SC Notice To Centre On Reservation For Dalit Converts To Christianity

The Hindu, April 12, 2005, Tuesday

NEW DELHI, APRIL 11. The Supreme Court today issued notice to the Government on a public interest litigation petition seeking extension of reservation to the Scheduled Caste people even after they convert to Christianity.

A Bench, comprising Chief Justice R.C. Lahoti and Justice G.P. Mathur, which in February said that it would examine this question, issued the notice to the Government after the Attorney-General, Milon Banerjee, pointed out that no formal notice had been issued. He said the Government would file its response. The Bench asked Mr. Banerjee and other parties to make brief submissions citing the relevant case laws and directed the listing of the matter for final disposal in August.

On a petition filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, challenging the constitutional validity of Paragraph 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders, 1950 by which Scheduled Castes people professing and converting faith in religions different from Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism were deprived of reservation benefits, the court in October last had sought the views of the Attorney-General.

The Attorney-General, in his response, had submitted that as it was a policy matter, courts should keep out of it. He cited earlier apex court rulings holding that any amendment to the Presidential Order of 1950 regarding the inclusion of any particular community within the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes was within the purview of the legislative action.

The petitioner contended that the 1950 order as it stood today violated the right to equality guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution as the Scheduled Castes converting to Christianity were deprived of the benefit given to those from the same community belonging to other religions. It pointed out that Scheduled Caste converts to Christianity, unlike tribals who had converted to Christianity, were still suffering from the social disabilities of the community, including untouchability. ``There cannot be any distinction between the Scheduled Castes converts to Sikhism and Buddhism and the Scheduled Castes converts to Christianity,'' it said seeking reservation benefits, including job and political reservations, for the latter category.

http://www.hindu.com/2005/04/12/stories/2005041201311200.htm

Claim of reconversion to Hinduism exaggerated

The Hindu Jagran Manch activist group has claimed that hundreds of Christians were "reconverted" in a ceremony on 2 April 2005.

As many as 700 people were 'reconverted' to Hinduism under the ghar vapsi (homecoming) programme organised by the Hindu Jagran Manch (HJM) in Dhamtari district of Chhattisgarh.

Former Union minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Dilip Singh Judeo washed the feet of the 700 people from 125 families, symbolically reconverting them from Christianity at a function in Gopalpuri village.

The Manch, also known as the Dharam Jagran Manch (DJM), announced their plans for the ceremony several days before it took place. They claimed 700 people took part in the ceremony. However, according to reports in the media, only 97 were reconverted. The reports also said the men and women were given traditional Indian clothing and coconuts for use in Hindu worship.

The reports said Dilip Singh Judeo threatened Christian workers during his address at the ceremony. "If Christian missionaries don't stop converting people, we will take up arms," Singh was quoted saying.

Meanwhile, Christians in Dhamtari district said those who attended the ceremony had never really accepted Christianity, though they might have shown some interest. "These claims are false," Pastor A David, president of the Dhamtari Christian Fellowship, said. "Those who reconverted were actually Hindus who might have attended a Christian meeting once or twice."

"I appeal to the local press to interview these people and ask them when and how they accepted Christianity and who baptized them," David said. "The people of Chhattisgarh know very well that such programmes are a sham. A few years ago, The Times of India exposed how Dilip Singh Judeo called Hindus to come to his programme and later claimed their 'reconversion' from Christianity to Hinduism.

"We have written a letter of complaint to the Prime Minister, the President and the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, demanding protection of the Christian community," David added.

Local Christians said the DJM exaggerated the number of Christian converts in order to provoke a response from the state government, which recently announced plans to strengthen Chhattisgarh's anti-conversion law.

Pramod Singh, secretary of the Chhattisgarh branch of the Mennonite Church of India, said, "None of those who 'reconverted' [in the ceremony] had been baptized. "Christians do not indulge in conversions by force or fraudulent means," he said.

Kaviraj Lall, a member of the Christian Legal Association of India, said, "Hindu fundamentalists often threaten the poor people of Chhattisgarh with loss of livelihood and social ostracism to pressure them to reconvert to Hinduism.

Dhamtari district is a forest area, where people depend on societies formed by the state government, which give them jobs like collecting special leaves and flowers for Indian cigarettes and wine. Many government employers are biased against Christians and tell them they will lose their jobs if they don't reconvert to Hinduism," Lall explained.

In organising the homecoming ceremony, the DJM appears to have violated Chhattisgarh's Freedom of Religion Act. Under terms of the law, the organiser of such an event and prospective converts must send advance notice to the district collector.

SL Dewangan, personal assistant to the district collector of Dhamtari, said, "Some representatives of the Mennonite church had informed us that a reconversion programme was being planned. We asked the superintendent of police to investigate, but so far we have not received a report from him. Neither have we received any affidavit or intimation from the organizers of the programme." Superintendent of Police Himanshu Gupta refused to comment on whether he was notified before the re-conversion ceremony took place.

(Courtesy: AICC)

Christian Businessman in India Charged With Conversion

NEW DELHI, April 14 (Compass) -- An Indian court has charged a Christian businessman in southern Kerala state with attempted conversion.

"Mr. Vidya Sagaran, a businessman from Kayamkulam Taluka, in Kerala's Alappuzha district, was arrested by local police on March 30," defense attorney Ranjit George told Compass. “The Judicial First Class Magistrate of Kayamkulam granted him bail on the 31st.

"The complainant, Mr. Vishwanathan Pillai, accused Sagaran of inducing him to convert from the Nayar caste (a Hindu sect) to the Pentecostal faith.

"Sagaran was charged with Sections 447, 153A(1)(a), and 323 of the Indian Penal Code, for criminal trespass, promoting feelings of religious hatred, and causing grievous hurt," George said.

States that do not have an anti-conversion law can use Section 153A of the Penal Code to charge those accused of "forced" or "fraudulent" conversion.

Section 153A(1)(a) states, "Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise, promotes or attempts to promote, on grounds of religion, disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religious groups, shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to three years, or with fine, or both."

Pillai alleged that Sagaran lent him 1,000 rupees ($250), which he claimed was a bribe to encourage him to convert. According to Pillai, Sagaran later entered Pillai’s house and demanded the return of the money because Pillai had not converted to Christianity.

However, George explained that Sagaran, who is Pillai’s neighbor, was the mediator for a money transaction between Pillai and a third party. “It seems Sagaran took money from the third party and gave it to Pillai. Then when Sagaran went to ask for the money to be returned, Pillai accused him falsely."

George also said Hindu activists may have encouraged Pillai to file this complaint.

"The local Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a radical Hindu group, was not happy with Sagaran because he accepted Christianity about four years ago from a Hindu background, and was attending the Emmanuel Mission church in Kayamkulam. He was allegedly being asked to return to Hinduism.

"I think the case will not even reach the stage of collecting evidence, as there is no basic case against my client. The case is fabricated," George added.

Christians account for almost 20 percent of Kerala’s population of 31.8 million. However, Kayamkulam is predominantly Hindu, with only three small churches -- including the Emmanuel Mission church attended by Sagaran.

In recent weeks, Hindu activists have objected to the work of Christian relief groups -- including Emmanuel Mission -- in tsunami-torn coastal areas of Kerala.

As Sajan K. George, national convenor of the Global Council of Indian Christians, told Compass, "Emmanuel Mission is engaged in the rehabilitation of affected people with a proposal for an orphanage. However, the RSS and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) are trying to discredit the rigorous work carried out by Christian organizations."

For example, "The Hindu group Aikyavedi recently objected to tsunami rehabilitation projects run by Christians in Kollam district," Sajan George said.

"Mr. Kummanam Rajshekhar, general secretary of the Aikyavedi, accused Fr. Rajesh Martin, director of the Kerala Catholic Youth Movement, and Fr. J. Francis, Latin Catholic president of Kerala ... of conversions."

Both of these Catholic priests were involved in large-scale rehabilitation work.

Varghese Thudian, state coordinator for Emmanuel Mission, confirmed to Compass, "The RSS is very strong in Kayamkulam district, and incidents of persecution are common."

Another local Christian worker who requested anonymity said Hindu activists physically attacked Pastor B. Monachan, the leader of a Pentecostal church in Kayamkulam, on March 28.

(Courtesy: Compass Direct)

Chandurthi Church Pastor Found Dead

A pastor of a church in Chandurthi mandal of Karimnagar district, Andhra Pradesh was found dead under mysterious circumstances at Lakshminagar in Karimnagar on 12 April 2005. According to sources, Pastor Sidney David (58) was brutally murdered by miscreants at a secluded place near a function palace in Lakshminagar late in the night.

The miscreants smashed his dead with a boulder and abandoned the body near an open place. The neighbours who noticed the body in the early hours informed the matter to the police authorities. The town police rushed to the spot and shifted the body to the mortuary at the district headquarters hospital. The deceased belonged to Nalgonda district.

Meanwhile a section of Christians from Chandurthi arrived at the mortuary and demanded that the police probe the matter to unravel the culprits responsible for the brutal murder of the pastor who was revered in the whole of the mandal.

Tension gripped the hospital premises following the protest by the villagers of Chandurthi demanding action against the guilty. The One Town police authorities registered a case and had taken up investigations.

(Courtesy: AICC)

Pastor attacked, prayer hall burned

Hindu and Muslim villagers burned down a prayer hall and physically attacked three church members following a baptism ceremony in Kerala on 1 April 2005. Two days later, the villagers manhandled Pastor Paul Ciniraj Mohammed and his 54-year-old assistant.

Ciniraj, as he prefers to be known, is a Christian from a Muslim background. He pastors the church in Thiruvananthapuram district. He is also the head of Salem Voice Ministries (SVM), which runs orphanages, village schools and adult literacy centres in Kerala. The SVM is registered under the Charitable Societies Act.

"The incident occurred in the slum area of Panamvilla village in Thiruvananthapuram, where we have a thatched prayer hall," Ciniraj said. According to him, four villagers from Panamvilla were baptized in a ceremony in the prayer hall early in the morning on 1 April, which perhaps made some villagers unhappy. A total of 26 adult members from different villages were baptized during the ceremony.

"After the baptism, I went back to my place in Kottayam district. Later I heard that a group of local villagers, comprising both Hindus and Muslims, attacked three of our church members while they were praying in the prayer hall," Ciniraj said. "After beating them up, the miscreants set the prayer hall on fire."
Ciniraj said, "Ours is the only Christian group in Panamvilla. Except for the 12 people who come to our meetings, the other villagers are either Hindus or Muslims. Some villagers from both communities are against Christians, and a kind of anti-Christian movement is evolving in the village."

When the pastor heard about the attack on the prayer hall, he returned to Panamvilla on 3 April. However, he was also attacked, as he questioned villagers about the violent incident on 1 April. "While I was talking to a leader of the attackers, an old man hit me on the head," said Ciniraj.

"Shivanandan, a 54-year-old church member who was with me, immediately intervened and tried to save me. He was also beaten until he started bleeding profusely. By God's grace, he is all right now." Ciniraj said he did not report the matter to the police because the attackers apologised immediately after the beating.

"When they were beating Shivanandan, I knelt down and prayed to Jesus to save him and also to forgive the attackers." Village women who witnessed the beating saw Ciniraj praying and were moved by his humility. They immediately asked the attackers to stop the beating and apologise.

Some church members said the local unit of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu activist group, was behind the attack. "One of them told me that the local RSS unit was planning to create some trouble during the baptism ceremony," said Ciniraj. "That is why we held the ceremony early in the morning - at first it was scheduled for later in the day," he added.

According to 2001 census figures, 19 per cent of the total population of Kerala is Christian. While Muslims account for 23 per cent of the population in Kerala, Hindus make for 57 per cent. Incidents of violence against Christians are increasingly common in Kerala. As recently as February 22, five pastors from the Church of God were beaten in Karunagapally, near Kerala's Kollam district, while they were holding a convention.

Fundamentalists Attack Carmel Convent School in Gwalior, Gwalior Diocese

(This news is put as it was recieved. No editing has been done.)

Fundamentalists Attack Carmel Convent School in Gwalior, Gwalior Diocese.

The Christian Association Gwalior due to the passing away of Pope John Paul II turned the Easter Milan Samaroh in to a Prayer Service, Shradanjali Samaroh, for Pope on Sunday, 3rd April 2005. This was attended by Mr. John Dayal, the General Secretary, All India Christian Council and a very senior journalist. The meeting was organized in Balbhavan Auditorium by Mr. Raju Francis, Rev. S.P Luther and others.

After the prayer meeting Mr. John Dayal issued a written statement regarding different stands by the Christian council. Mr. Dayal was already been quoted by Panchajanya that he is against the Hindutva. The media asked clarifications to this he said that Hindu religion we respect but the Hindutva ideology is used by the communal forces to divide the community.

This statement was misquoted by Dainik Bhaskar, (A leading Daily) “RSS is the enemy number one for Christians." It irked the feeling of fundamental forces and on Tuesday, April 05, 2005, evening around 7 pm a group of fundamental activists barged into the Carmel convent school campus burnt the effigy of Mr. Dayal and tried to destroy the property but the police stopped them.

After this they said to have held a meeting and demanded an apology from the Church or else they would extend their agitation to other institutions and schools.

This incident has nothing to do with the official Catholic Church as none of the clergy has taken part in it. Public Relation Office talked to all the party concerned and Mr. Dayal has promised to clear his statements as he has been misquoted by the media. This has incited the religious passion and which lead to the violence.

Fr. Anand Muttungal

PRO & Spokesperson

Catholic Church, M.P & C.G

Conversion 'attempt' lands Jharkhand school in trouble

Ranchi, April 4:

A police complaint has been lodged against a Jharkhand missionary school for allegedly attempting to force two tribal students to convert to Christianity - but the school says the boys themselves wanted to convert.

The complaint was lodged Sunday in the Jaggnathpur police station against Elson Dundung and other employees of the Prabhat Tara School. The report was lodged on the complaint of Ajay Tirkey, president of a tribal welfare organisation, Adivasi Sarna Samittee.

The complaint said that on Sunday, two brothers - Bidhan Bara, 12, and Mahan Bara, 10 - were called to the school where the conversion was to take place.

However, the Adivasi Sarna Samittee, the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party got wind of this and staged a demonstration in front of the school. "The school authorities tried to forcibly covert the tribal students to Christianity. They were assured free education and money for converting," Tirkey alleged. School representative Father Albinus Kujur denied the charge and said the boys themselves wanted to convert.

"Neither did we put any pressure for converting them nor did we allure them with money," he maintained. "This is a baseless allegation. The children had expressed their willingness to embrace Christianity. The mother of the boys had submitted an application for this. Some people are politicising the issue," Kujar added.

Police said the case would be thoroughly probed before any action is taken. "An officer of the rank of deputy superintendent of police will talk to the boys, their mother, and the school authorities. If we find anything wrong, action will be taken against the school authorities," a police officer said.

Call to register criminal case against former minister Rajagopal

April 5 2005

KOLLAM: N.K. Premachandran MP on Monday urged the government to register a criminal case against former Union Minister O. Rajagopal for his statement "inciting communal violence".

In a statement here, Premachandran said that Rajagopal had stated that if Christian organisations were allowed to construct houses in the tsunami-hit areas it would result in bloodshed.

He said that the state police who registered a case against Madhani for making a speech which would stir up communal hatred were remaining silent on the statement of Rajagopal.

Premachandran urged Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to make clear the stand of the government on the issue. He also urged the government to take measures against the attempts to divide the people in the coastal area on communal lines and to unleash violence.

'A CHALLENGE TO RULE OF LAW':

CPM central committee member P.K.Gurudasan said that the statement of BJP leader O.Rajagopal against the Christian organisations constructing houses to tsunami-hit was a challenge to the Constitution and the rule of law.

In a statement here, the CPM leader said that his party would construct 100 houses – 70 in Kollam and 30 in Alappuzha districts – under the supervision of the engineers appointed by the State Government.

He made an appeal to Mata Amritanandamayi Math and other NGOs to follow his party’s decision with regard to the construction of houses for tsunami-hit.

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IER20050405012727&Topic=0&Title=Kerala&Page=R

Hindu fundamentalists injure Christians during screening of 'The Passion of the Christ'

Hindu extremist ideology penetrates the ranks of secular Congress Party. The state of Maharashtra is on its way to adopting an anti-conversion law.

Kochi (AsiaNews) – A gaggle of Hindu fundamentalists assaulted Christians who were watching a screening of The Passion of the Christ inside the Kanai Church, the oldest church in the state of Kerala (south-western India). One Christian was seriously wounded and scores of others were beaten and injured, including women and children.

The incident occurred on Easter Eve in Chalakud Taluna when 25 militants from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)—the paramilitary wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)—disrupted the viewing of Mel Gibson’s movie and started attacking the spectators, one of whom George Kutty, was seriously hurt. Kanai Church members are followers of Canai Thoma, who reached Kerala from Persia in 425 AD.

Speaking to AsiaNews, John Dayal, president of the All India Catholic Union, said that “these anti-Christian attacks are probably designed to discredit the Congress Party” which currently rules Kerala. The Chief Minister, Oomen Chandy, is Christian.

Concern is also growing among Christians and the Church in Maharashtra, the most secular Indian state and under a Congress Party administration, where State Home Affairs Minister Sidharam Mhetre presented an anti-conversion law. It follows the main lines of a similar bill already presented in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Should it become law, the bill would, among other things, require anyone changing religion to submit an affidavit to the authorities.

Human rights activists have often said that anti-conversion laws are used by Hindu fundamentalists to persecute non Hindus.

In Tamil Nadu the anti-conversion bill has been withdrawn after a prolonged campaign by opponents.

Dolphy D'Souza, president of the Bombay (Mumbai) Catholic Sabha (assembly), said the proposal by Congress-led Maharashtra was shameful.

"The Bombay Catholic Sabha is anguished and pained at the response of Mr Sidharam Mhetre," Ms D'Souza said.

She added that "if the government thinks it can pass a law against the people, we can tell him that we and other organisations shall launch a campaign" against the anti-conversion law.
Maharashtra's Chief Minister had already publicly stated that such a law was not necessary. (NC-LF)

Evangelists Beaten up in Balaghat District of Madhya Pradesh

Two local Evangelists by the name of Suresh Routh and John Das Shinde from Katangi, Balaghat were beaten mercilessly by the village Sarpanch. They were later on handed over to the police where they were kept locked for a few days before getting released on bail.

28th March 2005: Suresh Routh and John Das Shinde were praying in Katangi, Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh with some local Christians. Little did they know that their prayer meeting was going to be disrupted very soon.

The village Sarpanch, who is also the son of the local BJP MLA, came storming in the house with a mob, where the meeting was going on and started to beat the two Evangelists whose only fault was preaching about the teachings of Jesus Christ to fellow Christians in Katangi.

They were beaten mercilessly, so much that their bodies continue to bear the marks of the beatings even today. When the local Christians objected, they too were beaten up and threatened. The beatings were not enough for the Sarpanch. He took the two and locked them up in a house till morning all the while threatening them of dire consequences.

In the morning he took them both to the Katangi police station and filed a false report against them under IPC 153 C. With great difficulties the local Christians managed to secure a bail for them. The police’s conduct in the case was one sided and was clearly biased.

The two were sent to Nagpur a few days after they got bail where they had to go through trauma counseling by Christian leaders. It was only after much prayer and encouragement that they could muster the courage to return to Katangi again. Fear had so much overtaken them that they decided not to file any complaint against the Sarpanch or against the inaction of the police. Once again the victim has been made the accused as the case against them goes on.

Hindu Extremists in India Assault Rajasthan Christians

State government declares it will enact anti-conversion law.

Courtesy: Compass Direct (www.compassdirect.org)

DELHI, March 18 (Compass) -- Hindu extremists have violently assaulted several Christians in Rajasthan, India, over the past two weeks. Local observers say the attacks are a strategy to push forward the enactment of anti-conversion laws in the state.

The Rajasthan government announced on February 23 that it would enact a new law to prevent the conversion of poor and illiterate people.

In one recent incident, volunteers from the Hindu extremist Bajrang Dal attacked eight members of the Friends Missionary Prayer Band during a prayer meeting on March 13. Several injured missionaries were taken to hospital. Pastor Johnson and his wife, at whose home the prayer meeting was held, were locked into a room while their attackers circled the house with weapons.

Earlier, Hindu extremists brutally beat a pastor and his pregnant wife and demanded the closure of numerous Christian institutions across the state.

'Anti-Christian elements continue to attack us,' Bishop M.A. Thomas, the director of Emmanuel Mission, confirmed to Compass a few days ago.

'For example, Pastor Arthur Joel, the warden of our orphanage in Baran district, was falsely accused of causing serious hurt and restraining a boy in the orphanage. He was arrested on March 1 and kept in custody for four days.'

Thomas explained that some of the older children from the orphanage attended a day school run by the Hindu fundamentalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), since there was no other school in the area catering to their age group. The RSS school staff encouraged one of the boys, Ram Dev Belwa, to rebel against orphanage authorities.

When Pastor Joel took disciplinary action, spanking Belwa twice with a stick, the RSS filed a police complaint.

'Pastor Joel was charged under Section 327, a stringent, non-bailable section, punishable with 10 years of imprisonment for causing hurt that can lead to death,' Thomas explained. 'He was also charged under Sections 324 and 341 of the Indian Penal Code.'

'He was initially refused bail in court due to Section 327. However he was finally released on bail on March 5, after the Sub-Divisional Magistrate said there were no grounds for Section 327 in his case.'

A local newspaper, the Bahara Jalvad Bhaskar, had published an article on February 27 titled, We will not allow children to be converted. The article demanded that the orphanage be closed or it would meet the same fate as the Emmanuel Mission school in Kota, where students were viciously attacked on February 19. (See Compass Direct, “Indian Hindus Attack Christian Students in Rajasthan,” February 22, 2005.)

Hindu extremists also attacked two Emmanuel Mission workers, Pastor Vaalu and his eight-month-pregnant wife, while they were traveling on a bus in Kota district on February 23.

“They beat Pastor Vaalu until he started bleeding from his nose and mouth,” Thomas said. “His wife was thrown down from the bus seat and forcibly pulled out of the bus. She pleaded the attackers to spare her for the sake of the child in her womb, but they said, ‘This child is going to be a Christian, so why should we spare you?’”

“After the attack, Vaalu was taken to a police station where he was confined for the whole day. The attackers filed a complaint against him, saying he was an anti-social element and a terrorist who was disrupting peace,” Thomas added.

According to Thomas, extremists had targeted several Emmanuel Mission schools, orphanages, churches and Bible institutes in Rajasthan over the past two weeks. “Anti-Christian elements led processions against them, demanding their closure and threatening their workers,” he said.

In 1994, Hindu extremists accused Thomas of urinating on the Hanuman Chalisa, a Hindu scripture, in front of Bible students at the institute in Kota.

The vilification campaign continued. In 2001, extremists accused Thomas of picking up children from the streets and raising them so that he could sell the girls as prostitutes and sell various human organs forcibly procured from the boys. Thomas denied both accusations.

Sources told Compass that Rajasthan’s Social Welfare Minister, Madan Dilwar, has a strong dislike of Thomas and the activities of Emmanuel Mission. In 2001, Dilwar vehemently opposed the conferment of a prestigious national award, the Padma Shri, to Thomas for his service to orphans and lepers.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria declared on February 23 that Rajasthan’s state government will soon enact an anti-conversion law. “We will not allow anyone to convert poor and illiterate people,” Kataria told reporters from The Hindu.

Anti-conversion laws, which seek to ban conversion by force or fraudulent means, currently exist in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

The southern state of Tamil Nadu repealed its anti-conversion law in May 2004 after the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party was defeated in the April 2004 general elections.

Christians throughout India have lobbied for the repeal of all other anti-conversion laws, saying they restrict basic rights and facilitate false accusations against Christians.

Indian Evangelist's Arrest Exposes Police Brutality

Orissa High Court petition charges officials with bias against Christians.

Courtesy: Compass Direct (www.compassdirect.org)


DELHI, March 15 (Compass) -- The defense attorney for a Christian evangelist arrested on charges of attempting to convert Hindus in India’s Orissa state appealed his client’s case to the Orissa High Court yesterday. The appeal exposes police negligence in protecting Kiran Kumar from attack by a group of Hindu extremists and charges officers with torturing the evangelist while in police custody.

“I filed a writ petition in the High Court demanding that the accusation filed against Kiran Kumar, an evangelist of the Life in Christ Mission, be quashed and the inquiry into the incident be conducted by an independent body,” attorney B.D. Das told Compass.

The case relates to a February 27 incident in which nine persons allegedly belonging to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP or World Hindu Council) tried to throw 30-year-old Kumar into a lake in Orissa’s Khurda district.

When police arrived on the scene, instead of protecting the evangelist, they arrested Kumar and charged him with preaching Christianity to Hindus in order to convert them, an activity prohibited by Orissa’s draconian anti-conversion laws.

A local court granted Kumar bail on March 8 and police registered a First Investigation Report against the nine assailants. The suspects were then charged under sections of the Indian Penal Code for causing hurt, criminal trespass and intimidation.

At press time, police had not arrested any of the nine accused, who reportedly disappeared from the village.

“The lower judiciary, the police, and the medical examination department, all have failed in doing their duty,” Das said.

“When Kumar submitted a complaint against the VHP activists, the police tore it and did not register a First Information Report, whereas they acted promptly on the accusations of the VHP.”

According to Kumar, he and his associate Bijay Pradhan were invited to the house of a Hindu seeker, Mr. Dasarathi Behera, for prayer on the evening of February 27 when the nine assailants stopped them. “They asked us why we were going to a Hindu house if we were Christians. ‘Have you come to convert all the people of this village?’ they asked.”

Kumar said one of the villagers, Kumar Behera, tied him with a rope. The group then threatened to throw him in the nearby Chilika Lake. “Let’s see how Jesus will save him,” they said.

The nine slapped Kumar several times and abused him with obscenities until 11:30 p.m. when a police vehicle came and arrested him.

“In the Balugaon police station, the police officer in charge, Patra Babu, asked me to squat for 100 times with my hands holding my ears. In fear, I obeyed his command, but after I finished, he said you have not done a hundred so repeat it again.

“After doing it again for a long time, I got tired and sat down. Then Patra Babu started beating me mercilessly with a bamboo stick and asked me to call Jesus to save me.

“And then another police official, Pradhan Babu, started beating me up with a bamboo stick in my legs and back. In excruciating pain and thirst, I spent the whole night at the police station.”

The two police officers beat Kumar again the following morning.

“While worshipping idols of Hindu gods, Patra Babu suddenly got angry and said I was [an] anti-religious Christian preacher and started beating me up yet again,” Kumar said “Pradhan Babu also joined in later. Lastly, an assistant sub-inspector, Sethi Babu, came to me and started kicking me in my knees with his shoes until I started bleeding.”

Das said that, in addition to the brutal treatment, police abused Kumar’s civil rights by denying him due process of the law. Section 167 of the Criminal Procedure Code requires a police officer to send the accused to the nearest magistrate when the investigation into the accusation against him cannot be completed within 24 hours.

“Although the police arrested Kumar on February 27, they produced him before the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate in Banapur on March 1, which was more than 24 hours and therefore illegal,” Das said.

“Further, when the magistrate noticed marks of injuries on the evangelist’s body, she ordered his medical examination. But the medical examiner wrote a false report saying the injuries on Kumar’s body were three to seven days old, suggesting he had the injuries before he was brought to the police station.”

“When I went to the doctor,” Kumar said, “constable Panda Babu told him, ‘Sir, this man is a preacher who has come to convert everyone to Christianity. When we stopped him from doing so, he complained to the magistrate.’ As a result, the doctor also got angry with me.

“Later [after the initial court appearance], they took me to that doctor for a medical checkup. The doctor did not even examine me this time but gave a report to Panda Babu.

“While I was being transferred to the Khurda jail, Panda Babu asked me to keep quiet before the jail authorities or else I would be beaten up again,” Kumar said.

Dasarathi Behera, the Hindu seeker Kumar was intending to visit on February 27, was accused and arrested along with the evangelist. Behera reportedly testified before the police that he believed in Jesus Christ without any fear or pressure induced by anyone.

His testimony should have absolved Kumar of any charges of “forced conversion” under the ‘Orissa Freedom of Religion Act,’ Orissa’s 1967 anti-conversion law. Evidently Babu and his fellow police officers have chosen to ignore Behera’s statement.

Anti-conversion Bill: Christians see trouble

Anti-conversion Bill: Christians see trouble

Christian religious leaders have said that a move by the Rajasthan government to bring into force an anti-conversion legislation in the state would be used as a tool by fundamentalists to harass minorities.

Three bishops and a Christian organisation have submitted memoranda to Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje urging her not to implement the proposed legislation.

"The existing provisions are sufficient to deal with malpractices in religious conversions," Bishop Ignatius Menezes of Catholic Diocese of Ajmer-Jaipur said.

"The proposed law would become a tool in the hands of fundamentalists to harass minority institutions," secretary of Udaipur Christian Fellowship J C Biswas said.

Bishop Joseph Pathalil of Catholic Diocese of Udaipur said the chief minister should discuss the issue with minority leaders before drafting the Bill.

Persecution Reaches GFA Students Across India

Following the severe beating of six Gospel for Asia seminary students, a wave of persecution is testing GFA missionaries. On February 26 and 27, two groups of GFA students in two different states were beaten while on outreach.

In the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, two Bible school students in their first year of studies were doing weekend outreach among a tribe of tent dwellers on February 26. The young men were distributing tracts, praying for the sick and sharing their testimonies when a group of six villagers began questioning them. The students tried to calm them but the situation quickly escalated, and the six men began kicking and punching them. A hit on the head gave one brother a lump "the size of a baseball," and the other brother had intense pain in his back and legs. Initially neither one was able to walk or sit upright, but by God's grace neither suffered permanent injuries.

In Uttaranchal state, five third-year Bible college students had been doing outreach in their area since January and had already established a fellowship, Sunday school and after school tutoring program for children. After a worship service Sunday, February 27th, they were giving out literature when two men on motorbikes confronted them.

After showing the missionaries their police badges, the two men beat the students, accused them of being thieves and forcing conversions, and took them to the police station. Three days later, GFA leaders received news they were released, but only after enduring multiple beatings and being warned never to come back.

Despite the persecution, each student remained strong in their call and determined not to give up. The two students from Jammu and Kashmir said on Sunday that they were both encouraged in their spirits and glad the Lord chose them to be witnesses for Him.

"Our bodies are hurting like anything," one of the five students from Uttaranchal said, "but we are happy to be beaten for Jesus." He continued, "We are ready to do more work for Jesus. We are not afraid."

http://www.gfa.org/gfa/latestnewsarticle?wid=2775

Bhojan mantra made compulsory in Rajasthan hostels

The Hindu

March 10, 2005

Bhojan mantra made compulsory in Rajasthan hostels

Jaipur, March 10. (PTI):

Ignoring all opposition, the recitation ofvedic mantra before meals Bhojan mantra has been formallyintroduced in all hostels run by the social welfare department of the Rajasthan Government.The recitation of the mantra by the hostel inmates has been madecompulsory under new rules issued recently by the social welfare department, official sources said here today.

The rules were issuedafter panchayat polls last month, sources said.There was a hue and cry when Social Welfare Minister Madan Dilawarannounced last year that recitation of bhojan mantra would be madecompulsory for inmates of the hostels run by his department. Although no formal orders were issued last year, the mantra was madecompulsory in the hostels informally.

Now the mantra has been introduced formally, sources said.Several human rights and Left organisations, including People's Union for Civil Liberties had opposed the move on the ground that itsaffronised the hostel environment.

YMEF TEAM ATTACKED IN KARANATAKA - INDIA

9th March 2005

The YMEF team that was doing the outreach work in Lingsur village in Sirpur taluk of Raichur district in Karnataka was attacked by the fundamentalists around 12:00 noon. They were forcibly taken toa temple and were forced to go through certain rituals.

(More Details are awaited)

Falsely accused priest arrested in Gujarat

9 March, 2005

Hindu fundamentalists persuade a woman to press charges against a Jesuit priest. Two months ago the same woman had cleared him of the same charges.

Mumbai (AsiaNews) – An Indian Jesuit was arrested and jailed in Gujarat (western India) on the basis of false accusations made by a woman who claimed he tried to convert and have sex with her.

Christian leaders have called on the Gujarat state government to immediately intervene and secure the unconditional release of the Fr Prasad Gonsalves, who was arrested “only because he is a missionary”.

Fr Gonsalves was sent to jail on March 7 by a court in Radhanpur after the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council or VHP) convinced Shanteben Gulabbhai from Jawaharnagar village to press charges against him.

Two months ago Ms Gulabbhai had asked Father Gonsalves for help in finding a place to live in her district, which is located some 300 km from the Banaskantha district (northern Gujarat) where the Jesuit priest is a trustee of the local Catholic Ashram, which runs a low-cost housing project for the poor and disadvantaged.

The clergyman had told the woman that he could not help given the great distance between them. After being turned down she went to the police to press charges against him only to change her mind later saying that she just wanted to get back at the Jesuit. Father Gonsalves eventually said he would try to do something to help the woman.

The case seemed closed till March 5 when a Hindu newspaper in the city of Patan picked up and ran with the story, repeating the accusations.

Pressured by Hindu groups a court summoned Father Gonsalves and placed him under judicial custody on the basis of the Atrocity Act on the basis of Ms Gulabbhai’s testimony. However, she is not a credible witness. Her own brother, Ishwarbhai Ramsinhbhai Rana, in a written statement alleged that over the years she has acquired the reputation of being an extortionist, literally terrorising her neighbours.

Local Christian leaders and groups have strongly denounced Father Gonsalves. Dolphy D’Souza, Vice-President of the All India Catholic Union, condemned the arbitrary detention of the clergyman, which in his view was only motivated by the fact that he “is a missionary doing good for the people”.

Mr D’Souza has called on the Gujarat government to secure Father Gonsalves’s immediate release and punish all those who engage in vile acts against minorities.
Gujarat’s state government is led by the Hindu nationalist Baharatiya Janata Party (BJP), well-known for its support for Hindu fundamentalism and opposition to religious minorities, especially Christians.

Fr Cedric Prakash, director of Prashant, a Centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace, pointed the finger against Hindu fundamentalist groups “who resort to using criminals to slander the Church”. (LF)

CHRISTIAN WORKERS ATTACKED AND THREATENED IN INDIA

By Michael Ireland, Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

RAJASTHAN, INDIA (ANS) -- Pastor Mathew has been preaching the Gospel and planting churches for almost 30 years in Rajasthan, India.One night around midnight recently Mathew called Dr. Joseph Chavady of www.121intl.org to report that 10 Hindu fundamentalists interrupted a worship service at the prayer hall and severely beat eight ministry workers.

There were no permanent injuries, but the men were very shaken up, he said.Last week an orthodox priest, who is known in the village for his kindnessto the poor, visited pastor Mathew's house. On the way home, three extremists attacked him from behind with bicycle chains. He was admitted to the hospital with a broken skull and severe head wounds.Shortly after this incident, several Hindu fundamentalists came to pastor Mathew's house when he was absent, and questioned his wife about his whereabouts.This is the first time that persecution has come so close to Mathew's home, even though the Hindu fundamentalist government was ousted a year ago in India.

Pastor Mathew is asking for urgent prayer for protection for him, his family (his wife, one daughter and one son) and all the workers involved. All of these servants of the Lord are putting themselves and their families in extreme danger on day-to-day basis.The vision of the Asia Focus Ministry is to reach the unreached people of Asia with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, through training and supporting native missionaries.The region has one billion people, with more than 4,000 people groups, 17 major languages, and hundreds of dialects. Just about every imaginable religion is represented, with relatively few Christians.

http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s05030015.htm

KOTA GROUP GRADUATES 5000 PREACHERS

KOTA GROUP GRADUATES 5000 PREACHERS
Anti-Christian Violence Fails to Halt Celebration.
By: John M. Lindner
Special to ASSIST News Service

KOTA, RAJASTHAN (ANS) -- Emmanuel Ministries of Kota, Rajasthan, today graduated 5,000 Bible school students, much to the chagrin of hard-line Hindus.Most of the graduates are from the Dalit community and have already accepted assignments among the Dalit--or “untouchable”--villages throughout India. According to Dr. Samuel Thomas, President and International Director for Emmanuel Ministries International (EMI), they will bring the message of Christ to the outcasts of India, transforming them into vibrant communities of faith, and prompting even more young men and women to joyously enter the service of the Lord Jesus Christ.

His father, Dr. M.A. Thomas, came originally from Kerala to Rajasthan after graduating from Hindustan Bible College in 1960 and pioneered a work in Kota, then a city virtually without a witness for Christ. Enduring much hardship, persecution, the martyrdom of several coworkers, and the death of his beloved wife in 1995, Thomas persevered, counting it a privilege to suffer for the Lord Jesus. Today, he and those he has trained and sent out have planted 11,113 churches throughout India.

The secret of his success was to gladly accept the offscouring of the world—the orphans and children of lepers—and train them to be missionaries. His goal is to take in a million orphans—and he has already received a government permit to do so—and transform them into an army of messengers of the gospel. EMI so far operates 87 children’s homes caring for some 8,900 children, including 2,200 in Kota. Some are true orphans, but most of these are semi-orphans, whose mother or father has died or abandoned or rejected them. Others are children of leprous parents who have gladly surrendered them to Thomas to raise in his children’s homes so they will not contract the disease by remaining in the community of lepers. These will be transformed into vibrant messengers of the gospel and healthy participants in Indian society.

That is what disturbs the right-wing, hard-line Hindus. Members of the RSS (Rashtria Swayamsevak Sangh, meaning National Volunteer Movement), a radical anti-Christian Hindu organization, did their best to halt or hinder the grandiose celebration here this weekend.

S.M.J. Rao, EMI Secretary, told ANS members of the RSS met a train at the Kota railway station on February 19, and took about 270 pastors, believers and Bible students coming for the meeting to a Hindu temple. There they were interrogated, beaten and told, “Leave here, or we will kill you.”

According to Rao, the Christians were then taken to the police station where they were beaten with iron rods and bicycle chains. M.A. Thomas and members of the EMI staff were forbidden to see the captives or bring them food.

After being held hostage for 18 hours they were put back onto a train headed south and told to go back to where they came from. However, nine hours into the return journey, railway officials forced them off the train because they did not have tickets. EMI was making alternate arrangements to help the stranded believers.

Next, a band of 60 to 70 demonstrators from the Bajrang Dal tried to stop busloads of 600 believers from reaching the convention site. The Bajrang Dal is believed to have been the group behind the burning alive of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons in Orissa State in 1999. The police escorting the buses did nothing to halt the demonstrations until some protestors began hurling rocks at the police. Then the police charged the demonstrators with their night sticks and disbursed the crowd.

Meanwhile, Samuel Thomas contacted officials in Delhi to bring order to the situation. Finally, after the federal authorities intervened, those traveling to the meeting were allowed to complete their journey unmolested, and the meetings were held without further incident.

Meeting with authorities, M.A. Thomas gave assurance that no “conversions” (i.e. baptisms) would take place, and he agreed with demands by the RSS that American visitors, who numbered about 100, would not preach at the religious gathering. They did, however, speak encouraging words to the graduates.

Though about 5,000 graduates received their diplomas and certificates Saturday night, Dr. Thomas said as many as 6,000 would have been there had not some turned back because of the violence.

At the commissioning service Sunday morning, Dr. Thomas told the graduates that natural children are not born without pain or tribulation, and said if they wanted spiritual children, they must be willing to bear pain and suffering of childbirth, and even martyrdom. Virtually every student stood and shouted “hallelujah!”

HINDU NATIONALISTS AND CONGRESS IN CONTENTION

Monday, February 28, 2005

INDIA: HINDU NATIONALISTS AND CONGRESS IN CONTENTION
- anti-conversion laws for BJP-ruled Rajasthan; federal Congress to re-enact historic Dandi march.

By Elizabeth Kendal
World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (WEA RLC)
Special to ASSIST News Service

AUSTRALIA (ANS) -- India's Sangh Parivar (body of Hindu nationalist organisations) continues to aggressively pursue its agenda of Hindutva (Hindu nationalism). The Sangh Parivar's political wing, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), continues to agitate for anti-conversion laws. Likewise the Sangh Parivar's religious/cultural wing, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP – World Hindu Council), continues its "re-conversion" campaign enlisting the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS – Hindu paramilitary) and Bajrang Dal (Hindu youth militia) to forcefully and violently "re-convert" tribal Christians to Hinduism.In a recent report, Sankshipt Karyavrat-2004, the VHP claimed that 2004 was a successful year for its re-conversion campaign, with 12,857 members of the minority communities (3,727 Muslims and 9,130 Christians) being "re-converted" to Hinduism. Bishop Menezes of Ajmer-Jaipur dismisses such claims. "These are highly inflated figures," he told AsiaNews, confirming however that "Hindu fundamentalists operate with terror tactics especially among the poor defenceless Tribals and Adivasi". According to the VHP report, the leading states for re-conversion have been Gujarat, Rajasthan and Orissa. (Links 1)In Rajasthan (north-west India) the ruling BJP is moving to introduce laws to outlaw conversions to Christianity. Meanwhile, the Congress-led federal government is heading to neighbouring Gujarat where they will use the 75th anniversary of Mahatma Ghandi's historic Dandi march to remind Indians that Mahatma Ghandi's legacy of social and religious peace, tolerance and unity is both relevant and Indian, and as such, the Sangh Parivar's legacy of divisive, militant Hindutva may be rejected.

ANTI-CONVERSION LAWS FOR RAJASTHAN

For 30 years Emmanuel Mission has held its annual graduation ceremony at its headquarters in Kota, outside Jiapur the capital of Rajasthan. Compass Direct reports, "Emmanuel Mission organizes its five-day graduation ceremony every year in February. Attended by students from the 98 mission centers all over India, the event draws 5,000 people to Emmanuel headquarters in Kota as students collect their diplomas after completing their education." (CD 23 Feb)

This year however, Hindutva activists in Rajasthan had other ideas. On 19 February, some 200 activists of the RSS, Shiv Sena and Bajrang Dal ambushed a group of more than 250 young Christian students from Andhra Pradesh as they arrived at the Kota railway station in the early hours of the morning en route to the Emmanuel Mission graduation. The students were beaten and robbed before being rounded up by local police and held in custody until the following evening. The police claimed to have taken statements from the visitors who "confessed" that they were Hindus who had been lured to Kota with offers of gifts and money. The police say the visitors then returned home. The Chairman of Emmanuel Mission said the students were forced to leave and the "statements" were police fabrications. Bishop Samuel Thomas, president of Emmanuel Ministries International (EMI) told AsiaNews that it was a "violent and unprovoked attack".

Subsequently Bajrang Dal activists held up some 600 students arriving from Kerala on buses. After three hours, with activists still refusing to let the buses pass, police arrested around 70 Bajrang Dal for breach of the peace.

The VHP accused the Mission of offering inducements to lure the young tribals to Kota in order to forcibly convert them to Christianity, and is now using this disinformation to fuel its push for anti-conversion laws.

On Wednesday 23 February the BJP government in Rajasthan announced to the state assembly that it would introduce an anti-conversion bill in either this sitting or the next. The government was particularly vexed by the fact that some 60 foreigners were attending the graduation function on tourist visas that they said did not give them the right to participate in such events. (Link 2)

NDTV (Indian service from New Delhi, Link 3) reported from Jaipur, "An announcement by the Rajasthan government [BJP] that it will come up with an anti-conversion bill has created a furore in the state assembly. The opposition [Congress] alleges the government is using the incident in Kota as an excuse to implement its saffron agenda. 'It is clear that the Home Minister is mouthing the line of the VHP and the Bajrang Dal and by bringing about such laws they want to harass the minorities,' says C S Baid, Congress leader."On 24 February the VHP and Bajrang Dal suspended their violent protests against the Emmanuel Mission graduation event after receiving a guarantee from EMI president Dr Samuel Thomas that no conversions or baptisms would take place during the five-day graduation event. Mission authorities invited VHP and government representatives to attend the graduation function and monitor it themselves. So representatives of the BJP and VHP attended and monitored the 23-27 February Emmanuel Mission graduation ceremony for conversions and baptisms, and the graduation proceeded under police guard. CONGRESS MARCHES FOR PEACE

On 12 March 1930 Mahatma Gandhi and 78 Congress volunteers set off on their historic "Dandi march" (or Salt march) in protest of Britain's salt tax. Mahatma Ghandi's stand for fairness and justice appealed to and united Indians across all social, ethnic and religious lines.

On 12 March 2005, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of that event, Congress will lead a re-enactment of the Dandi march. Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and senior Congress leaders will all march in the inaugural leg. The march will follow Mahatma Ghandi's footsteps from Ahmedabad (commencing 12 March) to Dandi (concluding 6 April).

The re-enactment is extremely strategic and significant, especially as it takes place in sectarian riot-ravaged BJP-led Gujarat state, home of Hindutva icon Narendra Modi. Congress is aiming to use the march to consolidate secular forces, counter the divisive politics and legacy of the BJP, re-ignite a passion for true Indian unity, reclaim Mahatama Gandhi's legacy of socio-religious tolerance and peace, and deal a blow to the Hindu nationalists.