NON GOVERNMENT WHITE PAPER ON THE VIOLENCE IN THE KANDHAMALA DISTRICT

PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE FACT FINDING TEAM LED BY DR JOHN DAYAL WHICH VISITED THE KANDHAMALA DISTRICT, ORISSA ON 29TH DECEMBER - 3RD JANUARY AND FROM 1ST JANUARY TO 3RD JANUARY 2008

RELEASED AT BHUBANESWAR 5TH JANUARY 2008

Index:
1. Introduction: A tragedy that was waiting to happen and a tragedy that could repeat itself. Conclusions from the facts as the Fact Finding Team found them.
2. Significance to Orissa state, Nation, and Church in India—issues
of grave concern
3. Fact Finding Team Composition
4. Tour programme; Phulbani aborted visit 29-30 December 2007, and the
second visit and 1st to 3rd January 2008
5. Narrative
6. Main Findings of simultaneous violence
7. Suggestions to Union and Orissa Government and Church;
8. Annexure : Illustrative case histories

1. A tragedy that was waiting to happen and a tragedy that could repeat itself. The following are urgent conclusions from the facts as the Fact finding team found them.

1.1 The Events in the Kandhamala hill district of Orissa in the Christmas Week from 22nd December to 1st January 2008 are a story of a tragedy foretold, of political and official condoning, if not actual support to the activities criminals and political activists spreading bigotry, the ideology of hate and violence. It is also a painful narrative of police and administrative indifference, repeated complicity and consistent incompetence. And finally it is the documentation of an utter collapse of the law and order machinery on 24th, 25th, 26th and 27th December 2007. So much in a state where Christians number about 2 per cent, less than the national average.

1.2 There is an urgent Caution, and a Warning in the Kandhamala developments: Unless everyone - Union Government, Orissa Government and its agencies, and religious, social and development agencies wake up and act in concert, there is more tragedy waiting to happen. Like a coalfield fire, passions and tensions are simmering, wounds are suppurating. Only a Judicial Enquiry by a Supreme Court Judge, assisted with the findings of a criminal investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigations, meets the ends of justice.

1.3 It is beyond doubt that the violence was premeditated, pre-planned and the work of a well disciplined group to ensure simultaneous eruption across the Kandhamala district within hours of the first incident, and to sustain it for five days despite the presence of the highest Police officers in the region. It is clear that the attackers were, in the main, upper castes non-tribals and non-Dalits, migrated from other districts of Orissa and other states, though some youth of the suppressed communities had been persuaded to join the mobs. The role of the Rasthriya Swayam Sewak Sangh, Bajrang Dal, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram and their extension organisations must be subject of an intensive investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigations.

1.4 The sequence of events is quite clear. The Christian community and its institutions were targeted for more than 48 hours with the police looking on, and being physically present at the spot in many cases. The anti Christian violence continued till 27th December 007. The anti Hindu violence in Brahminigaon took place more than 60 hours after the first Church was burnt down.

1.5 There are unique, unprecedented and possibly dangerous elements to the Kandhamala violence of Christmas Week 2007, although the state has an unhappy history of recorded and unrecorded persecution of Christians, including the burning alive of Australian leprosy mission worker Graham Stuart Staines and his sons Philip and Timothy, and Fr Arul in 1999, attacks in Rakia block of the Kandhamala and other parts of the hill tracts of Orissa.

1.6 This is the first time at least one Hindu Oriya non-tribal house cluster has been destroyed by arsonists, affecting perhaps a total of 97 families in the villages of Brahminigaon and Godapur.

1.7 This is the first time that there has been reported incident of an exchange of fire between the police and a mixed group of tribals, non tribals and outsiders in Bamunigaon on 27th December 2007. It is in fact a dubious first for India in which Christians’ involvement is alleged. This by itself must be subjected to close study by academics and state organisations, as also by the Christian leadership.

1.8 This is the biggest recorded case of such a allege number of Christian houses burnt, in Brahminigaon and Barakhama, other than Churches, convents and Hostels which have been targets of violence in other states, most notably in Gujarat 2002, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, and occasionally even in New Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Kashmir. We have recorded over 200 cases of violence across the country before the outbreak in Kandhamala in Orissa.

1.9 The burning of medical centres and hostels speaks of a criminal disregard for humanity and the welfare of the people. We were told of several instances where nuns said they and their patients were in need of food and medicines.

1.10 This is the first time in history since Independence that may be 3,000 Christian men, women and children are forced to live in two refugee camps, eating boiled rice not fit for human consumption because of the quantity of sand and grit, and living in the cold wit no toilets, precious little medical care and no woolens. In the camp in Brahminigaon, they share this misery with their Hindu brothers and sisters. The irony is not lost. In the Super Cyclone and other natural disasters that devastated the state of Orissa in the past, Christian NGOs and Church groups were almost always among the first to set up relief camps and rehabilitation projects for the common people irrespective of the consideration of religion and ethnic identity.

1.11 The quality of violence against the Christian faith must be recorded so that lessons can be learnt. It has to be seen to be believed. Hate so deep and pungent does not augur well for the country, and of course, poses an immediate threat to the ideals of secularism and freedom of faith the right to life and the right to dignity enshrined in the Constitution of India. Church buildings are broken, nuns manhandled, priests chased away, convent cows killed as their straw is set afire. These are heinous crimes. The ravishing of statues of Mary, grinding her face under foot till nothing remains but shreds, desecrating the Host which Catholics hold to be the Body of Christ, and vandalizing of ritual holy material before setting everything on fire speaks of a ideologically cultivated venom that has percolated deep and will need deep political and social activism to quell, defeat and eliminate.

1.12 The police force of the district failed on all counts. Government must ensure that in future police action is not thwarted by roadblocks, however big the tree that has been felled, communication failure and lack of mobility. It is a matter of regret for the people of the state, and shame for the Orissa Police authorities, that several incidents of grave violence and heinous crime were committed while the police look on. This happened in more than one block headquarters

1.13 It is a matter of regret that till 3rd January when we spoke to the last police officer before leaving the district, we recorded an extremely partisan, even bigoted, behavior in senior field police officers of the rank if Circle Inspector and Sub Divisional Police officer. Senior development officers of the rank of Commissioner in their language to the victims, and to us, displayed a condemnable cynicism and bias towards a minority community. We are happy to record that junior and young tehsildars rushed in the last days show a more humane nature.

1.14 There is a continuing reign of terror. Many villages are now villages of women. The men are in hiding. Elsewhere, entire villages are deserted. Steps must be taken to create a situation in which the people can return to their homes and not live in terror.

1.15 Despite four days of extensive investigation, we have not been able to speak authoritatively of the number of dead killed by arsonists, in clashes, in police firings, or of injuries. Two dead in Brahminigaon and two dead in Balliguda are confirmed by the police— the one killed in police firing remains unidentified. Any one dead body just confirms a single death, but does not tell how many others may have died whose bodies have not been recovered by the authorities.

1.16 Similarly, only major Church buildings, particularly of the Catholic Church and the Church of North India and the Baptist church can be easily counted because they are along the roadside in major crossroads and towns. Independent Evangelical churches and mission stations of major denominations exist in villages which have still not been reached.

1.17 The State Government’s claims of an overlay of the issues of Maoist activities in the region, the agitation of the Kuis, and the Christmas Week violence is not tenable. The presence of Maoist or Naxalite and the Kui movement are real in some blocks, but the nature of the violence against Christians is in a group by itself. Whatever overlay does exist could have been overcome and much violence prevented if the authorities had not given permission to the hartal, or closures, on Christmas Day, a date with which they are, and ought to be, familiar as educated persons.

1.18 Attempts are also being made to present the incidents as a Tribal versus Christian conflict. The evidence is to the contrary. The relations between Christian tribals and Christian Non tribals, Christian Dalits and Dalits of other faiths, as well as between Christians belonging to the tribal and Dalit communities remain cordial as they have been historically. The issue that remains pertinent is the targeting of Dalit and Tribal Christians by political-religious fundamanentalists.

1.19 It is clear that Christians, both Tribals and Panos, and Dalits of various religious persuasions, are particular victims of violence. Persons opposed to the demand by a section of the community to seek Scheduled status have mobilised and hijacked some of the youth of their followers to join the mobs in various hamlets and town. The issue of Scheduled Tribe status must be amicably resolved with the help of a judicial or similar commission, and through appropriate enquiry without delay.

1.20 The government must, also, sympathetically consider the classification of a group of people who are being discriminated twice over because of their religion. This is a group which was listed as a Scheduled tribe under the British government, and then listed as a Scheduled caste by the State administration. Those of them professing the Christian faith are denied protection of the law, and access to affirmative action programmes of the government, on both counts. They do not get Scheduled Caste Reservation and other privileges because hey are now Dalits. And they do not get the privileges their Dalit brothers and sisters get because as Christians, they are no longer supposed to be even Dalits. They remain in an inhuman, un-Constitutional limbo, discriminated against just for their religious beliefs. This discrimination must end forthwith if the guarantees under the United Nations Charter and the Indian Constitution of Freedom of Faith are to have any meaning.

1.21 The Government of India, the Supreme Court of India and other State agencies must take notice, and learn their lesson. Peace committees as being constituted are not the answer. They have lost credibility. Victims have lost faith in committees constituted of their persecutors. Truth and Reconciliation and an entirely unbiased State are the answer. Every one has a role to play in this.

1.22 Keeping in view the deep distrust that victim communities have of the local police officers, Central Police Forces must remain in the area will confidence is restored.

1.23 Peace and reconciliation will be possible only with justice and truth. The guilty must be identified, prosecuted with all the might of the State. Biased officials, as much as corrupt officials, are responsible for the lack of development in the Kandhamala region. They must be identified so that they are never again in command positions where they can join with communal political elements pursing their agenda of hate. There are many wise suggestions contained in the Justice Wadhwa Commission report that enquired into the murders of the Staines family, as also in other commissions set up in the aftermath of communal incidents in other states. They need to be implemented, specially those relating to the police and the administration, and fundamentalist organisations, if Orissa is to remain peaceful.

1.24 Orissa does not have forums such as a State Minorities Commission which can move fast to restore confidence. The State Minorities Commission, as recommended by the national Minorities commission, must be set up soon with statutory powers.

1.25 Relief too must consist of materials and compensation according to national standards set in states which see communal violence and persecution, and it must also contain compassion, fairness and transparency.

1.26 Irrespective of the slogan Swami Lokhanananda Saraswati, who has made Kandhamala his home in recent years with an avowed objective of purging the region of every Christian presence, Christians are not Enemies of the people of India, or of the State. To say that, as he says repeatedly even in the presence of the police, “Whosoever converts to Christianity becomes an enemy” is a crime under the law of the land. To say “Christians will not be tolerated.’ And to say it on National satellite channels is equally a crime. Action must be taken in the interests of justice and protecting the Constitution. This saintly gentleman is obviously not just above the law, but is the Law in the area, judging by the attitude of the Police and local administrative officers towards him.

1.27 National TV channels and segments of the local media need to do some introspection if in their reportage of the Kandhamala developments, they have observed the Code of Ethics of the Editors Guild of India, and practices observed in their reporting. Secularism, fairness and truth must remain part of the training of your media persons in Media insitutions as week as in Print, Television and Cyber-media Organisations as an on-going process. It is interesting to note that Video interviews of Lokhanananda Saraswati were made by a private videographer, a known activist of the RSS, within the premises of a medical centre of another RSS activist, the tape then telecast without further corroboration. In the tape Lokhanananda Saraswati repeatedly said, “When people become Christians, they become enemies, they become enemies of the nation. I will NOT tolerate this” [translated from the Hindi/Oriya]. This statement, assiduously propagated, went a long way in fanning the fires.

1.28 THE STATISTICS OF THE VIOLENCE:

1. Deaths - Police confirm three deaths - One in the police firing [Unidentified, but unofficially listed as Christian by the police] and two [one Hindu, One Christian] Two each in Barakhama and Brahminigaon. Human Rights activists understand that six persons have died in the police firing in Brahminigaon. The bodies have not been found, presumed taken away by the mob. There have been no deaths reported in the arson though several priests and nuns had a close encounter with death.

2. Missing: There are persons reported missing from almost every hamlet. This is the subject of long term investigations. Many have fled out of fear of the police. Some are in safety with relatives. Others are in police custody with the police not admitting or confirming this. It will take many weeks before a count becomes possible.

3. ARSON: FIRE WAS THE INSTRUMENT OF CHOICE. The arsonist mob was well motivated, well armed and had come prepared with weapons and iron cutting instruments. The following is a preliminary list of the properties/places destroyed and desecrated:

CHURCH INSTITUTIONS DESTROYED [Total - 71]

PARISH CHURCHES [Total - Five]
Balliguda
Brahminigaon
Sankharakhole
Pobingia
Paddangi

VILLAGE CHURCHES [Total - 48 ]
Bodagan-Balliguda
Balliguda town
Kamapada - Balliguda
Mandipanka- Godapur
Jhinjirguda- Bamunigam
Ulipadaro - Bamunigam
Goborkutty-Kattingia
Kulpakia- Nuagam
Dohapanga-Balliguda

7 [Seven] churches, Sirtiguda, Balliguda
4 [Four] churches in Phiringia
7 [Seven] churches in Phulbani
4 [Four] churches in Ruthungia
4 [Four] churches in Kalingia
2 [Two]churches in Tikabali
4 [Four] village Churches - Nuagam
3 [Three] more village church
Boriguda (Padangi)
Bakingia (Raikia)
Dalagam
Iripiguda

This list of village churches is not exhaustive for reasons of topography and accessibility

CONVENTS [Total - 5]
Balliguda
Pobingia
Phulbani
Brahminigaon
Sankharakhole

PRESBYTERY [Total - 4]
Balliguda
Pobingia
Brahminigaon
Padangi

HOSTELS [Total - 7]
Pobingia 2 [Two]
Balliguda 2 [Two]
Brahminigaon 2 [Two]
Minor Seminary (Balliguda)

3.1.6 OTHERS: [Total - 2]
3.1.6.1 Vocational Training Centre (Balliguda)
3.1.6.2 Sarshnanda, leprosy centre (Pobingia)
3.2 HOUSES DESTROYED / BURNT AND LOOTED [Total - Over 500]
3.2.1 400 Houses destroyed and looted in Barakhama, Tractors, cycles, motorcycles / shop goods burnt
3.2.2 31 Christian Houses burnt in Brahminigaon
3.2.3 67 Hindu Houses Burnt in Brahminigaon Oriyasahi
3.2.4 30 Christian houses burnt in Ullipadar [Brahminigaon]
[Arson in Phirignia, which continues, is political involving supporters and opponents of former Orissa minister Padmanabha Behera and the Caste issue]
3.3 SHOPS /OTHER PROPERTIES DESTROYED [Total - 126]
3.3.1 Brahminigaon 81
3.3.2 Godapur [25]
3.3.3 Barakhama [20]
3.4 Vehicles and Other properties destroyed : Survey not yet done
3.5 Animals Killed:
3.5.1 One Cow, Black Jersey milch cattle, Balliguda Convent consequent to arson
[TOTAL PROPERTIES DESTROYED IN ARSON AND MOB VIOLENCE - 697]

RELIEF CAMPS: Government of Orissa has set up two relief camps in Barakhama and in Brahminigaon in school buildings. The conditions in both camps are inhuman and shameful, particularly the utter lack of regard for the needs of women, children and the ill. Despite its experience of natural calamities, the government has not learnt lessons in immediate succor and assistance to the distressed and needy. We find incomprehensible that the Union Home Minister and the Orissa Chief Minister came in a helicopter to Barakhama, came to the Relief camp, and chose to sit under a shamiana or tent and talk to the people across a rope. They did not walk down a few meters to the class rooms where injured and sick people were lying down. Nor did they even bother to look at the cooked rice, full of grit, which the people had to eat for want of anything else.

2. SETTING UP OF THE FACT FINDING COMMITTEE:
The first act of violence [see narrative and sequence of events, below] violence took place on the morning of 24th December 2007 in the small town of Brahminigaon, which has a Police Station, the office or the Revenue Office and other institutions. This is a major entry point to the entire Kandhamala hills region and an important market place. Some Christians own shops and are comparatively better off than others. They have mobile phones, as does the parish priest whose Church was the first to be burnt down. They informed Archbishop Raphael Cheenath and his office, and they in turn informed others including Dr John Dayal in New Delhi. Dr John Dayal and others immediately informed the national media in New Delhi and Mumbai. But it was Christmas Eve and News Planners were focussed on the celebratory and commercial aspects of the Holiday season. The event did not get the coverage it deserved.
Church and Civil Society groups however were alerted, in swift order, the offices of the Prime Minister, President and Union Minister were informed as was the office of the Chief Minister of Orissa. The Prime Minister was not initially available, but a delegation called on Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil on 27th December 2007. President Mrs. Pratibha Patil was met with by the Bishop of the Andamans and Nicobar Islands, and eventually Archbishops Cheenath and Archbishop Vincent Concessao of Delhi met with the Prime Minister. Two public rallies and candle light vigils were taken out in New Delhi as also in Mumbai, Bhubaneswar and other cities.

At those rallies, it was decided that the facts of the Kandhamala had t be ascertained in detail and without bias.
At a meeting of Christian and other activist groups in Bhubaneswar, the fact finding group was set up
The fact finding team consisted of

1. Dr John Dayal, Member, National Integration Council, Government of India, Senior Editor and Political Columnist, and well known national Human Rights activist with experience of many People’s Tribunals and fact finding Missions.
2. Advocate Nicholas Barla, Lawyer and Human Rights expert from Rourkela with experience in Police and social conflicts in the State.
3. Mr Hemant Nayak, social scientist and Human Rights and Development activist, Bhubaneswar.
The team was facilitated by many persons at various stages.
The team made two visits to the district. The first visit was aborted at the Phulbani offices of the Police superintendent on 29th December 2007 after having visited affected churches and Convents in some of the area. The second visit was from 1st January to the night of 3rd January 2008 and covered almost every affected area barring one.
It is important to record the circumstances of the first visit. We believe that Truth must prevail, and that facts, if unearthed early, naturally quench doubts and ensure that rumours are not given currency. W noted in our Press statement in Bhubaneswar on 30th December 2007: I report with deep sorrow and anguish that I and a five member Fact Finding Team that had gone to the Phulbani area of Kandhamala district on Saturday, 29th December 2007, was forcibly expelled by Inspector General of Police Pradeep Kapoor who ordered the Phulbani Town Police Inspector to ensure that I left the district that night. The Town Police Inspector then made us follow an armed police escort for a one and a half hour drive through the night darkness till we reached the border of Ganjam district, where he left us. We could return to Bhubaneswar by 4 am today, 30th December 2007, deeply distressed and feeling very frustrated with the experience. The fact finding team was set up at a meeting of activists in the Swosti Hotel in Bhubaneswar on 28th December 2007 to get an authentic first hand account of the developments and the violence in the Kandhamala district because rumours, absence of authentic media reports and often inaccurate government accounts of the casualties, had left the people confused. There were also fears that lack of authentic information would impact on the confidence building measures and the peace process. I was requested to lead the Fact Finding Team in view of my experience in Gujarat, Nandigram, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan the Northeast. As a matter of abundant precaution, I wrote to the Director General of Police, Orissa, on 28th December 2007. I, inter alia, said “I am a Member of the National Integration Council, Government of India, and the National President of the All India Catholic Union. I am part of a Fact Finding team set up by civil society and Human Rights groups to assess the situation in the violence affected areas of Orissa for us to be able to formulate People’s initiative for confidence building and peace. The team, consisting of six persons including me, intends to leave Bhubaneswar on the morning of 29th December 2007 and return in the evening of 31 December 2007. We will have a night halt in Phulbani. We will appreciate any assistance and facilitation we can get from the Orissa Police and in particular from the Police forces of the District. I am sure your office will take the necessary steps, and inform the District Police of the area.” We drove to Phulbani on 29th December; reaching safely and without any problems, by about 5 p.m. En route we were able to assess the damage done to the NISSWAS School of Social Work set up by Dr. R K Nayak, IAS retired and currently a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. We also saw the damage done to the Carmelite Convent and the Carmel English School. Nuns we interviewed told us how attempts were made to set the convent on fire even as the Nuns were cowering in a room where they had locked themselves in. Two sisters who could escape injured themselves in the process. Later, we went to the Offices of the Police Superintendent to discuss with them our onward journey to Balliguda that evening or early next morning, and to see if there was need for Curfew Passes, which are normally given to Media and other groups. The Inspector General of Police, Mr Kapoor, the Divisional Commissioner and the Deputy Inspector General of Police were present in the room. I was questioned in some detail, always very politely, by Mr Kapoor who wanted to know about my membership of the NIC, my credentials as a journalist and the books I had authored. He also photographed my colleagues and me with his Mobile Telephone camera. I gave a patent reply to every single question. I also pointed out that this was not a government enquiry, but that I would prepare a report I would submit to the authorities and which would also help facilitate the National Minority Commission members who are scheduled to visit the spot on 6th January 2008. I reminded the police were a peaceful group, and our team included an Advocate, apart from interpreters and with expertise in ethnic studies. Mr Kapoor was ever polite, but remained adamant. My colleagues felt they were being interrogated in a police station. Mr Kapoor said he would not allow me to proceed, or even to remain in Phulbani. He said it would not be safe for me, or for the persons with whom I would stay. He said the Rapid Action Force had been deployed in Phulbani town and I had to draw my inference from this fact about the situation and tension in the place. I told him there was no way we would be crashing police barriers. It was not for fear of our lives but in deference to the rule of law that we would go. He was apparently not satisfied. He called the Phulbani police officers and ordered them to escort me out. The Kandhamala region needs not just media coverage and government relief operations. The rescue, relief and rehabilitation programme has to be done in a transparent manner. Already there have been too many complaints of police and administrative apathy, complicity and even aggressive force against one community, the victim community. Independent fact finding teams and the information they give help in maintaining transparency and positively contribute to the peace process. I hope we will be able to visit and record the situation in every affected village as an important part of building long term peace, harmony and in ensuring relief, compensation and rehabilitation.—John Dayal.”

I am very happy the fact Finding team could visit the Kandhamala region again from 1st January 2008 without police escort, without police protection, without official cooperation and with no help other than the goodwill of all people - Christians and Hindus alike.

3. CALENDAR, CHRONICLE AND NARRATIVES OF VIOLENCE:

3.1 SEQUENCE OF ERUPTION OF VIOLENCE BY DATE - dateline --
Church youth and Ambedkar Banika Sangh take permission for Christmas Celebrations. Officials approve. Police C-Inspector and SDO inspect
site and approve. Promise protection from 23rd December 23rd December 2007 - Hindu youth tell Church women and youth not to put up Christmas decorations. Christians show government permission.
24th December 2007 - 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. - Mob forces shops and haat weekly traditional market to close. Police intervenes to get shops opened. Mob attacks market-goers. Christmas pandal on road is destroyed. Two Christians [Sillu and Avinash] are shot and injured
2 p.m. Rumours of attack on Lokhanananda Saraswati attacked in Dasingbadi
6.30 p.m. Evening Church attacked in Balliguda, Convent [cow killed in convent in arson], Seminary, CNI Church, Pentecostal church and burnt. No police action. No curfew.
25th December 2007 - Attacks take place in Brahminigaon, Pobingia, Srasananda, Barakhama, Budaguda, Nuagaon, Tikkawali
26h December 2007 --
28th December 2007 --
VIOLENCE AFFECTED REVENUE BLOCKS, KANDHAMALA DISTRICT:
3.2.1 Daringbari Block
3.2.2 Balliguda Block
3.2.3 Phiringia Block
3.2.4 Phulbani Block
3.2.5 Tikabali Block
3.2.6 Khajuripoda Block
3.2.7 Nuagaon Block
3.2.8 Gumsar Udaigiri Block
3.2.9 Tumudibandha Block
3.2.10 Kothaghar Block

3.2 CHRONICLE OF THE KANDHAMALA VIOLENCE Dec 2007
Sl no. Name of the place Date Time Narration
1. Brahminigaon 9.12.2007 Swami Lokhanananda Saraswati commonly referred to as Swamiji, had come to Brahminigaon and had a secret meeting with the Bighneswaro Banika Sangh who are the members of RSS and VHP. The situation was tensed in and around Brahminigaon on that onwards.

2 Brahminigaon 19.12.2007 Permission for Christmas Celebration was obtained from the Sub Collector and CI Office Balliguda.

3. Brahminigaon 21.12.2007 SDPO visited Brahminigaon. The Christian elders met the SDPO and apprised him of the situation., he also assured his participation in the celebration. He also had called the leaders of both the parties, the Hindus and Christians, but the Hindus did not come for the meeting.

4. Bhubaneswar 21.12.2007- 23.12.2007 The Arya Samaj of Bhubaneswar organized a three days YOGA PROGRAMME of Baba Ram Dev at Capital High School, Unit III of Bhubaneswar. In 25 to 30 buses of people were brought from Kandhamala for the purpose.
On 22nd December all the presidents of RSS from each Panchayat of Kandhamala District had a secret meeting from 11.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. to an unknown place.
On 23rd evening the yoga class was over and all of them back to their respective places. And on 24th morning onwards the attacked begun in the different Church communities.

5. Kandhamala Dist. Headquarter 22.12.2007 The Christian Jana Kalyan Samaj of Kandhamala met the collector and S.P. and handed over written statement against the BANDH called on 25th and 26th December at Kandhamala, but to allow the Christians to Observe the Christmas.

6. Brahminigaon 22.12.2007 The S.P. had come to Brahminigaon to enquire about the situation, learnt the matter but did not put any force there.

7. Brahminigaon 23.12.2007 1.30 p.m. Dr. B.R Ambedkar Banika Sangh of Brahminigaon together with six Sarpanches of the area have appraised the situation and have sent fax message to S.P , Phulbani. And met him at Brahminigaon. Dr. Ambedkar Banika Sangh of Brahminigaon went to the police station and discussed about the tensed situation in the area. They also discussed about the secret plan of performing Yagyan (puja) by Swami Lokhanananda Saraswati and VHP leaders in front of the church.

8. Brahminigaon 23.12.2007 6.30 p.m. One of the members of the Vanika Sangha of Brahminigaon phoned Superintendent of Police Mr. Narasingh Bhol and requested for police force in the village.

9. Brahmunigaon 24.12.2007 6.00 a.m. The Sarpanches of six Gram Panchayats together with Village heads went to the police station and requested to allow the market to be opened, which the RSS and Bajrang Dal people were opposing.

10. Brahmunigaon 24.12.2007 7.00 a.m. The ASI came to the market and told the people to open the market.

11. Brahmunigaon 24.12.2007 8.30 a.m. The weekly market was going on. Suddenly the RSS leader Mr. Bikram Rout, Dhanu Pradhani and others came and threatened the sellers and buyers to stop marketing. They also ordered the shopkeepers to close down their shops and there were already tussled between them. One of the buyers was beaten up by the Bikram and group. The Christian People were in need of buying some of the important articles as 25th was Christmas day.
Some of the Christian members were making Christmas decoration, big pandal for worship, crib, sound system etc for the night worship. The same miscreants came there and asked the community to close down and they threatened not to have any celebration. Here also some tussle between both the groups took place Bikram and others RSS, VHP, Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram Bajrang Dal members came with guns, swords, iron rods and other lethal weapons and attacked on the Christians around 10 a.m. The Christians were unarmed and ran away to the forest to save their lives. On the process two were injured by bullet shot. Some are injured by other weapons. The police was inactive, did not take prompt action on the miscreants and all this took place in the present of the police. The police station is just 400 yards from the Church.
All the Christians ran away to the forest including the priest and nuns leaving theirs all belongings.

12. Dasingbadi 24.12.2007 10.45 a.m. Swami Lokhanananda Saraswati who is known as SWAMI at Jalespatta of Tumudibandha P.S., Dist Kandhamala was going to Brahmunigaon by his vehicle. One private bus was going ahead of his vehicle. Due to narrow road and due to technical fault of the bus it stood on the road at Dasingbadi near upper primary school Dasingbadi.
There is a small village Church in Dasingbadi a little distance on the road side and the Christian youth were busy in decorating their village church for the Christmas. Christmas music was going on. Lokhmananda hearing the sound apparently asked his bodyguards and his driver to go and have it stopped. The security guards and the driver (who are govt. security men) went to the spot, got into an argument with the Christian youth, and at some time pulled down the decorations and the sound boxes etc even as the Christian youth confronted them. There is no evidence of a physical assault on Lakhmananda Saraswati. Because of the controversy surrounding this incident, there is need for a Central Bureau of Enquiry specifically into this as part of a general probe.
Then with his vehicle he went to Daringbari and showed his security men to medical officer Dr. Pradhan at Daringbadi Community Health Center. There he stayed for two days in the family planning office looked after by Dr. Pradhan (who is also a Bajrang Dal member ) There the I. I.C. of Daringbari Mr. Pradhan provided 8 to 10 police man guarding him. The IIC has advised Mr. Laxamananda not to go to Brahmunigaon.
Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan and Mr. Surendra Sahoo who both are of Daringbari went to meet Lokhanananda. Lokhanananda, hearing the incident, that there was tussle between his security men and the Christian youths at Dasingbadi. They also felt sad about the incident and proposed to have peace meeting and resolved the issue. But Lokhanananda said “KRANTI NO THILE SHANTI NAHI , Mote kichhi mado hoi nahi” (in English “without revolution no peace, I am not hurt”) in the present of the I.I.C. and other local leaders.
On 25th December at about 1 p.m. he left Daringbari community hospital by block jeep through Soroda road.
One RSS boy Muna Sahoo who is having video camera he took the interview and statement of Lokhmananda which was telecast on satellite television channels in the media.

13. Balliguda 24.12.2007 7.30 p.m. At About 7.30 p.m. more than 400 miscreants, kumkum on their foreheads, chanting “Jay Sri Ram” most likely the Bajrang Dal and RSS members with guns, Swords, axes, Pharsa and other lethal weapons in their hands broke opened the main gate of the church, abusing the few Christian youths who were busy in decorating and giving the last touches for the worship on the birthday of their Lord Jesus. There was stoning.
They came running towards the youths shouting “SALLE CHRISTIAN MANONKU JEEVAN RE MARI DIYO, GIRJA DHANSA KORO” means “kill the Christians, destroy the church.” The youths together with priest, nuns, hostel boys, seminarians seeing the barbarous nature of the crowd ran to the jungle to save their lives.
Then they collected all the furniture, worship materials, hostel godowns, furniture and all the belongings and set them fire that became assess within few minutes.
The schools, hostels, the sisters residence which is in another compound was also ransacked and put in to fire. The sisters and the hostel girls had very difficult time to save themselves.
One of the sisters was caught and man handled very badly.
A cow died as a consequence of the arson.
All this took place in the presence of the police officials’ right from the Tahsildar, BDO, Sub Collector, IIC etc.

14. Barakhama 24.12.2007 4.00 p.m.

1. The Christian community already knew that some incident would take place, they started their worship at 4 p.m. itself.
2. A group of hoodlums about 2000 people having red marks on their foreheads, armed with swords, axes, pharsa etc. chanting “Jay Sri Ram, Christian manonku mari diyo( Kill the Christians), Girija dhanso koro (Destroy the churches) etc. destroyed the Pentecostal church, which is in the eastern part of the village.
3. Seeing the mob and the flames the Christians of the village started running towards forest to save themselves.
4. The people whose houses are burnt mostly of the Christian community and now are sheltered in the Barakhama high school.
5. The male members of the family are staying in the jungle and officials demanding their females to bring their husband else they would not receive relief materials. On the other hand when the male members are coming to the camp from the jungle, the police are booking them on the falls cases and arresting them. The FIRs are not accepted by the OICs.

15. Brahmunigaon 25.12.2007 10.00a.m.11.45 a.m.

1. First the mob entered the village Church of Ulipodor and destroyed and burnt 30 Christian houses and also beat them very badly.

2. The mob entered the main gate of the church breaking the grills, houses, Church, the priest residents and other places and put fire and thus irreparable damage was done to the Christian community as a whole.

16. Pobingia 25.12.2007 9.00 am The mob entered the Church of Pobingia and instantly burnt the Church, Presbytery, Boys Hostel, Convent and girls Hostel .

17. Brahmunigaon 25.12.2007 2.00 p.m. 1. The miscreants once again gathered and entered in to the market and burned the shops and houses of the Christian community.

18. Bodagan 25.12.2007 Night Church was attacked
19. Kamapada 25.12.2007 Night Church was attacked
20. Kulpakia 25.12.2007 Night Church was attacked
21. Sirtiguda 25.12.2007 Night 7 Churches were burnt .
22. Phirignia 25.12.2007 Night Church was attacked
23. Srasa Nanda 25.12.2007 10.00 p.m In the presence of Magistrate and
22 police personnel the church was attacked and burnt.
24. Ruthungia 25.12.2007 Night 8 village churches were burnt.
25. Kalingia 25.12.2007 day Village Church was burnt.
26. Tikapali 25.12.2007 day Village Church was burnt.
27. Nuagaon 25.12.2007 Night 9 Village Churches were burnt.
28. Dalagaon 25.12.2007 Night Village Church was burnt.
29. Iripiguda 25.12.2007 Night Village church was burnt.
30. Krutumgarh 26.12.2007 1. The non Christian tribals of Krutumgarh collected Rs. 50/- from each family. They had the YAGYAN (puja) in the village. After the puja they were dancing with weapons like swords, sickle, pharsa etc.
31. Padangi 26.12.2007 Night 1. Boriguda Village Church was burnt.
32. Sankharakhole 26-12-2007 Night 1. The mob entered the Church of Sankharakhole and attacked the Church, Convent, Priest residence
33. Brahmunigaon 27.12.2007 12.15 p.m 1. There are differing accounts even by the victims as to how the Oriya-sahi houses were burnt. Some say villagers of local area burnt houses in Paikosahi Others say it was outsiders, even from outside the district.
The police are not giving still a coherent account as to which direction the mob came to the walled where civilians had taken shelter, or were being kept, and the premises of the police station nearby. This is not an open area, and involved rough ground, a narrow road and many houses. Because this is in the nature of an encounter between a mob and the police, with an exchange of fire, this needs a separate enquiry under the law.
There is also need for a through probe as to what happened to civilians injured in the police firing as many rounds were fired. The police admit to one uniformed person injured.
There was police force and it opened fire on them and two were killed and the crowed was dispersed.
THANKS: This Fact Finding Team’s work would not have been possible but for the assistance provided all through by many individuals, organisations and institutions. Institutions and organisations we wish to thank in particular are the Catholic Bishops Conference, the Archdioceses of Delhi and Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, Dioceses of Rourkela and Berhampur, the All India Christian Council, the All India Catholic Union, the United Christian Forum New Delhi. Individuals include Archbishop Raphael Cheenath, SVD of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, Archbishop Vincent Concessao of Delhi, Catholic Fathers Dominic Emmanuel, Madhu Chandra and Advocate Mary Scaria in Delhi and Bernard Bhubaneswar in, Mrityunjay and Madan in Bhubaneswar, Dr Pran Parichha for his motivation and his assistance with the media. Special thanks are due to Mumbai Film Director Mahesh Bhatt and Maharashtra State Minorities Commission Vice Chairman Dr. Abraham Mathai for making it possible to meet with the Chief Minister and facilitating the Team’s interactions with government functionaries. Many Christians and Hindus, tribals and non tribals, government servants and others, who were of help, wish to remain anonymous, and we honour tier sentiments as we thank them. Thanks must also be expressed to two brave drivers who did not care for rumours and drove our SUV with care on the terrible roads. And most of all, we wish to thank the Press—the Print and the Electronic Media—in new Delhi an Bhubaneswar whose interaction, assistance and coverage brought focus on the violence, n hopefully, will also help in the healing of the wounds of the Kandhamala hills.

4. ANNEXURE:
4.1 Illustrative Testimonies of key witnesses / victims
4.1.1 Text of the oral testimony of Catholic Father Rabi Sabhasundar, Parish Priest, Bamunigam, and a born in the district, who saw his parish church attacked, vandalized and then set on fire in the Brahminigaon:
“The Church of Our Lady of Lourd, Bamunigam, Kandhamala District, Orissa consists of around 1630 of 217 families. Like any other year this year 2007, the people of Bamunigam were preparing and getting ready to celebrate Christmas. So they had put up Christmas Crib (Pandal) in front of Christian shops where they used to do usually in every year. The Christmas Crib (Pandal) was decorated with all light and sound and with all the necessary decorative articles. For the Pandal making and celebration, a committee (Ambedkar Banika Sango) had already got the permission from the Collector, Sub-Collector and SP. With the prior permission as they were proceeding with all the preparation, on the eve of Christmas celebration, in order to disrupt the celebration the committee of Banika Sango of Hindu group along with the president of RSS Mr. Bigram Rautho 40 year of age son of Kishore Rautho, Nuagam, Ps. Bamunigam, and Mr. Dhanu Pradhani s/o Bainath, Jhinjiriguda, Bamunigam went to the police station and complained repeately to SI not to have weekly market in Bamunigam. On Monday 24th December, 2007 at 10 am, the RSS president Mr. Bikram along with his RSS members and Hindu business people went to market place and forcibly stopped the people not to have market on that day. Meanwhile the SI of Bamunigam Police Station along with 5 Sarapanch of the locality and majority of the village customers came to the market place and convinced the Mr. Bikram and his team to carry out the market. However, soon after the departure of the SI, Mr. Bikram and his team physically harassed many villages people those who had come to the market. Some were thoroughly beaten with sticks and iron bars. They also showed the weapons to attack them. With the short period of time nearly 200 people came running to the Crib with guns, spears, axe, and many other tradition weapons and they completely destroyed the well decorated Crib. Along with this they also broke, looted and burnt all the shops of Christian people. At the same time some people pour the petrol and burnt three motor bikes of Christian people. Angry mob also burnt one generator, light and sound system and other decoration articles of people of Digapainy, Gajapati district, who were hired and employed by their owner for the Christmas celebration. In the process of destroying the Crib one boy of 15 years of age was shot with a gun. Whereas another boy of 12 years of age was very badly attacked and hurt on the head with a sharp edged sword. Seeing the pitiful condition of this boy when his parents were coming to rescue him, both of them were beaten and hurt with iron bar and by tradition weapons. Seeing this fearful attack, many Christians of the locality and many village customers those who had come from near by villages run for their lives. Taking the advantage and disperse of the helpless people, all the more Mr. Bikram together with his RSS members, Hindu business people and many other Hindu people destroyed the shops of Christian people one after the another. On 24th December, 2007, instead of celebrating the Midnight Mass, most of the Christians with their small children and babies went to the near by forest and had a sleepless night and took shelter on that sever cold dark night. On 25th December, 2007, many people those who took shelter in the forest came to their houses thinking that the atrocity will be stopped. But the atrocity still continued on that day too. At 10 am. around four to five hundred RSS people, Hindu business people of the locality and many other Hindu people those who came from near by Hindu villages marched towards the Christian Street with a slogan “Jai Sri Ram”, Jai Hanuman and they were also shouting and abusing with all kinds of bulgur and threatening words like ‘Magyasala’, ‘Padry Manongku Jalidio, ‘Semango Church ebang Anustano Pudidio, Christian manongu Hatao’, and burnt most of the houses and looted their properties. After having completely destroyed the houses and properties they forcibly entered the Church campus with the guns, petrol, diesel, kerosene, bombs, and many other traditional weapons and broke and burnt the doors, windows, statues, altar, and many other musical instruments, lights and sound, furniture and many other church and religious articles including Bible and completely desecrated the church. Meantime some of them entered the presbytery and burnt the Father’s residence including their two motor bikes, one generator, steel and wooden almirhars and all the documents and furniture and looted several lakhs of properties. After the complete destruction of the church and the presbytery the angry mob went around in search of priests and nuns to harass and burn them alive. Hearing and seeing the destructive behavior of the RSS people, three priests, one deacon, one regent, two brothers, five sisters of Holy Cross Convent, Bamunigam and four domestic workers run to the near by jungle together with many Christian people to save their lives. It is a matter of great sadness that all these atrocities, and destruction was done in the presence of police force. Till today priests, nuns and people are in forests and other near by villages with great fear and anxiety. Though the government has lunched to give relief to the people of both the communities, unfortunately one community of Hindu people are given relief and Christians are neglected. When Christian mothers go to ask for the relief, government relief officials harass them and telling them to bring their husbands. After having experienced the atrocities and harassment from both Hindu community and the government officials, the Christian people continue to live with fear and anxiety. We don’t know how long this atrocity and violence will persist.”
4.1.2 Statement of Sr. Zerina, CSST, eye-witness, Principal, Carmel School, Phulbani:
“The School is situated just about two kilometers away from the Superintendent of Police and Collector’s offices in Phulbani. There are 550 students in our school. The school was started in 1989. There are 98% Hindu students and only 2% Christians in the school. There are 4 Sisters, 4 Christian’s teachers, 13 Hindu teachers 2 Christian staff and one Hindu accountant in the school. Sister Zerina is principal since last two years after completing her M.A. B.A. Bed in 2006. I got news on 23rd December that something would happen and she also leant about the Bandh 25th and 26th December. I wanted to go to Bhopal for a meeting the same evening but one of the shopkeepers told her not to go the next day or at night. The sisters decided not to go to Bhopal for meting. On 24th some local people came and greeted us at 6.30 pm. They also reported that there automobile tyres were being set on fire at Madiguda chowk, just 200 meters away from the school. The same time The Parish priest Fr. Mathew phoned and up said there would be no Holy Mass in the Christ Jyoti parish church. Sr. Zerina also received a phone call from Sr. Christa from Balliguda, saying the problem was escalating. The deputy collector, Shri Arun Parichha, rang up to tell us that there was some problem in Brahminigaon. He said the vehicle of the RSS leader has been attacked and there will be more problem and he has seen the law and order. At about 8 p.m. Sr. Christa from the Convent in Balliguda rang up Sr. Zerina saying the convent of Balliguda had been set on fire. She asked us for our prayers. Te sisters and I panicked. At about 8.30 pm we got the news from Sr. Christa from Balliguda saying they were safe, but feeling suffocated because the premises were filled with smoke. That was the last connection we had with our sisters from Balliguda. On 25th around 9.30 a.m. one Hindu teacher Mr. Sarangdhar came to the school about my travel plans. Fr. Bijya Nayak from Krotamgarh also rang up and warned us of a possible attack on school, convent and parish. We rang up a neighbour, Mr. Paul Raj from Sadhan to ask for help from police. Meanwhile Sr. Christa also rang up and advised as to leave the place taking all the important document. At 11.00 a.m. I went for prayer, there were total of four Sisters, 2 maid servants and 2 girl hostlers who were also with us the convent. At this moment Sr. Rohine shouted “They have come inside.” The mob was shouting “Jay Sriram” and “Kill the Christian”. They all carried swords and other weapons. On seeing the crowd Sr. Rohine and Sr. Hemanti jumped over the convent wall and ran for their lives. One of them sprained her leg in the process. After 15 minutes of the attacked some policemen are came to our school. There has been damage the school, and the school bus.”
4.1.3 Statement of Fr. Laxmikanta Pradhan , Catholic Church Balliguda
“On 24th evening around 7.30 p.m. a huge group of Hindu fundamentalist/ Rahudise with kumkum on their foreheads and carrying lethal weapons like sword, guns, iron rods, axes in their hand rushed to our church abusing the priest and sisters in very filthy language. They broke the main gate and entered the church compound, started breaking all the Christmas decorations, pandal and worship materials. Then they wanted to kill some of the Christian who were busy in preparing the Christmas celebrations. We ran for our life, and took refuge in the jungle. From the hill we could see the flames rising from our Church, residence and hostels. Later we found the church and all the worship materials were burn down. In the residence and hostels also we found that everything was burned down.

Goons destroy Church site at Pitampura in North Delhi

New Delhi 5/12/07
A group of 150-200 people came to the Church of Divine Mercy, belonging to the Delhi Catholic Archdiocese in Pitampura, between 7 and 7.30 this morning and destroyed the work in progress on the premises. They also broke the machines, the generator and scattered
the building material.

They ruffled up the site foreman and threatened him that if the labourers were seen on the land for more than two hours they would all be beaten up and their bones broken. They threatened to come again for a repeat performance if their threats were not heeded to.

The reason for the attack according to the assailants was that they did not want the Church on the premises, as they feared that the people there would soon be converted to Christianity. Fr. Alphonse
D'Cruz, the Parish Priest has have lodged an FIR and sought police protection in the interim period. The local MLA, Mr. S C Vats has been also briefed of the development.

Church demolished in Chhattisgarh in India

Jagdalpur (Chattisgarh, India), SVM News, November 21, 2007: A church that involving with development activities of the tribals was demolished by the activists of Sangh Parivar and Bajrang Dal on November 19 at Manduwa village near Kondagaon of Bastar District in Chattisgarh State in India.

A mob of Hindu radicals attacked Pastor Sudharu of Manduwa Church and burnt the newly constructed church on Monday about 10 at night alleging against converting people, specially tribals to Christianity.

"The attackers surrounded pastors room first, tied the pastor and beaten him up till he became unconcious," Mahesh Minj, a member of the church said to the Salem Voice Ministries (SVM) News Service.

While this time some other assailants were burning the church. Their plan was to burn alive the pastor and the people who were inside of the church building. But those who were with the pastor from his church escaped somehow. And also the church building did not burn completely. So the attackers demolished the remained parts of the church. 

Korla Police registered a case and started investigation.

Rev. Rajan, the Missionary Chief of Jagdalpur area, said that the missionaries working with them do not involve any conversion activities, but working for the development of the tribals. "Yet, we face regular threat from Hindu fanatics." He said.

Paul Ciniraj, the president of the Christian Mibnisters of the Churches of India (CMCI) and Director of the Salem Voice Ministries condemned attack towards pastor Sudharu and demolishing the church.

Christians attacked in Haryana

Eight booked for assaulting Christian missionaries

Posted at Friday, 16 November 2007 15:11 IST

Bhiwani (Haryana), Nov 16: Police today registered a case against eight people for their alleged involvement in physical assault on two Christian missionaries and burning their religious literature.
The two students of a Mission school in Ambala were beaten up by the members of a Hindu organisation when they were distributing religious literature at Naya Bazar area here yesterday, the police said.
They were taken in a procession and later, their religious literature was burnt outside their room.
A case was registered in this connection against eight people, but no arrest had been made so far, they said.
Security had also been provided to the local church in the town.

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Church burned in Bastar

Sangh Parivar Radicals burnt a church and later demolished it in a Bastar village to "protest" against the "conversion drive" taken up by missionaries in tribal pockets.

On November 19th, at 9pm party Bajrang Dal activists entered Manduwa village, some 40km from Jagdalpur and 340km from Raipur, to ransack a newly constructed church before gheraoing the pastor, Sudharu, and staff. The cadre tied the pastor before beating him up. The staff, however, managed to flee from the spot. Sources said Sudharu fell unconscious after the beating.

The cadre stayed at the spot for three hours to watch the church getting burnt and to demolish whatever remained after the fire.

After receiving the information past midnight, senior officials of Jagdalpur missionary rushed to the village.

Police rushed to the spot only to find the village empty. The church authorities lodged an FIR with Korla police station in connection with the incident. No senior police officer could be contacted for their comments as they were in a daylong meeting with the chief minister in Raipur.

Pasator K. Rajan of Jagdalpur Church, , said the activists had mobilised in the village in the evening and had staged a demonstration outside the church.

Later, they retreated only to return and ransack the premises.

He, however, refuted the allegation that the church was involved in any "conversion" drive and clarified that they were working for the development of the tribals.

"The church works for humanity and will never indulge in distorting the glorious culture and tradition of tribals," he said.

He added that missionaries working in the area, totally cut off from mainstream society, are facing regular threat from Hindu fundamentalists.

Church authorities have taken a strong exception to the incident and convened a meeting to discuss the next course of action. Rajan felt that the police failed to take action against the activists involved in the incident.

 

www.persecution.in

Church land Cry

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Calcutta, Nov. 3: Church authorities today demanded immediate steps for the return of their properties that have been “forcibly occupied” by government and private organisations.

They said they would be “compelled” to launch a state-wide movement in February if the government did not meet their demand by January-end. The statement came at a conference attended by more than 250 priests and heads of Christian missionary institutions.

“Government and private organisations are forcibly occupying huge properties owned by churches in Calcutta and the districts. The priests and bishops are running from pillar to post to get them back. But nothing is being done by the government,” said Bishop Brojen Malakar, who heads the Barrackpore diocese of the Church of North India (CNI).

A portion of a 17-acre plot owned by the Baptist Church in West Midnapore has been taken over by a local group to run a school, the church authorities alleged. In Murshidabad’s Jiaganj, the health department has turned a building owned by the CNI into a government hospital.The CNI says it has also lost a plot attached to a school in Dum Dum to a businessman, who has set up a petrol pump there.

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ABVP against reservations to Muslims and Christians

Bhopal, Oct 28: Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad has opposed the reservation meant for the converted Muslim and Christian tribals, as the culture and tradition is the sole identity of the tribals. However In an attempt to solve the problems of the tribal areas and keeping in mind the progress among the tribal areas, the meeting for the tribal region heads of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parisad took place in Bhopal on 27 and 28 October respectively.

Keeping in mind the existing problems of the students and their hostel, during this year a survey of all the tribal hostel of the country have been done in which the current arrangement and ambience regarding the hostel were discussed. A cooperative step was taken for all the troubles noticed after the assessment of the region which results in a new plan of 65 crore for Maharastra meant for new hostel construction and on the spot distribution of the pending scholarship to the students.

It is notable that there will be a report on the hostel survey in Kanpur National Session taking place in the coming month of December. Keeping in mind the challenges of coming time, ABVP is planning programs like career guidance for the tribal students. Meanwhile Asha Lakda National Office Bearer for ABVP said that they are opposed to the reservation given to the converted Muslims and Christian tribals. Lakda said that the converted tribals are leaving behind their culture and tradition and should not be eligible for any caste-based reservations. However they clarified that they are not against the Muslim and Christian community in any way.

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Demonstration against attacks on Nuns in MP

Christian organizations demonstrate against attack

Indore, Oct 28: People belonging to Christian community staged silent demonstration against the assaulting incident met by five nuns of the community two days ago at Bhagirathpura in Indore. They also demanded that strict action should be taken by the administration against the persons involved in the attack on nuns.

While, one of the accused Shivcharan Singh Lodhi involved in the case of assaulting nuns have lodged an FIR with Banganga Police against the nuns for their alleged involvement in conversion activities. The police have booked the nuns under section 3, 4, 5 of the freedom of religion act.

The police had reluctantly registered a case against accused Shivcharan Singh and three others for assaulting nuns while they were heading back to church after a prayer held at the house, owned by a driver in Bhagirathpura area on Friday night. On the report of Anil Minj, the police had registered the case against Shivcharan, Manju and three others for allegedly assaulting the nuns on Friday.

However, accused Shivcharan have claimed in his complaint that all the five nuns including Sugandhi, Shweta, Anna, Sariuja, Kavita along with Anil and Joseph were involved in conversion activities. He informed that they had even tried to offer Rs 15,000 to the locals for conversion to Christianity. The police have begun the investigation, while no arrest has been made in both the cases.

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Nuns attacked again in Madhya Pradesh

26^th October 2007

Five Franciscan Clarists Nuns Attacked in Indore , Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal : A group of  people wearing khaki shorts and white shirts with sticks barged into Mr. Anil ‘s house. The sisters along with people were praying in the house of Mr. Anil who is a catholic and driver of the Franciscan clarist sisters. The incident took place at around 8.30 pm. A mob allegedly lead by Mr. Mehra, Mr. Shivcharan and Manju began to beat them falsely accusing them of attempt to convert. The incident took place at shukliya ,15 kilometers away from Nanda Nagar Indore city in Madhya Pradesh. The sisters were reached back to the hospital with the help of  district collector of Indore.

The sisters who were beaten are Srs. Jincy (4o), Sr. Sayujia (27), Sr. Pavitra (26), Sr. Sweta (26) and Sr. Anna Maria (27). All of them are injured, the condition of Sr. Jincy is said to be serious with head injuries.  She is still in the hospital.

Shukliya area comes under the Banganga police station. The Police refused to file FIR till 7 pm in the evening on 26^th October. The Additional S.P and CSP Mr. Parasor said to have threatened the Christians of dare consequences of filing the FIR. By evening around 6 pm Fr. Joseph Vallasery informed the Regional Public Relations Office , Bhopal,  of the worsening situation in Indore. He said, “Due to Global Industrial Meet no police officer or any senior officer is ready to listen to any thing, even the media refused to cover the news from Indore sighting this.”

After discussions with Archbishop Dr. Leo Cornelio, Chairman, Catholic Bishops Council of Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh, Fr. Anand Muttungal, Regional Public Relations Officer & Spokesperson, spoke over the phone to Shri. A R Pawar IPS, Director General of Police, Madhya Pradesh, about the dawn to dusk hunger strike that church plans for 27^th October in Indore which is also the day of the Global investors meet in protest against the inaction of the police and their refusal to file FIR.”   The DGP assured immediate action and registration of the FIR.

Around 8 pm the DIG and SP Indore spoke to us and assured us of immediate action. They also requested to withdraw the hunger strike planned for 27^th October. Police immediately sprang in to action. Taking into consideration of the larger interest of Madhya Pradesh in terms development expected through Global Industrial Meet , Catholic Church of Madhya Pradesh differed the date to 28^th October 2007.

We request you all to keep us in your prayers.

Fr. Anand Muttungal

PRO & Spokesperson

Catholic Church, M.P & C.G

Technorati tags: beaten, attacked, Christian Persecution India, Madhya Pradesh

Pastors humiliated in Orissa

Pastor Pran Ranjan Mali (Independent), Pastor Santosh Kumar Majhi(IPC), Pastor Jayson Badra & Pastor Roshan Lima(BCI), along with other friends are engaged in the evangelical work & have been preaching the gospel in Jagatsingpur District of Orissa, and the nearby villages for many years.

On Tuesday October 23rd these Pastors were on their Mission distributing the 100 New Testaments & Gospel Tracts to 42 Mouza village under Govindpur P.S. of Cuttack District.

They arrived at the village at around 10AM and began going door to door selling of the New Testaments & free distribution of different gospel tracts.

They continued to evangelize till 2 PM undisturbed and sold 40 New Testaments & distributed many tracts of around 100 gospel tracts.

Suddenly at around 2.15 PM, they were followed with a group of 15 to 16 Hindu fanatics belonged to Sangh Parivar who gheraoed & stopped them in continuing the gospel work. They accused & scolded them with vulgar words & took them forcibly to their village temple while threatening to tonsure them after some time.

As some of the radicals guarded these poor, innocent evangelists & organised a Brahmin to perform the ritual of Tonsuring & Sprinkling with Cow's urine in order to 'sanctify these 4 Pastors.

Thanks be to our Sovereign Lord, who protected these Pastors like Daniel in the Den of the Lion

The radicals could not organize things instantly, they had no alternative but to take them again forcibly to the Police station & handed them over there with a false charge of doing forcible conversion violating OFRA ACT( Orissa Freedom of Religion Act.

Police after arresting, also scolded them on the same ground and put them in the Custody the last whole night with a threatened note that they will forward them to the Court today. Police never allowed them to talk to anybody.

From www.persecution.in

Meeting disrupted in Maharashtra

Maharashtra: Vikramgarh Taluka, 23^rd October 2007

A healing meeting was disrupted by a frenzied mob and people were beaten up and roughed up for attending the same in Maharashtra’s Vikramgarh Taluka.

Pastor Victor Periera who organized the meeting was thrashed up too and ended up in a hospital in Vasai area.

The attackers arrived in two trucks which speaks about the preparations done by them. They not only beat up people but also abused them by their words and hurt their religious feelings.

The police have arrested 6 people.

Technorati tags: attacks, beaten, maharashtra

Christians troubled in Raipur, Chhattisgarh

The Church of God in Raipur Chhattisgarh has become the target of fascist Hindutva forces as the dharma sena accompanied by the police cross all limits and infringe on the rights of the minority community in the city.

The Church of God was having a 5 day convention from the 16^th to the 21^st October 2007 during which they, like any other Church, had a baptism ceremony for their members. What they did not know was that the Dharma Sena recorded the baptism ceremony secretly and passed on the video to the police citing it as a (sic) proof that the Church was indulging in forcible conversions.

The police instead of registering a case against the Dharma Sena of intruding in privacy, registered a case against the Church of God. In the evening the police further tried to disrupt the Church service by entering the Church premises forcefully accompanied by the Dharma Sena activists. The CSP Shashi Mohan Singh, the SP Umed Lal Singh, the Raipur magistrate and Dharma Sena activists were the ones tried to break in the Church. They left only when the Church gave them a list of the people baptized and after interrogating some of the newly baptized members. This is an out and out trampling of the fundamental rights of the minority community and can only be termed as “dadagiri” in the best possible terms.

The Church of God with membership of over a thousand is easily capable of bringing the city to a standstill but the chose to look otherwise and were rewarded with stone pelting in the nights.

For the last few days the Church has been regularly been pelted by stones and the Dharma Sena officials are giving slanderous statements on the local TV channels. The recent threat made by the Dharma Sena chief is that, “We will go all out and destroy them (Christians).” With the BJP in power in the state, what else can one expect?

Technorati tags: attack on Church, dis-information, false cases

Incident report from Chhattisgarh

DISTT. - BASTAT (JAGDALPUR), CHHATTISGARH
October 5’ 2007

October 11'2007

NAME OF THE VICTIM : Pastor Chainu Patel and Sagundas Jurri

FAMILY OF THE VICTIM (PASTOR CHAINU PATEL):
Wife - Housewife and ministers with husband
Younger brother - Chaitu,lives with Pr Chainu and studies in class 12th
Father & Mother - lives in Kaneri village, near Kondagaon.
CHURCH : House church in Murnar is the part of the Believers Church (GFA), Kanker, Chhattisgarh. It is a growing church amidst difficult circumstances. This house church was started about 3 years back.
ORGANIZATION : Believers Church in India (GFA)
LOCATION : Murnar is a small village, about 15 kms from Kanker and Keshkal each. Murnar falls under Murven gram panchayat and under the jurisdiction of Kondagaon Sessions Court. It is situated in Bastar(Jagdalpur) district, Chhattisgarh, India.

Kanker is a small town and the district headquarter of North Bastar. Keshkal is a large village on the national highway. There has been much persecution of the Christians in last three years in Kanker town and nearby villages and in the villages near Kondagaon . Villages of Kanker and Jagdalpur districts are heavily under influence of naxalism.

INCIDENT :
Date - October 5'2007
Time - 04:00 PM
Three days fasting prayer was arranged in the house of Sagundas Jurri from October 4th to 6th. Sagundas is an unbaptised believer, who has opened his house many times for meeting of the church. There are 5 believer families in the village. There were about 20 persons including women and children, present in the meeting. Most of them were believers from non Christian background.
At about 02:00 PM on October 5th, a group of fundamentalists sent message to Pastor Chainu Patel and Sagundas to appear before the village council of Gond tribal community . Since fasting prayer was going on, they refused. After sometime, same message was  sent to them again. They again expressed their inability to appear. Finally at about 04:00 PM, 15 of them led by Rameshwar Usendi stormed into the house. They were shouting slogans to stop conversions and were also shouting false allegations against conversions. Local believers were threatened to hold such meetings.
Similar incident occurred in Dundera village, half a kilometer away from Murnar, about a month back. A pastor was similarly questioned, threatened and forced to stop holding meeting in the village.
Pastor Chainu Patel and Sagundas were forced by this fundamentalist group to accompany them on a tractor to the alleged meeting of the Gond community at nearby village of Munver. But instead of the aforesaid meeting, Pastor Chainu Patel and Sagundas were staraightway taken to Keshkal police station and were handed over to the police. A group of fundamentalist people was already present there.
The complaint was lodged by Rameshwar Usendi. He accused them of conversion by allurement and hurting the religious sentiments. FIR was lodged against Pr Chainu Patel and Sagunram under section 295(A) and Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Bill.  No complaint against the assailants has been registered.
CURRENT SITUATION:
Bail application has been rejected in the lower court of Keshkal on October 6th and the police has obtained remand upto October 18th.
Preparation is underway to file the bail application in the Sessions Court of Kondagaon.
By-election in Keshkal is likely to be held in the month of November. Mr Mahesh Baghel of the BJP was MLA from this seat. He died in a road accident about a month back. This incident of atrocity against the Christians is directly corelated with BJP's attempt to hold the seat, by polarising the "Hindu votes".

ACTION BY THE FORUM:

Information of the attack came to the leaders of Chhattisgarh Christian Forum at about 10:00 AM on October 6th. Forum took immediate steps to build up pressure upon police and administration to take proper action against the assailants and to protect the village congregation.
Local pastors and leaders of Kanker, Keshkal and Kondagaon were mobilised to come forward and express their solidarity with fellow brothers.
A delegation of about 30 pastors and Christian leaders of Jagdalpur were mobilised immediately to meet the Superintendent of Police of Bastar(Jagdalpur) to present the real picture before him.
The Forum has been in continuous touch with the local leaders.
The Forum works in cooperation with EFI and Open Doors India.
PRAYER REQUEST:
Please uphold Pr Chainu Patel, Sagundas and the congregation before the Throne of Grace.

From A. Edgar

GFA Students beaten up

Sources: Gospel for Asia, Assist News Service

Six Gospel for Asia Bible college students were assaulted Saturday, Sept. 15, by anti-Christian extremists while they passed out literature and shared the gospel in western India's Gujarat state. The extremists accused the students of trying to convert people to Christianity. Gujarat is home to some of the most vocal anti-Christian extremist groups in India.
The state also has an anti-conversion law which severely limits the ability of its citizens to leave the country's traditional religions. During the attack, the extremists also seized and burned the gospel tracts, Bibles and other books the students were carrying. Then they took the students to the police station. One student managed to escape during the scuffle and went to get help from GFA leaders at the college.
When the leaders made it back to the police station, they found that the students had been released, and no charges had been filed. The students suffered only minor bruises as a result of the attack and praised the Lord that they were released without any additional problems.

Church attacked in Chhattisgarh

ATTACK  ON  SALVATION  PRAYER  TOWER  CHURCH
KANKER, CHHATTISGARH
September 23’ 2007

Name of the victim : Pastor Praduman Meshram

Family of the victim : Wife - Nurse in a government hospital of a nearby village, Daughter - 7 yrs, Son - 4 yrs.

Church : Salvation Prayer Tower is a growing church amidst difficult circumstances. Pastor Praduman cooperates with EFI Chhattisgarh and has recently applied for life membership. The church was started in 1999.

Organization : Uddhar Samaj Sevi Sanstha

Location : Sanjay Nagar, Kanker, Chhattisgarh, India. There has been much persecution of the Christians in last three years in Kanker town. Villages of Kanker district are heavily under influence of naxalism.
Incident :

Date - September 23'2007

Time - 11:30 AM

Pastor Praduman Meshram was leading the regular Sunday worship of the church, in a small hall adjoining the house of a believer, which is being used as the church building. Worship service started at 10 AM. There were about 30 women, 15 children and 10 men in the congregation. Most of them were believers from non Christian background.

At about 11:30 AM, about 20 youth belonging to local Bajrang Dal stormed into the church. They forcibly took Pastor Praduman Meshram out and started beating mercilessly. Local congregation specially women immediately came forward to protect their pastor.

Motorcycle of the pastor was also badly damaged. Meanwhile someone from the congregation informed the local police, which reached the spot in about 15 minutes. All assailants fled from the place as soon as police arrived.

Pastor and believers were taken to the police station. Complaint was lodged against the assailants and statements of the pastor and six sisters of the church were recorded. Pastor was taken to the government hospital for medical check up.

He sustained many injuries, specially  in the chest and thighs. He was discharged from the hospital after preliminary treatment. All of them were released from the police station at about 9PM.

No FIR has been registered so far.

Please uphold the pastor and the congregation before the Throne of Grace.

Respectfully submitted by,

A.Edgar

Allahabad HC judge wants Gita to be national holy book

Aasim Khan / CNN-IBN

Tuesday , September 11, 2007

New Delhi: " It is the duty of every citizen of India under Article 51-A of the Constitution of India, irrespective of caste, creed or religion, to follow dharma as propounded by the Bhagvad Gita".

This is not a chorus by any Saffron brigade, but the pronouncement of a judge of the Allahabad High Court . Justice S N Srivastava made this observation on August 30, while hearing a case filed by Shyamal Ranjan Mukherji, a priest at the Gopal Thakur Mandir in Varanasi.

Says Allahabad High Court lawyer, Krishna Shukla, "The Bhagavad Gita was an inspiration to all who took part in the struggle for India's independence and the preachings in the holy book are for the common man, and not for any particular caste or creed."

The saffron brigade however insists that the judgement has nothing to do with the judge's religion. Says member Vishwa Hindu Parishad, B P Singhal, "He has justice in his mind, not as a Hindu, but as a judge."

However if one looks back at the track record of S N Srivastava , there are other controversies as well. On April 5 this year, he had ruled that Muslims were not a minority group in Uttar Pradesh. The order was, however, stayed the very next day by a division bench of the High Court.

His ode to dharma came at the very end of his career, just five days before retirement.

Says columnist Saeed Naqvi, "The Bhagvad Gita is a part of India's culture but they are trying to make it a religious text."

In the words of the judge, if we can have a national bird, we might as well have a national holy book too. But then, are such sweeping statements appropriate for a custodian of the law, in a secular republic?

(With inputs from Abhishek Patni in Lucknow)

www.ibnlive.com

Indian Christian Employees Persecuted in Saudi Arabia

SAUDI ARABIA (ANS) -- Seventeen Indian Christian employees are under house arrest and have been suffering severe persecution at a water company in Asir province in Saudi Arabia since August 15.

This information was revealed by Manoj of Kerala State, who escaped from the Saudi company and managed to get back to India, says a report from Salem Voice Ministries News Service.

They don't even get proper food and needed treatment, he said.

"There were 22 youth selected and sent to Saudi Arabia by a recruiting agency for the posts of driver come salesmen during the last week of April, 2007. The company offered them eight hours duty per day, good salary, and flight charges from India," Manoj told Salem Voice Ministries (SVM) News Service.

"But the company did not keep the promises, because the employees were Christians. They did not pay back their flight charges either," Manoj continued. "Employees were told to work in the company 18 hours per day without any rest. They were treated as slaves. Company authorities did not want to consider them even as domestic animals," Manoj said with tears.

According to SVM News Service, Manoj became sick during that time, but the company did not sanction him leaving. Manoj became worse and his friends took him to the hospital. That action provoked the company authorities and they started more persecution of the other Christian employees and put them under house arrest.

"They hardly get proper food in the custody. When they are being provided some food, Arabian people are spitting on it and giving them to eat," SVM News Service said.

When Manoj became seriously ill, the company sent him back to India without giving him a salary and allowances. Manoj told SVM News that he did not have a single coin with him. He sent a missed call to his brother, so that his brother called back from his mobile and learned that Manoj was arriving back in India and went and picked him up from Trivandrum airport.

Ronald Alex from Iritty in Kannur district was one among those 22. "He regularly used tp speak to us from Saudi Arabia by phone. But since August 15 we did not receive any call from him. So we enquired and found he is under police custody,"

Ronald's father Baby and mother Gracy told Paul Ciniraj, the director of Salem Voice Ministries.

Another young man, Jose Chacko, son of Chacko and Mariamma from Iritty in Kannur district fears arrest by Saudi police and is in hiding in a Keralite's home.

By Michael Ireland
ASSIST News Service

Click here for source

Polls in the air, UPA brings Muslim quotas on the table

Jayanth Jacob / D K SINGH

Posted online: Wednesday, September 05, 2007 at 0000 hrs IST

New Delhi, September 4

Sensing the inevitability of mid-term elections sooner rather than later, the UPA government is believed to be working out reservation benefits for Muslims and Christians. The plan is to bring a “sub-quota” for Muslims within the existing 27 per cent OBC quota and to include Christian and Muslim Dalits in the Scheduled Castes List.

This comes along with fast-tracking a slew of measures: implementation of the Justice Rajinder Sachar committee’s recommendations on minority welfare, legislation for unorganized sector workers and a more humane relief and rehabilitation policy.

Highly placed sources in the Congress have told The Indian Express that the government plans to issue an “executive order” to provide for a sub-quota for Muslims. Although a section of backward Muslims do get this benefit in the OBC category, their share in the reservation pie is minuscule. The Muslims, it is being argued, will stand to gain “substantially” in terms of their share if a sub-quota were to be created within the existing quota. And as they will be eligible for this benefit on the basis of social and educational backwardness, it will also circumvent existing court rulings against reservation on religious grounds.

Sources said the sub-categorisation of communities under OBC quota on the basis of relative backwardness had been recommended by the National Commission for Backward Classes over a decade ago but successive governments have been sitting on it.

Sources said the government is also working out ways to include Muslim and Christian Dalits in the SC List — a matter which is at present in the Supreme Court. The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950 originally restricted the SC list to Hindus but was later opened to Sikhs and Buddhists; it still excludes Muslims and Christians from its purview.

Tahir Mahmoud, member of the National Commission on Religious and Linguistic Minorities headed by Justice Ranganath Mishra, told The Indian Express that this could not be done via an executive order.

“The First List (Constitution Order 1950) was made in the name of the President of India on behalf of the government of India. But it is provided in the Constitution that any amendment to this 1950 Order could be done by Parliament only,” he said.

This comes shortly after the UPA announced a string of measures for minority welfare in Parliament last week in the wake of the Justice Rajendra Sachar committee’s recommendations.

Click here for source

Christian converts cease to be Indians

Durban: A Hindu religious leader in South Africa has caused a storm within the Indian community by saying that those who convert to Christianity will "lose their right to be Indian".

Thillayvel Naidoo, an executive member of the South African Hindu Maha Sabha and a Tamil linguist, made the remarks after a Christian convert, Deena Muthen, urged people to maintain their language and culture even if they convert.

Muthen, who is now a pastor practising in the large Indian-dominated residential township of Chatsworth in Durban, told his congregation that they should be proud of their rich language and culture.

But Naidoo said Muthen's comments were "tricks" to entice gullible people to convert to Christianity.

"Those who reject their religion lose the right to be completely Indian. He (Muthen) is distracting people with his Tamil preaching and hymns. Just because he preaches in Tamil does not mean anything, and I condemn it," he said.

However, Muthen, a former Hindu priest, rejected the assertion saying he made the comments because there was hunger for Indian culture and language among Indian Christians.

"I have been urging churches to become more culturally involved. People desire to know their heritage, and we can teach them Tamil. There is a lack of knowledge among Christian Indians, but this does not mean that we are not Indian or less than Indian," he said.

Click here for source

Priest arrested in Mumbai

By James Varghese
Special to ASSIST News Service
MUMBAI (BOMBAY), INDIA (ANS) -- Bajrang Dal activists handed over to Mumbai police a church father on charges of "forcible conversion" on Sunday, August 26.
According to a report carried on www.hindujagruti.org, an Indian Hindu web news portal, Fr. Edward was offering false promises of monetary help, foreign jobs, taking care of children etc. The site also claimed that Fr. Edward converted 40 "gullible Hindu families."

The Bajrang Dal activists told hindujagruti news, "The converted families were poor and hailed from the Bhyandar, Jogeshwari and Andheri areas in Mumbai City."
Their story alleged that "taking advantage of their poverty, Fr. Edward asked them to assemble at Vidyavikas School in Andheri where a mass was to be conducted on every Sunday and from there, they were taken to Juhu Beach to participate in program of conversion and only after which they were to be offered certain facilities.

"Once the people got there, the Father asked them to take a dip in the sea so as to purify them. Later, he started making statements like 'Your God is a devil. Only Jesus is the true Lord.'"

Seeing the priest doing this kind of an activity the Bajrang Dal activists caught hold of the Father and took him to Santa Cruz police station and lodged a complaint against him. After due enquiry, police filed a case against the Church Father and kept him in custody at D. N. Nagar police station. He was booked under Section 295-A and 508 for "deceit and bribery," by the police. He will be presented in Andheri Court for hearing.

Bajrang Dal is sometimes translated as "Monkey Brigade" and is the youth wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), and one of its family of organizations (Sangh Parivar) based on the core ideology of Hindutva (Hindu nationalism).

Assist News Service

New Believers Open Prison Doors for Pastor's Release

BILASPUR, INDIA (ANS) -- A beaten pastor awaits his fate under police custody. Pastor Palakar from Chhattisgarh was assaulted and accused of converting a nearby village. During his interrogation, the whole village flooded the prison, requesting the release of Pastor Palakar. However, the investigator questioned their intent in wanting this pastor released.

"When we were in trouble, no one helped us except this pastor," one of them said. "No one even cared for us, but this man brought joy, peace, and love to our families. We want you to release him or arrest all of us because we are all followers of Jesus."

They released the pastor and the church is growing even more in their commitment as Christ followers.

But still, divine appoints occur when people stand up for the truth. Such phenomena are occurring through Hindustan Bible Institute (HBI), which exists to give every Indian an opportunity to hear, understand, and respond to the Gospel. Their ultimate goal is discipleship. Their God-sized purpose is inspiring; and it is becoming a reality.

Four thousand individuals are being trained up per year through HBI's leadership and discipleship training programs, so that for every 1000 Indian people in each people group will have a dynamic transformational church.

"God continues to network us into various parts of our nation. We believe by the year 2020, we will be strategically distributed to reach every people group of our nation," as stated in the President and Director's 2007 Annual Report.

Dr. N. Paul V. Gupta's initial vision and passion began in 1952. His strategy was to reach the unevangelized by equipping one Indian to reach another Indian for Christ, so he established Hindustan Bible Institute in Chennai, India. Today, his son, Dr. Paul (Bobby) Gupta, carries this zeal and strategy forward with amazing results.
Just in the last 12 months, 396 churches were planted where no church previously existed. Services may have up to 35,000 people, who worship for three to four hours in the sweltering heat. In 1985, India had about 114,000 churches. Currently over 500,000 worshipping communities gather in homes, worship centers, preaching points, new church plants, and church
buildings. Pray for HBI as they share the liberating Truth throughout India.

Pastor Attacked in Chhattisgarh

Pastor Charles Patel of Chhattisgarh is attaked during Sunday Service on 26^th Aug

This incidence took place today(26^th August07) at Priyadarshini Nagar near Maitri NagarBhilai Dist Durg in the Central Indian State of Chhattisgarh [Priyadarshini nagar is about 10 kms from Durg] Around 12:30pm. Church ,a Baptism Service in a nearby river and after that they came to the Church which is a house fellowship run at Bro S. D. Patel’s house in Priyadarshini Nagar As the Church Service was progressing on ,Bajrang Dal activists entered the Church premises and started shouting and then they entered the hall were the fellowship was going on, along with them came the Police. Police asked the Pastor to Stop the meeting. The Bajrang Dal Goons told the Police that these Church people are converting people to Christ. The Police summoned the members of the Church to go to the Police Station for an Inquiry. The whole Church of about 52 people old young children went to the Nevai Police Station at 2pm which is about 12 kms from Durg and 2kms from Priyadarshini Nagar.

The Police started interrogating all believers and the persons baptized and all of them were strong in faith so the Police could not find anything against them. The believers both new and old declared that they love Jesus and gave their personal testimonies. That they tasted the Lord and so they came to Christian faith. So at around 4pm 40 members consisting of ladies and children were allowed leave the station. Twelve members were detained for further investigation . The believers went home praising God When their allegations proved wrong, the Bajrang Dal Goons went out and hired some of their sympathizers to give False Testimony against Pastor and the Church. These hired radicals came and informed the Police that they were told to get converted and alleged that Rs. 500/- was offered to each one of them by the Pastor. The Police connived with the criminals and on the basis of false testimony arrested sixty-five year old Brother S. D. Patel and 35 year old Bro. Neeraj Martin The brothers from the Church saw clearly the Bajrang Dal Goons handing over the money to the fellows who gave false witness against the Pastors Bro S. D. Patel and his own brother. Charles Patel 56yrs old are Pastors in this
independent Church. S. D. Patel is retired from Bhilai Steel Plant in 2001 and then he started serving the Lord and Bro Charles Patel took Voluntary Retirement from Hindustan Steel Work Construction Ltd in 2001 and started serving the Lord. These brothers were in the Police Station from 2pm till 10:45 in the night.

The Police filed the FIR at around 9pm and at 10:45pm Bro Charles Patel and the others were allowed to go Bro S. D. Patel and Bro Neeraj Martin have been kept in Police Custody. They will be produced before the court tomorrow .Do special prayer for this dear brethren that the Lord may strengthen them and bless them richly and for an early bail hearing

Pastor Sam Mathew

GCIC Coordinator for M. P

Persecuted Church of India Yahoo Group.

Anti Conversion law in trouble

Chhattisgarh anti-conversion Bill runs into trouble
Wednesday August 22 2007
PTI
RAIPUR: After Gujarat, the anti-conversion Bill of the BJP government in Chhattisgarh has run into trouble as the governor has raised objections to some of its provisions, official sources on Tuesday said.

The governor has objected to some of the provisions of the dharma Swatantreya adhiniyam-2006 passed by the assembly in August last year, a top official told PTI here.
Governor E S L Narsimhan and his predecessor K M Seth had raised objections to two provisions in the Bill- obtaining permission from the district collector before any conversion or face punishment and allowing people to return to Hinduism and not treating this as conversion, the official said.

Such provisions were proposed in the existing law by the BJP government as the saffron party had alleged large-scale conversion of Hindus to Christianity during the previous Congress administration led by Ajit Jogi.

The governor wanted to know why the government thought of bringing in an amendment into the existing act which was in force since the days of undivided Madhya Pradesh, the official said.

The BJP came to power in Chhattisgarh, which was carved out of Madhya Pradesh in 2000, in December 2003. Governors of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, all currently ruled by BJP, had also raised
objections to provisions in similar bills with Gujarat governor naval Kishore Sharma recently returning the Bill to Narendra Modi government.

www.newindpress.com

Christians attacked in Karnataka

From our Correspondent

Bangalore: Hindu fanatics attacked Christian believers gathered at a church in Amruthahalli of Yellehanka, Karnataka on 19 August 2007. The attackers wrote slogans and pasted symbols like Om all over the church walls and its gate.

Pastor Thomas Koshy, the minister in charge of Indian Pentecostal Church at Amruthahalli, who has been working at the village for the past six years, said a group of Hindus came to the church and asked him to stop the Sunday worship service. They blamed him for all conversions in the village and warned him of serious consequences if he did not obey them.

The Pastor decided to have the worship service in another place. So he went to consult his superior at Lingarajpuram. Unaware of the development, the believers began to arrive at the church. As they were waiting for the Pastor, a group of 40-50 Hindu fanatics arrived and started to attack the believers. While some of the believers ran away, some of them took shelter at the house of the Pastor. The attackers followed them and locked them up in the house.

One of the believers reported the police station at Yellahanka. The police arrived and freed the believers locked up inside the house. When the Pastor returned, he found the church building covered with Hindu slogans and symbols. The Police were trying to blame the Pastor for the development. They allegedly threatened the witness asking him to keep himself away.

The Pastor and his believers filed an FIR with the police. Although the police promised protection for the church, no arrest had been done so far. The owner of the building in which the believers gather was asking the Pastor to vacate the building. “The believers are also being threatened by the fanatics, who say they will beat and kill them if they try to gather at the church again,” sources said.

www.aiccindia.org

RSS attacks Christian Meeting in Uttar Pradesh

Reports have just come in that a huge mob of RSS and Bajrang Dal activists attacked the Kacchuwa Mission Hospital near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.

The hospital authorities had organized an Independence Day celebration where in they had organized Children’s competitions and events in which about 400 Dalit Children were participating along with their parents. This was happening with the knowledge of the authorities and the police was duly informed about it.

The RSS and the Bajrang Dal raised an objection to it and had complained about the event to the local authorities which had prompted the local authorities to further investigate the event following which they gave a clean chit to the mission.

Infuriated by this the RSS and the Bajrang Dal today called on their cadre from various places near Varanasi and a huge mob attacked the mission at about 10:00 am. They destroyed property and caused mass vandalism and scared the children who started to run and took shelter at the back of the stage.

Brother Raju Abraham tried to reason with the group and asked them to speak with him so that things could be solved through dialogue but the attackers hit him and roughed him up. He has a deep wound above his left eyebrow. Pastor Joy who was with Brother Raju Abraham, when tried to stop the attackers was also beaten up.

According to reports the attackers shouted anti Christian and anti Dalit slogans and cause mass panic.

It was only later that the police reached the spot. Last heard the Local Magistrate had arrived on the scene and statements were being taken.

Please pray for the Christian leadership in this situation that they will be able to maintain a good testimony at this time.

Indians attacked on Independence Day

In a demoralizing incident on India’s 60th Independence Day, police in Mysore, India, told a group of 70 believers to stop offering Independence Day prayers without permission after Hindu radicals barged in to the prayer hall and disrupted them.

The pastors and the congregation of Full Gospel Church in the Mysore District of India’s Karnataka state gathered Wednesday at around 10:30 am in the morning to pray for the country when they were disrupted an hour later by a gang believed to be from Hindu groups Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).

The RSS/VHP activists, numbering about 20, reportedly barged into the prayer meeting of the church and dragged out the pastors – Vinod Chacko, 32, and C.T. Joseph, 38 – along with church members Chinnaswamy and Salvino. They also abused the congregation and accused them of anti-national activities.
The pastors were then taken to Nangengode police station where police inspector Lakshmikanth Talwar and sub inspector Prabhakar – under pressure from radicals – told the pastors that no prayers can be held on Independence Day without police permission.

The pastors may have to appear before the police on Saturday, Aug. 18.

“Believers had gathered merely to offer prayers for their country in a peaceful manner,” a reporter for New Delhi-based Christian Today wrote in a report of the incident on Wednesday. “Instead of celebrating the Independence, which marks freedom for India, these radicals deny the freedom of worship for believers which the right inscribed in the constitution of Independent India granted them.

The report also noted that the incident is one of many amid the recent escalation of attacks on Christians in Karnataka state.

Click here for source

Nuns arrested in Orissa

Baripada (Orissa), July 28: Two Catholic nuns were Saturday arrested after two girls, who studied at the residential school run by the Catholic church at Baghamara, 30 km from here, accused them of physical torture and forcing them to attend prayer.

Sister Mary and Sister Prema were arrested by the police this morning and a case has been registered against them under sections 323 and 506 of IPC and Section 4 of the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, SP Sanjay Kumar Singh said.

Two girls, Sarojini Murmu (14) of Nachipur village and Anjana Behera (11) of Titial village under Khunta police station, who had been studying at the residential school Bijay Sadan at Baghamara, had fled from the school on July 20, he said.

They had allegedly told their parents that they had been physically tortured and made to clean toilets and the school poultry. An FIR was lodged by them at the Badasahi police station by the two girls on July 26 last.

Father Isaac, a priest from the Catholic diocese at Balasore, who had rushed here following the development, told that charges had been "cooked up against the two nuns".

Click here for source

 

Technorati tags: attack on Christians, false cases, orissa

Pastor attacked in Raipur

Pastor Vikas Masih was attacked by the Dharam Sena ot Thelipancha Ring Road, Raipur, Chattisgarh State, at 1 pm on 6th July 2007.

On 5th Juy, the Dharam Sena accosted him as he was returning from a prayer meeting and threatened to beat him up and ensure that he could no longer work in the area. This afternoon, at about 12.30 a group of Dharam Sena Activists went to his house at Bhatapara , dragged him out and beat him up severely.

They also took him to the Thellipancha Police Station five Kms from his house church dragging him .

There was a huge crowd at the police station and local Pastors of Raipur reached the Police Station to give support to Pastor Vikas Masih.

The police took Pastor Vikas for first aid at 4 pm.
A case was registered against the Pastor under IPC. section 298 (uttering words ,etc; with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person)

But his attackers were set free.

Christian attacked in Uttarakhand

Two Gospel for Asia native missionaries, Rajat Tanak and Savir Santosh, were forced to seek shelter in a sugarcane field to escape a group of hostile anti-Christian extremists in Uttarakhand, India.

Rajat and Savir were traveling to a village where a GFA-related church pastor, Adil Mehal, had invited them to show Man of Mercy, an Indian-made film about the life of Jesus. As the two were walking with their film equipment, a man stopped them and expressed interest in seeing the film. However, when Rajat and Savir invited him to come to the showing, the man’s demeanor suddenly changed. He accused them of violating the state’s anti-conversion law.

“You are trying to convert people to Christianity by using bribes,” the man yelled.

As the man shouted the accusations, other people from the area gathered around them and began questioning them. The missionaries answered their questions truthfully, telling them they were not forcing anyone to become a Christian and were not using unlawful practices. The people finally let Rajat and Savir go, but not without threatening them first.

Continuing on their trip to show the film, Rajat and Savir were stopped again by a different group of anti-Christian extremists.

The group snatched the Man of Mercy DVDs and sound equipment from the missionaries and threw it on the ground. When Rajat and Savir tried to pick the DVDs up, one of the extremists stomped on the discs. Then, the extremists beat up Rajat and Savir and forced them to go to a local shop. The owner of the shop was the extremist group leader. He also began accusing them of illegally converting people to Christianity.

The group was going to take the missionaries’ LCD projector, but first they allowed Rajat and Savir to go outside with two escorts. During this time, they ran into some nearby sugarcane fields in an effort to save the projector. Because the fields were so dense, the two missionaries were able to escape.

Rajat and Savir waited in the field until the extremists gave up their search, and then they called Pastor Adil to tell him what had happened. When the pastor heard about their situation, he cancelled their scheduled film showing in his village. The local Bible colleges and GFA main office also began praying for their safe return.

The missionaries waited in the sugarcane field until 3 a.m., when they felt it would be safe to venture out into the darkness. Rajat and Savir walked for three hours until they got to a main road, then caught a bus going to a village where a GFA district supervisor lives. They finally reached the safety of his home later that day.

When members of the extremist group found out that Rajat and Savir were working with Pastor Adil, they went to his house, but he was not there. They told his wife, who answered the door, that they would kill Pastor Adil if he ever allowed the film team to come to their village.

For a while, Pastor Adil had to conduct his ministry in secret because of the extremists’ threats. Now, he is able to freely minister in the area himself, but the extremists told him he cannot bring missionaries in from other places. Rajat has continued film ministry in other villages, and Savir is now working to plant a church in Uttarakhand.

Pastor Adil requests prayer that he will be able to continue his ministry in the village. He also asks for prayer that the extremists will come to know the Lord. Also pray that Rajat and Savir’s ministries will be fruitful, and many will see Christ’s love through them.

Pastor attacked in Chhattisgarh

On July 1, 2007 in Rouabandha, Bilainagar, Durg District of Chhattisgarh, about 60 to 70 Bajrang Dal activists attacked Pastor Israel during a church service. Around 11am, the activists interrupted the worship service of Living Grace Ministries church. Besides beating the pastor, they destroyed musical instruments which cost approximately Rs. 15,000 and stole Bibles which they later burnt at the central market in Rouabandha. Also, Mr. Ravi Kumar, a believer who tried to protect the pastor, was seriously injured, with broken teeth and facial injuries.

Pastor Israel received many threatening calls from Hindutva activists during the past two months. Also, on 5 May 2007, the same group of people beat and harassed one of the families who attend the church.

The attackers fabricated a story of fraudulent conversions after an unknown person complained that Pastor Israel had offered Rs. 10,000 to convert to Christianity. They activists used this report as a reason for their attack.

Pastor Israel and his family have been serving in the town for the last 12 years.

FIR has not been filed by either party. Police said they are investigating the incident and will protect the Christian community.

Christian attacked again in MP and Chhattisgarh

2nd July 2007

Around 40 - 45 Bajrang Dal people attacked Pastor Amos Singh and his wife as they were ministering in Reva, Madhya Pradesh in a ECI Church around 1:00 pm today.

Pastor Amos Singh originally from Balaghat is a famous speaker and Christian leader from Madhya Pradesh. He was resting in his room when the attack took place. The attackers suddenly broke into the campus of the Church and broke open the door of the room where Pastor Amos was relaxing. They started beating him with iron rods and pipes and assaulted him with knives. When his wife tried to intervene even she was not spared and has got a knife cut on her cheek.

Along with beating them the attackers also beat up people who had gathered for prayer and reports verify that around 6 - 7 people are seriously wounded including a woman whose head was cut open as a result of the beatings.

The attack took place suddenly and Christians were caught unaware, but local Christian leaders are saying that it was a well planned move by the Hindutva goons.

Last heard of the police had taken the victims for Medical examination and no FIR was filed.

Yesterday Pastor Israel and his wife from Bhilai, Chhattisgarh were also attacked and beaten up mercilessly by the Hindutva goons.

CBCI report reveals Hindu majority in Christian institutes

New Delhi: A national level survey conducted by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India's (CBCI) Commission for Education and Culture has revealed that about 53 percent of students in various Christian organizations located in various parts of the country are Hindus, while 22.7 percent are Catholics and 8.6 percent are Muslims.

The survey gave an insight into the composition of students according to their gender, religion and family income.

It was also found that 59.3 percent of the Catholic educational institutions including schools, colleges and other vocational centres are located in rural areas while the rest are located in urban areas.

An encouraging 54% of the students were females while 40 per cent were males.

"The Catholic Bishops Conference of India standing Committee in April had approved the final draft of the All-India Catholic Education Policy - 2007 and conducted a national level survey of all Catholic educational institutions India during 2004-06. The survey is an important piece of document as it gives us an immediate reference to our student and teacher ratio too," said CBCI spokesperson Babu Joseph.

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Protest against assault

DIPHU: The atrocities perpetrated on some Christians inside a church complex at Manja in Karbi Anglong district allegedly by Assam Police have drawn censure from Christian organizations, who demanded stern action against the guilty personnel.

Condemning the incident, the Assam District of the Assemblies of God of East India demanded immediate action against the culprits as according to the provision of law in the interest of protecting the sanctity of a religious place and the citizens from injustice.

Likewise, the Salvation Army appealed to the authorities to initiate necessary action against those responsible.

It may be mentioned the assault was perpetrated on June 19 near Chong Veng, Manja, when some youths were squabbling among themselves.

Sources said soon after the squabbling, some plainclothes policemen reached the spot. They entered the residence of Rev. R Sanga Keivom, superintend of Assam District Assemblies of God, East India, inside the church complex and assaulted his daughter, son and a religious leader of Salvation Army with rifle butts without any rhyme or reason.

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IEHC Jabalpur workers arrested and office sealed

June 7^th 2007, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh:

Police arrested three workers of the India Every Home Crusade (IEHC) under the Madhya Pradesh Dharma Swatantryata Adhiniyam 1968. They charged them with forced and fraudulent conversions under the section 3 and 4 of the above act.

The problem had started when the police had discovered some letters pointing to baptism ceremony. The letters were brought to the attention of the police by the local Dharma Sena.

The Dhrama Sena has been active against Christians in Jabalpur and every atrocity on the minority community has traces of their involvement yet the authorities have not questioned their role.

Mr. Sudhir Xavier, the manager of IEHC was among the people arrested. The other two are called Pramod Kumar and K Kumar.

The police according to reports from Jabalpur were cooperative and hinted that they were forced to do this as this was an order from above. The three were taken to the police station and let off three hours later. Christian leaders from Jabalpur like Rev. David Lal, Rev. Cyril Cornelius and others were present at the police station. Mr. Handa, a local lawyer from Jabalpur bailed the three out.

The police also sealed the office of the IEHC and last heard the application for the re-opening of the office was rejected by the court on June 14^th 2007.

The police is now after the other staff of the IEHC Jabalpur and asking them to surrender themselves to the police.

Please pray for the IEHC and its staff in India.

Missionary Kidnapped

Chennai: A missionary, J Charles Simon, working with an evangelical movement in the city, has been missing since Saturday night(9th June).

According to a complaint lodged by his wife C Sudha, Charles, 35, was kidnapped by a four-member gang from near his house in Pudur.

Franklin, Charles's brother-in-law, said, "On Saturday evening, he left our house to meet a friend, Shyamala, whom he told that on his way, a stranger had sought his help to withdraw money from a Punjab National Bank ATM. He also told her that the stranger withdrew only Rs
100.

"But while returning from Shyamala's house around 8 pm, he was kidnapped near the Pentecostal Church in Pudur. He called up Sudha around 4 am and told her that the man at the ATM was a thief. He said the kidnappers demanded his credit card though he does not have one
and threatened to kill him."

Franklin, a bank employee, said his brother-in-law does not have a credit card. He also alleged that police did not register an FIR till late Sunday evening.

"The police were questioning us But when a schoolgirl living near the church told police on Tuesday that she had heard the cries of a man on Saturday, police lodged a case of kidnapping. "I think the police have picked him up mistaking him to be an offender," he said.

Pastor beaten in Goa

Pastor S. Zakaria had established a small Church 'Prayer House' in one room in Bambolim, Goa about one year back.

Pastor S. Zakaria conducted prayers and lectures every Sunday, from 9.30 a.m. to 11.00 a.m.

About 8 months ago, wife of Mr. John D'Cunha from Mapusa started attending the prayers and services.

Shortly thereafter, wife of Shri. Manoj Nippanikar started going for the prayers, along with Mrs. D'Cunha.

Shri Manoj was annoyed at the attendance of his wife at Christian prayer meetings, he (Mr. Nippanikar)approached the local Bajrang Dal activists for assistance.

He informed the activists of the place and time of the meetings and instigated them that Christian conversion activities were taking place there.

On Sunday June 10th, Mr Nippanikar along with a mob of 25 extremists went to the 'Prayer House' and took the Pastor to task during his lecture.

Mr. Nippanikar and other furious radical Hindus gave the Pastor a sound beating. Later, they lodged a complaint with the police against the Pastor in Mapusa police station.

MP anti-conversion law unconstitutional: Attorney General

June 12,2007

MP anti-conversion law unconstitutional: Attorney General

According to sources in the state government, Attorney General Milon Banerjee, central government’s chief legal advisor, has given his opinion on the request of state governor Balram Jakhar. The latter had sought Banerjee’s opinion on the amendments which was criticized by the Church leadership and other secular activists as anti-Constitutional.

The governor is yet to grant his assent to the crucial amendment.

A state government official told ICNS that they were waiting for the governor’s “nod to the amendment”, but was ready to face “any eventuality”.

Last year’s amendment passed by the BJP government makes it compulsory on individuals who wish to convert to a religion to take prior approval from the local district administration. If an individual fails to notify the authorities and obtain permission severe punishments can be imposed on him/her.

The amendment also makes it compulsory on those conducting the conversion ceremony to inform the district magistrate a month before it, and give him the details including the venue and time of the ceremony, and the names and addresses of those converting.

Once the district magistrate is informed, under the new amendment, elaborate police verification would be carried out and only on a positive report from the police the magistrate would give his nod for the ceremony.

Madhya Pradesh was one of the first state governments to introduce an act in 1968 on religious conversions, then by a Congress government. It was then amended last year by the BJP government.

However, as reported by the Indian Catholic recently, the National Minorities Commission is yet to receive any reply from the central Indian state to prove that there is any large-scale conversion going on in Madhya Pradesh. The Commission has been asking state governments where such laws are in existence about the data regarding violators.

Christians arrested in Guntur

Two Christians were arrested by local police for distributing Christian literature in Amaravati, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh on June 2 under Sections 296 and 298 IPC.

The two missionaries - a Christian woman from Bangalore, joined by 15 year old local boy identified only as 15-year-old Chilka Peter and Sister Prabha,, were visiting the temple town when they were arrested for distributed Christian literature among devotees from Karnataka who had come to visit the temple.

Hindu activists who noticed the activity alerted the local police who in turn arrested them under Sections 296 and 298 of the Indian Penal Code for causing disturbance and wounding religious feelings respectively

They were finally released on bail on the intervention of local Christian leaders.

Stir against Christian preacher in Andhra Pradesh

Stir against Christian preacher in Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad, Jun 12: Members of the outfit named after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy's son Y S Jaganmohan Reddy today staged a demonstration, demanding an apology from Evangelist K A Paul who had claimed that Dr Reddy had demanded Rs 20 crore as donation to the Congress.

Enraged activists of the ''Jagan Yuva Sena'' stormed a star hotel here, where Paul had been staying, and raised slogans against the preacher for making 'baseless' allegations against the Chief Minister as also Housing Minister B Satyanarayana.

Policemen providing security to the hotel brought the situation under control and dispersed the activists.

The Congress activists had taken to stirs in different parts of the State after the preacher also charged that Dr Reddy did not arrange for the visit of party President Sonia Gandhi to his orphanage for failing to provide the amount.

--- UNI

Two Pastors attacked in MP

Pastor Mukesh Pal has been running a church in Rajgarh, Madhya Pradesh. On 3rd June, a mob owing allegiance to the RSS appeared at his house at 2:30 pm, stopped the meeting which was going on and dispersed the participants by threatening them with dire consequences if they stayed. They then proceeded to systematically wreck the house and left after warning the pastor against continuing his work in the area.

In a separate incident, a pastor in Kharward district was attacked at his home on the same day. Pastor Bheem Singh pastors a church in the region. On 3rd June, he had returned home after the Sunday morning service when his house was attacked. His aged father suffered a fractured leg and his wife suffered injuries. Both have been admitted to hospital. Police have registered a case.

www.persecution.in

Muslims and Christians not minorities

KOCHI: The Muslim and Christian communities in India do not deserve to be classified as minorities and as such are not entitled to special benefits either in admissions or in the running of educational institutions, Subramaniam Swamy, former Union Law Minister and president of the Janata Party has said.

He was talking after inaugurating a national seminar on `Minority Rights in Education - Logics and Fallacies' organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium here on Wednesday.

Dr. Swamy, in his speech, went on to define `minority' on the basis of a set of conditions.

He said that Muslims and Christians should voluntarily give up reservation benefits if they were to be treated on an equal footing.

He urged the AVBP to oppose tooth and nail any attempt to provide reservation to Muslims and Christians in educational institutions.

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Technorati tags: attack on Christians

Priest attacked in Jharkhand

Priest at RIMS after attack

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Ranchi, May 15: A 45-year-old priest, identified as George Minj, has been shifted to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences Ranchi (RIMS) in a serious condition after he was beaten up by some unidentified youths late last evening.

Minj is currently the in-charge of Garha Lodhma parish under the Roman Catholic Church, under Bharno police station in Gumla. The priest, who sustained serious head injuries, is admitted at the neuro ward of RIMS for advanced treatment.

The incident occurred yesterday evening after Minj was returning from Kharsanga Village under Bharno police station in Gumla, some 65-km from Ranchi.

“I had gone to see the people there following reports of an outbreak of malaria. Around 7.30 pm, while I was returning to my parish some youths attacked me. The area where I was waylaid was near a dense forest adjoining the village area,” Minj said.

According to Minj, the attackers were carrying sticks and they had hit him on the head several times unless he lost consciousness. His left eye is badly swollen whilst his left hand is suspected to have been fractured. After recovering from the initial shock, the injured priest somehow managed to inform the nearby villagers who had brought him to his parish at Garha Lodhma. Doctors attending the injured priest said his condition was stable.

Minj recalled that a week ago, some youths had attacked St Paul’s High School and had broken many of the glass panes.

“Attacks on priests are frequent, though we do not complain and carry on our service to the people,” he said.

Meanwhile reacting to the incident, Cardinal Telesphore P. Toppo, who is currently in Rome, told The Telegraph over the phone that the attack on priests reflected the poor state of affairs prevailing in the society.

“Priests go to the most remote of villages, unarmed and unescorted to serve the poor and needy. Attacks on priests need to be condemned in the strongest of terms. However, I will pray both for the injured priest as well as for the attackers so that God might show them the light of the day,” Toppo said.

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Technorati tags: attack on faith, jharkhand, attack, beaten

Christian Principal Shot at in Delhi

NEW DELHI: A Christian priest was seriously injured when two unidentified youths fired at him inside a school at Sangam Vihar in south Delhi on Tuesday afternoon. One of the assailants, according to the staff, had visited the school the day before, seeking admission for his son.

Father George Phillip was admitted to a private hospital with a bullet lodged in his chest. The two assailants opened fire at the 37-year-old priest when he resisted their attempts to rob the school, said the police. The duo managed to flee and a manhunt has been launched to arrest them, the police added.

The incident happened at St Vincent Pallotti School in L Block. Though preliminary investigations suggest that it was a robbery attempt, the police are not ruling out other possibilities, including the fact that the incident could be a fallout of personal enmity.

The priest is currently undergoing treatment at the intensive care unit at Batra Hospital. "He suffered two bullet injuries, one in his chest and the other bullet grazed past his forehead," said a senior police officer.

The school authorities said they had no idea about the intention behind the attack. Said an eyewitness, a junior staff at the school, Devnish Toppo: "Two men entered Father Phillip’s office, seeking admission forms, around 1 pm on Tuesday." One of the youths, Toppo said, had come on Monday as well with some queries relating to the admission of his son in Class I.
Confirming this, another priest working at the school, Father Dominique, said: "We asked him to come on Tuesday along with his ward. On Tuesday afternoon, the same man came with his associate. They asked me for the forms and I directed them to Father Phillip’s office."

The youths entered Father Phillip’s office, and at gun-point, asked him to hand over all valuables to them, said the police. One of the men pounced on the priest and snatched away his mobile phone. Later, they shot at him twice when he resisted their attempts to rob the school.

The school staff came running on hearing the gun shots and a brief scuffle ensued as they tried to hold back the assailants. But the attackers managed to break free and one of them scaled the main gate, bolted it from outside, and ran towards the main road, while his accomplice scaled the wall and vanished into the woods near the school.

Their country-made revolver, which fell on the ground during the scuffle, was recovered by the police.

The duo managed to flee with the principal’s phone, which has been placed under surveillance, said the police. A police team with sniffer dogs visited the school and the adjoining forest, but nothing could be found.

At the time of the incident, the two priests, who stay in the residential block of the school, and some school staff were present. The school, which teaches up to Class VI, has around 150 students and eight teachers. But they were not present, as the school was closed for summer vacation, the police said.

The primary school is run by the Queen of Apostle’s Church, based in Kanpur. It was established in 2004. Father Phillip joined as the principal here about six months back. Before that, he was looking after the Indore branch of the school, the police said.

toireporter@timesgroup.com

Pastor arrested in Orcha, Madhya Pradesh

Pastor arrested in Orcha, Madhya Pradesh

15^th May 2007

Kunal Pasricha, a Pastor was beaten up by Hindu fundamentalists and later arrested by the police on the evening of May 14^th at Narayanpur village, District Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh.

On 14^th May Pastor Kunal Pasricha was visiting a village in order to show a film on the life of Jesus Christ. Before he could do that a mob of about 70 -80 people attacked him, beat him and took him to the local police station. They accused him of hurting their religious sentiments and of forcible conversions. An FIR under sections 153 of the IPC and Section 4 of the Madhya Pradesh Dharma Swatantrya Adhiniyam has been registered against the Pastor.