Attacks on India Christians Continue to Draw Concern

Attacks on Christians in India from those linked to extremist groups have continued over the Christmas period

Attacks on Christians in India from those linked to extremist groups have continued over the Christmas period, according to the director of a UK-based human rights charity group.“We are deeply concerned about these unprovoked incidents of violence and call on the authorities to do more to curb the violence of extremist Hindu groups against Christians," stated Stuart Windsor, National Director of Christian Solidarity Worldwide.

In the most recent incident, an Indian priest was attacked at the altar of his church on Christmas Eve as he was preparing to conduct a service.According to CSW, the Reverend Father Saji Abraham of the St. Thomas Orthodox Church in Banswara, Rajasthan was going to the sacristy to put aside the holy bread for use during the worship, when he noticed three men were following him. When Abraham asked them to remain outside, the men attacked him with metal rods. Under the force of the blows, the priest fell down, suffering heavy bleeding from his head injuries. When he regained consciousness, he rang church members for help on his mobile phone and was taken to hospital where he was last reported to be in a critical condition.

In another reported incident, which occurred on the same day, a Christian driver in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, was attacked when he asked for a salary advance to celebrate Christmas. According to CSW, the driver had gasoline poured over him and was set on fire. He suffered about 26 percent burns and was admitted to hospital.

Over the last few weeks there have also been a number of other incidents in India where Christians have been threatened or attacked. In Gujarat, anti-Christian pamphlets and books accused Christians of forcibly converting Hindus from poor backgrounds in the south of the state. On Dec. 18, the police arrested a man allegedly working for an organization linked to the militant Hindu Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) after he was found distributing such leaflets.

In Rajasthan, a group reportedly belonging to the Hindu extremist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) attacked two Christian pastors on Dec. 10, accusing them of converting others. The police protected the men from the attackers.Also in Rajasthan, a Christian orphanage in Baran reported in early December that it might have to relocate because of anti-Christian threats. Despite police protection, tensions in the region have forced the orphanage to relocate the children.

Gujarat Christians to appeal against verdict

Piprol is a tiny village, situated 20 kms away from Dharampur taluka of Valsad district in Gujarat. Here 22 Varli tribal Christians live. A kaccha Church also exists here. Christians here often face religious persecution because of their faith and mode of worship. ‘Friends Missionary Prayer Band,’ an organization doing missionary work at the national level, is trying to help them.

Recently the Christians here had to face a serious incident simply because of their religion. Way back on 26 April 2001 Adivasi Christian Ramanbhai K. Gavit’s wife Kalguben R. Gavit had died due to snake bite. Same night some communally biased elements put off the street lights of Piprol village and attacked Ramanbhai’s house, saying "If your Christianity is true religion then ask your Lord Jesus Christ to bring your wife back to life at once. And if your wife doesn’t come back to life, you will have to accept Hindu religion." Ramanbhai K. Gavit protested against this, so the mob attacked him, beating him up severely. An injured Ramanbhai had to be admitted in local Dharampur Civil hospital. Next day (27 April 2001) family members of victim Ramanbhai K. Gavit were on their way to Piprol village to take part in the burial ceremony of Kalguben Gavit (wife of Ramanbhai). They were attacked and seriously beaten up near the village bus stand by communal elements. Due to these ongoing incidents, Christians lodged a police complaint in the local Dharampur police station but the police authorities did not listen and failed to take any action in the matter.

Meanwhile, communal elements in Piprol village kept troubling Christians and continuously tried to stop them from worship. After these series of incidents, again in the morning of 28 May 2001 communal elements attacked Ramanbhai Gavit with sharp weapons near the village bus stand while he was awaiting for the bus. Ramanbhai Gavit cried for help. In response Christians of the village, Ramesh Chandubhai Varli, Harjee Chandubhai Varli, Ishwar Chandubhai Varli, Chandubhai Dharmabhai Varli to name a few, rushed at the site and tried to save Ramanbhai Gavit. Due to their intervention members of both groups were injured and were admitted to the civil hospital of Dharampur. During the treatment a member from the communally biased group, called Gopjibhai Ramabhai Varli, expired on 29 May 2001.

Now the police of the Dharampur police station lodged a complaint against five tribal Christians in connection with incident. Communal elements claimed that that the murder was caused due to some financial transaction. Local communal outfits became active to teach a “lesson” to local Christians with the help of the local public prosecutor and police department which placed this criminal case in the fast track Sessions Court. Communal elements presented false witnesses before the police authorities. Therefore the police arrested five Christians: Ramesh Chandubhai Varli, Ishwar Chandubhai Varli, Dhakliabhai Kalubhai Varli, Chandubhai Dharmabhai Varli and Harjeebhai Chandubhai Varli, in connection with the murder case of Gopjibhai Varli. In this case the communally biased organizations with the help of government machinery, panchayat members, statements of false witnesses and biased police investigations, gained advantage over the victims. The case was admitted in Gujarat state’s Valsad district’s Session Judge’s fast track court. The court passed its judgment on 19 June 2004 sentencing to life imprisonment all the accused Christian.

Due to this serious occurrence of such black incident for the first time in the history of Gujarat state, the All India Christian Council - Gujarat unit has pledged to help the Friends Missionary Prayer Band and challenge the Session Court Judgment in the Gujarat High Court.

By Samson C. Christian

samson_chri@sify.com

Indian priest attacked in church on Christmas Eve

January 10, 2005

An Indian priest needed 17 stitches after being attacked at the altar of his church on Christmas Eve.

The Reverend Father Saji Abraham was preparing to conduct a service at St. Thomas Orthodox Church, Banswara, Rajasthan. When he went to the sacristy to put aside the holy bread for use during the worship, he was followed by three men.

He asked them to remain outside, but was attacked with metal rods. The priest fell down under the force of the blows, suffering heavy bleeding from his head injuries. When he regained consciousness, he rang church members for help on his mobile phone. He was taken to hospital where he was last reported to be in a critical condition.

On the same day, a Christian driver in Ahmedabad, Gujarat , was reportedly attacked when he asked for a salary advance to celebrate Christmas. Robinson Joseph had petrol poured over him and was set on fire. He suffered about 26 percent burns and was admitted to hospital. The All India Christian Council (AICC) took up his case with the local police, but was told the accused had fled.

There have been a number of other incidents in India over the last few weeks where Christians have been threatened or attacked. Again in Gujarat, anti-Christian pamphlets and books accused Christians of forcibly converting Hindus from poor backgrounds in the south of the state. On December 18, the police arrested a man allegedly working for an organization linked to the militant Hindu Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) after he was found distributing such leaflets.

In Rajasthan, two Christian pastors were attacked on December 10 on their way to a prayer service by a group which accused them of converting others. The police protected the men from the attackers who reportedly belonged to the Hindu extremist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) group.

Also in Rajasthan, a Christian orphanage in Baran reported in early December that it may have to relocate because of anti-Christian threats. Despite police protection, tensions in the region have forced the orphanage to relocate the children.

Click Here for Source

Christian Pastors Beaten Up Near Balasore

by Bibhuti Mishra

A pastor in a Baptist Church and other missionaries were beaten up by some youth, who accused them of conversion attempts.

The incident ocurred at a meeting at Baidhar Singh's house in Gopinathpur Nuasahi village, Balasore district, on Sunday evening. More than a hundred tribals and Dalits were present.

Sanjay Pal and Dubai Tudu, priests at the Baptist Church of Kuruda, had come to the meeting along with two other missionaries. Word spread that the missionaries were trying to convert the tribals and Dalits.

Kishore Sarangi, a worker having links with the VHP and the BJP allegedly led a group of youths and came to the meeting place. The priests and the misionaries were chased and bashed up in public.

Two FIRs have been filed and the district administration has deployed police as the situation is tense. The FIR lodged by the priests allege hooliganism and physical assault by the youths while the counter FIR allege forcible conversion attempts by the missionaries.

The FIR says Chand Mallick, Dhanuram Hansda and four others were trying to convert Geda Singh of Nilgiri by giving him Rs 10,000. Hundreds of VHP and BJP workers gave a memorandum to the subcollector alleging such conversion attempts. No arrest has been made so far.

(courtesy persecution.org)

Missionaries Face Persecution In Yamuna Nagar.

Christian missionaries have become the target of harassment and persecution at the hands of Hindutva nazis at Yamunanagar. The servants of the Lord belonging to the Missions India have bore the brunt of these religious fundamentalists. The attacks are well orchestrated.

Recently when two female missionaries were visiting the house of a believer, anti-Christians confronted them alleging 'forced conversion'. The members of the household strongly refuted this charge and spoke in favour of the missionaries.

However,the following day the hindutva fanatics planted false stories in the leading newspapers. The Yamunanagar Kesri reported the news in a very negative manner saying that missionaries were gheraoed.

This is not the first attempt whereby hindutva fanatics have tried to harm the Christian missionaries. They regularly mislead the police with false complaints in order to harass the missionaries. Many a time,they tried to get the missionaries arrested and sent to jail. The servants of the Lord continually face problems due to the hindutva menace.

Pastor Beaten up in Rajasthan

19 hours on 10 December 2004.

Place: Sevana under the Dalot police station in Chittorgarh District of Rajasthan.

Mohan Rawat (21) and Shyam Lal (21), pastors working under Good Shepherd Christian Community, were proceeding to participate in a whole night prayer service at a house belonging to one of the believers. A group of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) men, led by local leader Prakash Kharadi, pounced up on the pastors and started to manhandle them.

They did not stop there. They dragged the two pastors to the house where the prayer was being held. They accused them of converting the people in the area. When the police arrived on the scene on receiving the information, they quietly left the place. Under the protection offered by the police, they went ahead with the prayer meeting.

The injured pastors were taken to a nearby hospital where they were given first aid. Then they went to police station and filed an FIR. But that failed to deter the RSS men, who were bent on driving the pastors away. They came again the following night and threatened them.

Christians Locked Up In Jail As Social Pressure Mounts Against Christians In Maharashtra

By Vijayesh Lal

15th July 2004 : Shaler Village, Satana, Taluk, Nashik District, Maharashtra: Motiram Borde, a Christian villager and his teenage son, Bhagwan, were forcibly locked up in the police station. They were arrested on the pretext of investigation as disputes arose among Christians and Hindus in the village. They were let off two days later on bail but the social pressure against Christians in the Shaler Village stays intense.

Satana Taluk, Nashik: More than 10 years ago the first missionaries from FMPB (Friends Missionary Prayer Band) arrived in the Shaler village with the good news of Jesus Christ. About 20 families accepted their message and embraced "Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior without any force or inducement."

Life did not change for the Christians in the village, they still went about their daily chores as they did in the past and the relations with the villagers and elders remained friendly. But in the year 2002 volunteers from the RSS and the fundamentalist’s organizations began visiting the villagers. It was then that trouble started for the missionaries and the Christian families in Shaler village.

Starting from April 2003 there have been around 10 incidents of attacks and threats on the small Christian community in the village. Some of the incidents are given below:

28th April 2003: Christians were meeting for prayer meetings when the Sarpanch (Village Elder) Shatesingh Sadashiv More, and a mob attacked them and forced them to stop the prayer meeting. The Christians were threatened with dire consequences and were told that their houses will be burned down if they continued meeting for prayer.

7th July 2003: The sarpanch and a group of people attacked Missionaries and local evangelists again. They made them leave the village by force. The Christians registered their complain with the local police station (Jaikhedan) but no action has been taken till date.

19th December 2003: A Christian prayer meeting was disrupted by an unidentified mob. The Christians were forced to worship idols that the mob brought with them. They also forced to Christians to wear malas (Hindu religious necklaces) and gave them pictures of Hindu gods in order to facilitate their worship.

5th January 2004: The RSS and its volunteers spread rumors about Christians breaking and desecrating a Hindu temple about a kilometer away from the village. They employed a local newspaper for the purpose too and hence carried out a systematic disinformation campaign against the Christians. The news was eventually found to be misleading but Christians have had to pay a price.

6th January 2004: The local police inspector from Jaikhedan threatened Christians with dire consequences if they did not give up their faith in Christ. He was accompanied by a rowdy mob and they manhandled some of the Christians. The Christians were accused of breaking the temple and were threatened of arrest by the local police.

7th January 2004: Four Christians were arrested and kept in police custody for about a week. They were released on bail later.

The latest incident too is in the line of the events outlined above.

Appa Sonu Borde, has a land of about 5 acres which he has been cultivating for the past 25 years. He has the proper papers of the land and even pays his taxes. But now the revenue inspector has told him that he can no longer have his land. What is more atrocious is that the revenue inspector, has sold off his land by auction, to someone else. Borde has been told that if he tries to get his land back or makes an appeal he will be killed. All this has happened to Borde just because he accepted Christianity a few years back. He says that people were after his property and his being a Christian gave them a good excuse to take it away by force.

It was in this context that the police called Motiram Borde and his son, Bhagwan to the police station for investigation and arrested them when they got there. False charges have been framed against them and they have been dragged in a long legal battle unnecessarily. The villagers and the police are threatening Christian families in the village day and night. They Christians are being forced to renounce Christianity and reconvert to Hinduism otherwise their would be burned down and they will be forced to leave the village.

This has created a lot of tension in the village with the lines now clearly drawn between Hindus and Christians. The systematic disinformation campaign of the RSS and its allies has paid off in Shaler village. The Christians, meanwhile have appealed to the worldwide community to help them to safeguard their rights.

Pastor Brutally Attacked in Tripura Village

Intruders use knives, spears to attack a local missionary and his family.

By Vijayesh Lal

DELHI, July 2 -- An Indian pastor brutally beaten in an attack in West Tripura in late April is still recovering from serious knife wounds.

Letthang Gangte, a missionary sent out by the Evangelical Congregational Church of India, received cuts to the head and back, and a deep stab wound in the stomach. His wife and two young children were also severely injured.

However, police have insisted that until the family can identify and name the perpetrators, no action will be taken.

Gangte and his wife were awakened around 3 a.m. on April 19 by a group of men armed with knives and spears who had broken into their small mud hut in the village of Rajghat, West Tripura.

His wife screamed and Gangte attempted to fight back. Meanwhile, a heavy storm drowned out the sounds of the struggle. By the time Gangte managed to escape and alert the neighbors, all four members of his family were seriously injured.

In the thick darkness of the storm it was impossible to see the faces of the intruders. The pastor and his wife say there were at least eight, and possibly ten, men in the group.

The neighbors immediately called the police, but when they arrived, the intruders had left, taking with them some of the families' belongings.

The pastor and his family were then taken to Agartala Hospital for treatment. Gangte was covered in blood after receiving a number of severe head injuries, two deep cuts across his shoulder and a deep stab wound to his abdomen. He also suffered a broken bone.

Witnesses say it was a miracle that Gangte survived.

His wife sustained injuries to her head and one arm. Their daughter Bebem, 7, and son Bawilun, 10, were treated for slashes on their calves and thighs.

The family comes from a village in Manipur, northeast India. The Evangelical Synod Church, a constituent member of the Evangelical Congregational Church of India, sent them to Rajghat village as missionaries in 1995.

Even before they arrived, signs of trouble surfaced. Another local missionary was attacked on the night of December 5, 2002. He was slashed six times with a knife on his head and other parts of his body. The incident so disturbed him that he was recalled from the village.

Local Christians believe both attacks were carried out by the same assailants.

Gangte wants to return to the village, despite the intimidation. "I will not leave, even if it means the end of life for myself and my family," he told us through his leaders.

However, his family is still traumatized after the attack. They are living in safety outside the village, but both children continue to have nightmares and are afraid to sleep in the dark.

In an effort to safeguard the family on their return, the sending church has drawn up plans for the construction of a brick house which could provide more protection than the mud hut the family occupied. The hut's walls had softened during the rain storm, allowing the attackers to break in easily.

One local Christian told us that the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), two organizations known for their extreme Hindu beliefs, are very active in the region. The RSS insists the tribal people should not convert to what they call Christian "slavery." Both organizations have launched a propaganda campaign to convince tribal people who have converted to Christianity from animist religions that they were actually Hindus.

If tribal people do become Hindus, they are automatically placed on the lowest level of India’s caste system as "Dalits" ("Untouchables"). Only the most menial jobs are allotted to Dalits; higher-paid employment is reserved for people of higher castes.

The Christian church, on the other hand, is committed to raising the standard of education and employment for tribal people.

Theoretically, a non-Hindu tribal person is not subject to the caste system. Therefore when tribal people reject animism and turn to Christ, their conversion threatens the very fabric of Hindu society.

Gangte and his family are still recovering from their ordeal. Their sending church requested the police to carry out an investigation in Rajghat, but the officers refused, saying Gangte must first positively identify the men who attacked him. Gangte is reluctant to do so, fearing reprisals against himself and his family.

The church is currently seeking legal advice.

Christian Women Beaten, Humiliated for Refusing to Deny Christ

(Compass) -- Christian women from Orissa state, India, suffered beatings and public humiliation for refusing to give up their faith. According to media reports, a group of Hindu extremists dragged eight women, including two 15-year-old girls, out of their homes on February 6 while their male family members were at work. Attackers beat the women severely with sticks and sandals. When they attempted to resist, their clothes were torn from them and they were forced to walk naked through the village.

The extremists tried to persuade the women to renounce Christianity. When they refused, their attackers forcibly shaved the crown of their heads.

The act of "tonsuring," or shaving the crown of the head, is a religious ritual normally reserved for priests and monks.

None of the women from the surrounding houses came to their rescue, even though the Christian women called for help.

When the attackers made further threats against them, the women and their families fled from the villages of Kilipala and Kanimul, in the Jagatsinghpur district of Orissa. About 20 people, including two infants, took shelter in an evangelical church in the capital city of Bhubaneshwar.

New Delhi Television recently found the families in the church and interviewed the women. Despite the humiliation they had suffered, the women insisted that their faith in Christ remained firm and they would not re-convert to Hinduism.

"The villagers tortured and humiliated me before forcibly tonsuring my head. They didn't even spare my daughter," said Sanjukta Kandi, one of the victims.

According to the women, the mob that attacked them contained about 45 villagers, some of whom were their own relatives.

Tensions have flared over the incident, and family members of the victims are still afraid to return home. The women are receiving pastoral care and support from the church in Bhubaneshwar. However, the pastor is reluctant to discuss his involvement, fearing Hindu reprisals against the church.

Local police have talked to victims and witnesses, but have not followed correct legal procedure. For example, there was no female constable present during the investigation, contrary to legal requirements.

There was also a considerable delay before the women were allowed to file a First Information Report (FIR), in which they named 35 people responsible for the attack.

Some of the attackers named in the FIR were Hindu relatives of the victims.

Dayal Gangwar, the district superintendent of police, said the women had converted to Christianity only recently, after contact with a village resident who had been a Christian for nine years. According to Gangwar, there was no attempt to forcibly convert the families. Regular visits and prayer had convinced them to believe in Christ, he said.

Christian workers from Bhubaneshwar told Compass that Hindu extremists are actively working in the area to "create awareness about the evils of Christianity" among the villagers. Representatives of Hindu organizations such as the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad have been appointed in each village to report any signs of missionary or evangelistic activity.

Orissa is already notorious for its violence against Christians. It was in this state in January 1999 that Hindu extremists murdered Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two young sons.

There have also been a number of reports in the past few years of women in various parts of the state being stripped and having their heads shaved after being branded as "witches."

The district administration has promised to take legal action over the recent attack. However, at press time no arrests had been made.

Pastor beaten up in Police lockup

Mahmudpur Katawa, Sultanpur District, UP

According to reports received, a pastor was arrested on charges of converting people; later on he was beaten in the local police station. The situation in Mahmudpur remains tense as Christians are increasingly under pressure.

Ram Prakash, a lay pastor in Sultanpur area in Uttar Pradesh was visiting Harish Chandra a Christian and his distant relative in a Dalit (Untouchable) colony on February 6th, 2004 when local High Caste Hindu leaders seized him. They were leading a mob of about 200 people. Accusing him of converting the locals they were roughing him up mercilessly when Harish Chandra took initiative, seized and locked up Ram Prakash inside his house in order to protect him.

The crowd then entered his house beating up both Harish Chandra and his wife. They misbehaved with the women in the home, and used abusive language against Christians. Meanwhile Ram Prakash called the police using his mobile phone, which was later taken away by the mob.

Soon the Police intervened and arrested Ram Prakash instead. He was taken to the local police station where he was detained on the pretext of investigation. According to reports received the Police Sub Inspector SI Anand Singh Thakur and three other constables beat him up mercilessly in the police station on the same night. They kept accusing him of being an American Agent and forced him to say "Jai Shri Ram!" (Victory be to Ram) and "Jai Mata Di" (Victory be to the goddess durga).

Ram Prakash was beaten up mercilessly and one can still see the wounds on his body. After he was released on Bail, a medical examination was done where in the doctors confirmed the injuries on his body. Meanwhile a false case has been made against Ram Prakash and he has been accused of spreading communal tension under section 151 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The local leaders who created all the trouble have not been arrested; the violence against Ram Prakash has been explained away as an outburst of an angry mob. When the correspondent spoke to the Police personnel he was told blankly that if Ram Prakash continues to proclaim Jesus in a Hindu environment this is bound to happen especially when a Hindutva wave is sweeping the country.

The High caste Hindu leaders have a lot of say in matters of local administration and the police, and it is believed by the Christians that Ram Prakash's arrest and then subsequent beating in the police lock up took place at the orders of the local Hindu leaders. This is the second incident against a Christian pastor in the Sultanpur district in less than two months.

Earlier on 25th December 2003 Hindutva Fundamentalists and local politicians had disrupted a Christian Meeting in Ramdaspur village. About 100 Christians were meeting in the house of a Christian when the police disrupted the meeting on the complaint of the Hindu Fundamentalist Groups. About eight Christians were charged with spreading communal tension under section 151 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The person in whose house the meeting was held was arrested and the pastor who was conducting the meeting was threatened. The Local media briefed by the Fundamentalists had carried venomous articles against Christians, some of them against Pastor Ram Prakash even though he had not been associated with this incident.

It is a result of that negative propaganda that Ram Prakash is experiencing trouble now. He himself is from a Hindu background and came to know Jesus Christ a few years ago after getting healed of a mental sickness. Since then he has been conducting regular prayer meetings in his home, for which he has been constantly harassed. But if we have to understand what really is behind these outbursts we have to understand the context where all this has taken place.

Mahmudpur is a village where about 200 Thakur (High Caste Hindus) families and about 40 Dalit (Untouchable) families live. There has been a history of oppression by the Thakurs on the Dalits. Their women are raped, they are forced to work as labors for the Thakurs in their fields all the days of the week without getting paid adequately and the list goes on. With the coming of the Gospel however things have started to change.

As more and more Dalits embrace Christianity because they find their dignity restored in it, the Thakur community gets angrier primarily because of economic implications of the same. As Ram Prakash himself put it, "I am from a Dalit background and when I first encountered Christians I was surprised to learn that I could actually touch their sacred scripture and read it too. I felt like a dignified human for the first time in my life."

The trouble at Mahmudpur started when the Dalit Christians started going to Church on Sundays. This meant no labor for the Thakurs on Sundays and that the fields would not be tilled. The Thakurs soon found out that the reason for the change was Ram Prakash and hence this animosity towards him. However, threats against Ram Prakash and the small community of Christians do not seem to cease.

On 7th February 2004, Jai Narayan, a Christian was attacked by Fundamentalists using a country made pistol; his crime: showing the Jesus video at his house to his neighbors. The bullets have wounded his face and he is recovering.

On 15th February 2004, while the Sunday worship was going on in Ram Prakash's home in Khutehna village, he was again attacked by Thakurs. Two armed men attacked him and if it was not for the local Christians, anything could have happened.

This was a tactic of instilling fear in the hearts of the Christians and the fundamentalists have some how succeeded in this. When the correspondent spoke to a few Christians in the area they expressed fear and the insecurity of being alone in their struggle.

Police Beat Dalit Pastor in Uttar Pradesh

Hindu activists disrupt Christian meetings.
by Vijayesh Lal

DELHI, February 27 (Compass) -- Pastor Ram Prakash, from Mahmudpur village in the Sultanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, was beaten while in police custody and is still under threat from Hindu activists, according to reports from Open Doors of India.

Prakash, a lay pastor, was visiting a Christian relative in a Dalit (untouchable) colony on February 6 when he was attacked by Hindu activists. Local high caste Hindu leaders led a group of about 200 people to Harish Chandra's house, where they accused Prakash of converting the local people to Christianity.

The Hindu leaders seized Prakash and began to physically threaten him. Chandra pulled Prakash back into the house and locked the doors - but the crowd soon broke through the door and began beating Chandra and his wife. They also threatened women in the house and used abusive language against other Christians who were present.

Meanwhile Prakash managed to call the local police on his mobile phone, which was later taken from him by the mob.

However when the police arrived, they arrested Prakash instead of the attackers. He was taken to the police station and held on the pretext of further investigation.

Local Christians claimed that police inspector Anand Singh Thakur and three other constables gave Prakash a severe beating that night. The police accused him of being an American agent and forced him to repeat the words Jai Shri Ram ("Victory to the god Ram") and Jai Mata Di ("Victory to the goddess Durga").

The scars from that beating are still visible on Prakash’s body. When he was eventually released on bail, doctors performed a medical examination and confirmed that he had been severely beaten in police custody.

Hindu activists later charged Prakash under section 151 of the Indian Penal Code for spreading communal tension.

Police constables told an Open Doors staff member that if Prakash continued to proclaim Jesus, he could expect more of the same treatment, particularly as a wave of Hindu nationalism was sweeping through India.

The attack on Prakash was the second violent incident involving Christians in Sultanpur in recent months. On December 25, 2003, Hindu activists and local politicians disrupted a group of about 100 Christians meeting in a private home in Ramdaspur village. Eight members of the group were charged under section 151 with spreading communal tension.

The homeowner was arrested and the pastor threatened with further abuse if they continued to hold these meetings. In the weeks following the December incident, local media carried venomous articles against Christians.

About 200 Thakur (high caste) Hindu families live in Mahmudpur village, along with 40 Dalit families. Throughout India, these two castes are in conflict. Dalit men are often forced to work as unpaid laborers for Thakurs while their own fields are left untended.

This partly explains why Christianity has such an appeal for the Dalits. As Prakash said, "I am from a Dalit background, and when I first encountered Christians, I was surprised to learn that I could actually touch their sacred Scripture and read it too. I felt like a dignified human for the first time in my life."

Prakash became a Christian a few years ago after being healed of mental illness. Since his conversion, local Hindu leaders have constantly harassed him for holding prayer meetings in his home.

Threats against Prakash and the small community of Dalit Christians in Mahmudpur seem to be increasing. On February 7, Hindus brandishing a homemade pistol attacked another local Christian named Jai Narayan for showing the Jesus video at his home. Narayan is still recovering from bullet wounds to his face.

On February 15, Hindu activists attacked a small gathering of Christians in Prakash's home, seeking to instill fear in local Christians. High caste Thakurs react negatively to the conversion of Dalits. When Dalit Christians in Mahmudpur began attending church on Sundays, for example, it meant that no labor was available to till Thakur fields that day. When landlords in the area found out that Prakash was responsible for leading many Dalits to Christianity, their animosity toward him increased.

Jhabua Victimized by Dirty Politics

By Vijayesh Lal

More than a month after the unfortunate incident of a nine-year-old girl being raped and murdered in a Christian school in Jhabua and the subsequent planned attacks on Christians all over the district, the situation continues to remain tense in the area.

After the body of the girl, Sujata, was found in the Christian school, on January 11th Christians in the area faced an upsurge of violence aimed primarily to teach them a lesson. The situation for Christians in Madhya Pradesh has been deteriorating ever since Uma Bharati, an extremist herself, came into power as chief minister of the state. For Christians in Jhabua however the nightmare had just started on the 14th January 2004. Since then Christians have been systematically targeted, their Churches and homes burnt, property looted and Religious effects desecrated. It was as if the Gujarat carnage was being repeated in Jhabua as looters and troublemakers made life miserable for the Christian community, shouting slogans of, “Jai Shri Ram!” (Victory is to Ram!). The police, mostly, stood as a silent spectator.

Chronology of Events:

January 11th 2004: Nine-year-old Sujata’s body was found in the school toilet after she had been raped sparking off rumors that the main priest, Fr. John Sunny, was responsible for the deed.

January 12th 2004: The VHP, ABVP, Bajrang Dal and some other organizations belonging to the RSS gave a call for a bandh (close down of the city) and a dharna (protest) for 13.01.04 in front of the mission compound.

January 13th 2004: Three people including two priests were taken to the police station but were allowed to come back only after mid night.

January 14th 2004: An armed mob shouting slogans against the church and the priests entered the compound, demanding that the actual culprit be arrested. The police just let them in and the mob vandalized and ransacked the place. They smashed a jeep owned by the church, broke an image of Infant Jesus, tossed chairs around, pelted the church windows with stones and slapped Fr. John Sunny several times.

The police took the priests away saying that otherwise they might come to some harm. Nine members were kept in an 8 feet-by-12 feet lockup for two days without food or water.

January 15th 2004: Manoj Yadav working as a sweeper at the National Insurance Company was detained, questioned and arrested. He confessed to the crime, but an identification parade is not arranged as the Superintendent of Police and the District Magistrate were waiting for the DNA report. Failure to have the identification parade gave rise to many rumors. The rumor mills of the RSS worked overtime to establish that the arrested man was innocent, that in fact he was impotent, and that the police had been bribed into arresting him, suggesting that it was the priest who was responsible for the crimes. Sujata’s parents were told that the police and the priests are conniving to protect the real culprit. A virulent attack was mounted on the missionaries and the Christians by the fundamentalist organizations. They urged the people to drive the missionaries out. The distribution of inflammatory literature gained momentum.

January 16th 2004: A Mob led by Krishna Behn descended at Amkhut village, they distributed anti Christian pamphlets, made provocative speeches and attacked the Christian school, vandalizing it in the process. The mob was shouting provocative slogans and warning people not to send their children to an institution run by "rapists". Several students were attacked and school property broken; pictures of Jesus Christ were torn down. The mob left with the warning that they would return to power after the Lok Sabha (general) elections.

More violence followed as the BJP legislator from Alirajpur tehsil, Nagar Singh Chauhan, came to Amkhut village with several armed people in tow and attacked the Church premises with firearms. After two hours, the mob returned with more people and in the skirmish that followed, Arjun Pal, a Seva Bharati member was shot dead.

The Amkhut violence sparked off violence in Alirajpur too, as the mob went back, mobilized locals and started targeting Christian homes and institutions. A priest of the Don Bosco school was beaten up and the school and his vehicle was set afire. The Church was attacked and the furniture and musical instruments burnt. Shobhana and Sudhir Onkar, a Christian couple were also attacked by about 200 – 300 strong mob. Their five vehicles were damaged and about twenty men got inside the house and broke their furniture, television and other household goods. The mob was led by the local BJP MLA (Member of Legislative Assembly) while the T.I (Thana in-charge or the Police Station In Charge) with four policemen stood and watched. They have lodged an FIR but no arrests have been made so far.

The Aftermath:

Following this Chief minister of the state, Uma Bharati sent two of her ministers to Jhabua to investigate the matter. The two ministers visited Jhabua and gave a clean chit to the Sangh organizations without meeting a single Christian victim. Wrong information was given to the media at a press conference addressed by Uma Bharati claiming that there was firing from within the church.

The chief minister herself visited Jhabua, mostly by helicopter, met some of the victims, ordered a CID (Central Investigating Department) probe but virtually rendered it useless by stating that the Hindus had displayed patience and tolerance despite provocation. The State government was least interested in providing relief to the minorities and this was evident in an aggressive meeting organized by the RSS on January 20 in Bhopal. At the meeting, several persons were brought from Jhabua and the Chief Minister drew a link between the violent incidents and the alleged activities of conversion.

Soon the opposition picked up the issue and accused the government of shielding the Jhabua culprits. The whole issue was politicized to take an advantage of it. Meanwhile the Christians in Jhabua urged the National Human Rights Commission to ensure that adequate security is provided for them. Several fact-finding teams were dispatched to Jhabua and here is what they have found:

1. As per the list of cases registered and arrests made given by the SP, on 22.1.04 whereever the attacks occurred on Christian institutions, the only arrests have been those of either priests or Christians.

2. No steps have been taken to prevent the publication and distribution of inflammatory literature. It is still going on strong.

3. The VHP and its sister organizations are freely holding dharnas and demonstration despite promulgation of section 144 (curfew)

4. The worst attacks that occurred had taken place on 16.01.04, and three of the five BJP MLA’s (Member of Legislative Assembly) led the mobs. But no cases have been registered against them.

5. No steps have been taken to instill confidence in the Christina community that their rights guaranteed by the constitution of India will be safe guarded. There is widespread fear that attempts are afoot to create another Gujarat.


There are reports coming in that Christians are increasingly being targeted in the area. There have been instances of Churches being burnt and Christian homes burnt and looted by unruly mobs. One Pastor has reported that nearly every night He and others are staying outside of their village on a hilltop watching over their village. Their fear: that their houses will be burnt down. Their wives and children are spending the nights under the bushes in this cold winter season. Police harassment too is increasing.

With the coming of the Lok Sabha (General Elections) things are likely to get worse for the Christians in Jhabua. What we see here has been brewing for a long time. Christianity is more than a century old in Jhabua, the Church and the institutions testify to it. Yet in their zeal to lure the tribal voter the Sangh Parivar has created an enemy in the minds of the people. Preparations for attacking Christian institutions have been on for the past one-year as Hindu sangams' or meetings were organized all through out in the Jhabua District over the past two years. The sole motive of these meetings was to whip up communal passion against the Christians.

In an attempt to Hinduise the Tribals (whom the Sangh Parivar addresses by the derogatory term Vanvasis meaning Jungle Dwellers) thousands of idols of Hanuman and Ganesh (Hindu Gods) were installed and the tribals were encouraged and mobilized to be a part of it. This is alien to the tribal culture nevertheless they complied because of the economic benefits given to them because of this. But the Hinduization of the tribals and the stirring up of hatred against the Christians is only a deliberate attempt to consolidate tribal votes in what is otherwise considered as the Congress land and sending the right message to the Congressi Christian.

Sister Nirmala, others robbed in Jharkhand

Sister Nirmala, others robbed in Jharkhand

MEDININAGAR (JHARKAND), FEB. 21. The Superior General of Missionaries of the Charity, Sister Nirmala, was among a number of people robbed by a gang near Amjharia Ghati in Latehar district today. The District Superintendent of Police, Maninder Singh Bhatia, said a group of 20 to 25 went on a looting spree on Medininagar-Ranchi Road near Amjharia Ghati under the Chandua police station.

They stopped a number of vehicles, including buses, and looted the people. Sister Nirmala, who was on a two- day visit to Palamu district in connection with some functions, was in a vehicle along with five others, the Bishop of Chandwa, Anthony Xevier Lakra, said.

(The Hindu 22.2.04)

Sister Nirmala, others robbed in Jharkhand

Sister Nirmala, others robbed in Jharkhand

MEDININAGAR (JHARKAND), FEB. 21. The Superior General of Missionaries of the Charity, Sister Nirmala, was among a number of people robbed by a gang near Amjharia Ghati in Latehar district today. The District Superintendent of Police, Maninder Singh Bhatia, said a group of 20 to 25 went on a looting spree on Medininagar-Ranchi Road near Amjharia Ghati under the Chandua police station.

They stopped a number of vehicles, including buses, and looted the people. Sister Nirmala, who was on a two- day visit to Palamu district in connection with some functions, was in a vehicle along with five others, the Bishop of Chandwa, Anthony Xevier Lakra, said.

(The Hindu 22.2.04)

Sister Nirmala, others robbed in Jharkhand

MEDININAGAR (JHARKAND), FEB. 21. The Superior General of Missionaries of the Charity, Sister Nirmala, was among a number of people robbed by a gang near Amjharia Ghati in Latehar district today. The District Superintendent of Police, Maninder Singh Bhatia, said a group of 20 to 25 went on a looting spree on Medininagar-Ranchi Road near Amjharia Ghati under the Chandua police station.

They stopped a number of vehicles, including buses, and looted the people. Sister Nirmala, who was on a two- day visit to Palamu district in connection with some functions, was in a vehicle along with five others, the Bishop of Chandwa, Anthony Xevier Lakra, said.

(The Hindu 22.2.04)

Indian City in Uproar over Death of Nine-Year-Old Girl

Minister says murder in Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh, was a 'well-planned' conspiracy.
by Vijayesh Lal

DELHI, January 22 (Compass) - - Citizens of Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh are still enraged over the murder of a nine-year-old girl whose body was discovered in a mission school compound on January 13. Local government minister Kailash Vijayvargiya believes the violent clashes in Jhabua are the result of a "well-planned" conspiracy.

Hindu protesters allege that Sujata, the daughter of a fruit-seller, was selling fruit outside the Catholic mission school when a young man beckoned her into the school. When she did not return, her brother went to search for her and eventually found Sujata's body on the school grounds.

The following day, a crowd of over 500 people gathered outside the school in Jhabua. The crowd forced their way onto the mission premises, chanting anti-Christian slogans, and pelting stones at staff and vehicles in the compound.

Police initially dispersed the crowd at around 4 p.m. on January 14, but a mob re-assembled on the school grounds at 7 p.m. This time the police used batons to break up the crowd.

Later, police arrested seven staff members, including Father John Sunni, in charge of the mission school, and the school principal.

Observers said the arrests were made to appease the crowd, whose anger had been fueled by militant Hindu groups such as the Hindu Jagran Manch (HJM) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). VHP leader Khumsing Maharaj led a crowd of hundreds to the school premises and demanded the arrest of school staff.

A few days after the murder, police arrested Manoj Jadhav, an employee of an insurance company, who reportedly confessed to the crime of raping and killing Sujata, before throwing her body into the mission compound.

However, Maharaj claimed that Jadhav was mentally retarded and could not be responsible for the crime. He further threatened to take drastic steps if the “real culprits” were not caught.

The Hindustan Times on January 17 quoted a spokesman for the Catholic diocese, who said the Bajrang Dal, HJM, VHP and other Hindu organizations were leading mass protests and spreading misinformation about the incident. The spokesman also said people were being brought in from Gujarat to "aggravate the already tense atmosphere."

Krishna Ben, a Gujarati disciple of a famous Hindu guru, led a mob to nearby Amkhut village soon after the murder and made provocative speeches against the Christian community. The mob later descended on the local Church of North India premises where they ransacked buildings and other church property.

Retaliation soon followed from the local community, which is composed mostly of second generation Christians from tribal backgrounds. The Hindu mob was dispersed, only to return armed and in greater numbers with VHP and Bajrang Dal activists. Several houses owned by Christians were burned to the ground while police failed to intervene.

Arjun Pal, a member of the Hindu organization Seva Bharati, was killed in the clashes that day. Chief Minister Uma Bharati, a Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) hardliner, later paid tribute to Arjun Pal and said the sum of 100,000 rupees ($2,200) had been paid to his family as compensation.

Ms. Bharati, speaking to a gathering of Hindu protestors, said she "strongly disapproved of their negative slogans." However, she was quick to add that the provision of medical and educational services by Christian missionaries in Jhabua should not be used as a cover for religious conversions, reiterating that conversion by means of "enticement" is against the law.

On January 21, the situation remained tense. Anti-Christian pamphlets were distributed openly in bus terminals, at marketplaces and at the funeral of Arjun Pal, now described as a martyr for the Hindu cause.

The pamphlets warned against conversion drives sponsored by "anti-nationalist forces and missionaries," urging Hindus to band together and defend India as a Hindu nation. VHP leaders also alleged that a conspiracy to create another "Nagaland" in Jhabua was underway. The population of Nagaland, a state in northeast India, is at least 50 percent Christian.

Throughout Jhabua, banners and pamphlets continue to accuse Christians of the murder. Many still believe the accusations, even though an investigative team led by minister of state Kailash Vijayvargiya returned from Jhabua convinced that school personnel are innocent.

RSS sees Shiva lingam in stone in stone near Panaji church

Panaji, January 4: A BLOCK of carved stone, which was found in the compound of the Bishop's Palace in Panaji, has become the centre of a controversy.

Church authorities say the stone was found in the palace premises after part of a wall was broken during renovation. But as rumours spread that the stone was found while the ground was dug up, RSS and allied organisations began to lay claim to it earlier this week.

According to Raju Velingkar, in-charge of the RSS Vishwa Samvaad Kendra, the stone was part of a "Shiva Lingam" destroyed by the Portuguese and will have to be "located" where it was found. Sources said a group led by BJP councillors Pritam Rane and Deepak Mapusekar and RSS leader Raju Sukerkar had attempted to gatecrash the Bishop's Palace and make away with the stone on Monday.

But officials at the Bishop's Palace, located just 50 metres from CM Manohar Parrikar's official residence, prevented them from doing so and insisted that the object would be handed over only to the government. Father Olavo Velho Pereira, director of the Diocesan Centre for Social Commu-nicatioas Media, said a process was underway to establish the stone's authenticity. Department of Archaeology and Archives director M.L. Dicholkar said the object would be shifted to the Goa State Musuem and has written to church authorities in this regard.

(Indian Express 5.1.04)

Christmas Celebration turns Sour as Hindu Fundamentalists disrupt Christian Meeting

Believers Charged with spreading communal hatred
By Vijayesh Lal


Sultanpur, UP -- Christmas Celebration on 25th December 2003 in Ramdaspur Village in Sultanpur District of Uttar Pradesh turned sour as Hindutva Fundamentalists and local politicians disrupted a Christian Meeting. According to reports about a 100 believers were meeting in the house of one Dwarka when the police shut down the meeting on the complaint of the Hindu Fundamentalist Groups.

About eight people among the believers were summoned to the police station and charged with spreading communal tension under section 151 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Dwarka, the person in whose house the meeting was held was arrested and then let off after a day.

Dwarka is a laborer living in a Harijan (Untouchable) Colony in Ramdaspur Village, Sultanpur District, Uttar Pradesh. About a year ago when his daughter was ill and they had tried every cure for her, he took her to a Christian Pastor named Joshua as the last resort. His daughter recovered as the Pastor prayed in the name of Jesus and Dwarka started to believe in the Good news of Jesus Christ.

He was met with opposition from his family but that did not dissuade him from organizing prayer meetings in his home. When the above incident happened about a 100 people from surrounding villages were gathered in his house for Christmas celebration.

Hindutva Fundamentalists incited the locals and they falsely accused Dwarka of robbing wood to make fire for the celebration. This was just an excuse to get the police involved, because no case was registered for the same. Instead a case was registered with the charge of spreading communal tensions and the main allegation was forced conversions by Dwarka and his family.

Dwarka was arrested and then released. The Police also wanted to arrest Pastor Joshua claiming him to be the person who is responsible for the conversions but they were not able to do so.

The Local media was briefed by the Hindutva Fundamentalists and carried article against Christians in not only that area but in the entire district of Sultanpur. The newspapers also named one Ramprakash (also a believer from a Hindu Background) of forcibly converting people. The papers talked about a Christian conspiracy to convert tribals and Dalits to Christians and warned people against it. The Fundamentalists largely influence the vernacular media and this is not the first time that this has happened in Sultanpur.

At the moment the Police has instructed Dwarka not to conduct any prayer meetings in his home for Christians. Pastor Joshua has been restricted and is not allowed to go anywhere for visits without informing the police. Meanwhile no action has been taken against the Fundamentalists who have falsely but successfully carried out a hate campaign against Christians in the area. Dwarka, Pastor Joshua and Ramprakash have been receiving threats, some of them very severe and they request for prayers from the worldwide body of Christ.