AIPF Fact-Finding Team Visit To Bastar finds violence against Christian minorities and other startling facts

Several Cases of Fake Encounters, Rapes, Arbitrary Arrests, Fake Surrenders Exposed

Raipur, 12 June 2016

An 8-member fact-finding team of All India People’s Forum visited four districts of Bastar, Chhattisgarh between 8-11 June 2016. The fact-finding team found several incidents of communal violence against Christians; as well as fake encounters; rapes; fake cases and arbitrary arrests; and fake surrenders.

The AIPF team comprised former Madhya Pradesh MLA Dr Sunilam of Samajwadi Samagam, former Jharkhand MLA and CPIML Central Committee member Vinod Singh, Kavita Krishnan, Secretary of All India Progressive Women’s Association, Brijendra Tiwari of AICCTU, Amlan Bhatacharya, State Secretary of PUCL West Bengal, Advocate Aradhana Bhargava of Chhindwara, Advocate Ajoy Dutta of Kolkata and Amlendu Choudhury. Bela Bhatia and Soni Sori also accompanied the team.       

Communal Violence Against Christian Minorities

1.       At several villages in Bastar district – including Karmari, Bade Thegli, Sirisguda and Belar – resolutions adopted under Section 129 (g) of Chhattisgarh Gram Panchayat Act have been wrongly invoked in violation of the spirit of the law to restrict non-Hindus from residing or building places of worship, even though the High Court has quashed such gram sabha resolutions in Karmari and Sirisguda. 

2.       In Bhadhisgaon (Tokapal Panchayat) in Bastar district, Pastor Pilaram Kawde was given a written notice by the Gram Panchayat denying permission to him to construct a place of worship on his own land. The written notice cited Sections 55 (1) and (2) Chhattisgarh Gram Panchayat Act 1993 and said that Pastor Pileman cannot construct a place of worship because “People of big-big castes and religions live in this village, and every Dussehra even the Roopshila Devi Ma joins the celebrations.”

3.       Christians are being prevented from using burial grounds in several villages. In Bhadisgaon, an elderly Christian lady Saradi Bai died on 25.5.2016, but Hindu villagers provoked by the Bajrang Dal stopped Christians from burying her. Eventually, after negotiations conducted by the police, she was buried in a casket but without the cross – but the Hindu villagers warned that no future Christian burial would be allowed. Accordingly, the 200 Christians of the village gave applications to the SDM, Tehsildar, police and Sarpanch asking that burial grounds be allotted separately for Christians, since they were being prevented from using the common burial grounds.

4.       Saradi Bai’s husband Sukhdev Netam passed away on 6.6.2016, and Hindu villagers prevented Christians from carrying out his last rites and burying him, threatening to kill them if they tried to bury him. Eventually after police arrived, he was buried but again, the villagers and Sarpanch warned that in future, they will call Bajrang Dal if there is any attempt by Christians in the village to use the burial grounds.

5.       At Ara village, Bario Chowki, Jeypore thana, District Ambikapur, on last Sunday, 5 June 2016, a Bajrang Dal mob of 25 people led by Chhotu Jaiswal, Sonu Gupta, Bipin Gupta, Chhotu Gupta and others attacked the church during Sunday prayers; vandalized the church; and beat up the pastor, his wife and three others. They made a video of the thrashing and made it ‘viral’ – we have a copy of this video. They dragged off the Pastor, his wife and three others to the Bario Chowki where they were kept till night. No FIR was registered against the assailtants – instead a case under Section 295 A has been registered against the Pastor who is yet to get bail.

6.       In village Sirisguda, rations were denied to Christian believers, and Food Department authorities were beaten up along with Christians; the ambulance was not allowed to enter the village; injured Christians were not allowed to get proper treatment in the district hospital. After great efforts a case was registered but the statements of the injured are yet to be taken in Court. VHP, Bajrang Dal people prevent Christians from filling water in the village. At a meeting called by the DM, the VHP and Bajrang Dal said that Christians must do ghar wapsi, or else we will evict them from the village invoking Section 129 (g) of the Panchayat Act.

Repression and Intimidation of Villagers Resisting Violations of Forest Rights for Raoghat Mines 

1.       Ramkumar Darro of village Kohche, thana Antahgarh in Kanker district said that 25 hectares of land have been acquired for Raoghat Mines without informing the villagers, gram panchayat, or gram sabha. (Officially the Raoghat Mines, as well as adjoining dam and railway lines are for Bhilai Steel Plant but a consortium of private companies will be involved with the mining project). Trees have been cut, adivasis’ forest land that they have had for the last 50 years is being grabbed; several places of worship of adivasis are being destroyed and even the burial grounds have been taken over by the company. CRPF camps have come up densely at every kilometer in the area. Ramkumar Darro had spoken to an earlier fact-finding team in May, after which he was threatened by a SDOP that he would be jailed as a Maoist.  

2.       Dukra Singh’s daughter was raped by an SPO and even had a baby by him. No case of rape could be registered, the SPO promised to pay Rs 50000 as compensation but has only paid Rs 25000.

Fake Encounters

1.       Nagalguda, thana Gadiras, Kuakonda Tehsil, District Dantewada: Four women – Rame, Pandi, Sunno and Mase - were killed here in a fake encounter at 7 am on 21.11.2015, and Badru, one former Maoist who surrendered and became a ‘Pradhan Arakshak’ and had accompanied the force, raped Mase before killing her. 22 DRG jawans were decorated and promoted for this ‘encounter,’ in spite of the fact that rewarding jawans for encounters is against NHRC guidelines and Supreme Court guidelines for encounters.

2.       Arlampalli, Dornapal Tehsil, district Sukma: Here, villagers told the team that on 3 November 2015, three village boys – Dudhi Bhima ( age 23), Sodhi Muya (age 21) and Vetti Lacchu (age 19) were killed by the police. The three boys left the village in the morning o 3 November on two cycles to get a drink of the local alcoholic drink (made out of date palm fruits). After getting their drink, they were going to the Polampalli Bazaar, where Bhima’s mother was waiting for them. Near the ‘nala’ close to the village, one youth Vetti Lacchu got down from the cycle while the other two went ahead. Security forces were in the area for a combing operation, and caught the two boys on cycles and began beating them up. The third youth, Vetti Lacchu, seeing this, began to run away – and was shot dead by the police. The other two youth were asked to carry the body of their friend to the Polampalli thana but on the way, they too were shot dead. No FIR has been registered as yet.

3.       Palamagdu, Dornapal Tehsil, district Sukma: Police claimed that two women Maoists were killed after an hour-long gun battle on 31 January 2016. In a local newspaper, the police is quoted as saying that the two women Naxalites were wearing saris and could not run and therefore fell into a ditch and were killed. The team found that in fact, the police had killed two small girls in cold blood. The mother of Siriyam Pojje (age 14) said that her daughter along with Manjam Shanti (age 13) had gone to feed the hens and was going to have a bath in the river and return home. On the way the police shot dead both the girls. Manjam Shanti’s father also said that both girls lived in the village and had no connection with Maoists.

4.       Kadenar village, Bijapur district: The police claimed that on 21.5.2016, an encounter took place with 30-35 armed Maoists, in which a husband and wife – Manoj Hapka and his wife Pandi Hapka/Pandi Tanti were killed. On reaching Kadenar village Pandi Hapka’s mother and brother told the team that at 8 pm at night on 21 May, police came to the house where the family was eating dinner. They took Manoj and Pandi away, along with their clothes, other belongings and Rs 13000 that they had earned by harvesting chillies in Andhra Pradesh. We were told that Manoj and Pandi had been with Maoists for a year, but five years ago, the couple left the Maoists and came back to the village where they did farming. Pandi has had TB for the past five years and has been very ill.

Fake Cases and Arbitrary Arrests                         

In Padiya village, Gadiras Thana, Sukma district, on 21 May 2016, at 9 am, a force of 200-300 police came and picked up villagers working on a water body, saying they were involved in the breaking of a Essar pipeline on 19 May 2016. Police took away 11 adivasis, left two of them later, and 8 remain in jail. The night before our team reached the village, the police forced sarpanch Madkam Hadma to wear police uniform and move with the force, arresting four people. Thus the police conspired to make the sarpanch look like a police agent, making him vulnerable to attacks by Maoists.

In the same village, a small 12-year-old boy Joga had been picked up by police on 12 May. The fact finding team met Joga and learned that Joga’s father and brothers had been arrested and detained illegally in the thana for seven days, where they were made to clean utensils and do other cleaning work in the thana. They were later released. The night before our team arrived in the village, Joga’s father had been taken into police custody with three others. The SHO of Gadiras thana said that repeated arrests are done because Joga’s sister is a Maoist ‘Mahila Commander’, whereas more than 150 villagers told the team that this is not true and the girl lives in the village. The team is apprehensive for the safety of Joga’s sister – she may be killed in a fake encounter claiming she is a Maoist. The sarpanch also is in danger of being killed.                

Rape of minor girl by CRPF Jawan

On 8 June 2016, a girl aged 14 years from Podum village, thana Dantewada was shutting her kirana shop when a CRPF jawan came and raped her throughout the night in the shop. She told her brother in law, who complained in the thana and was sent for medical examination last night (11 June 2016) – a process facilitated by the team and by Soni Sori. The CRPF jawan had given a name – RR Netam – and number in writing to the girl but this appears to be false since the TI says that no jawan of this name is there in the Jarum CRPF camp near Podum village.          

Fake Surrenders   

There have been 50 surrenders in the Chintalnar area. The team visited Chintalnar village where we were told of several staged surrenders. One small trader told us that he was called to the Polampalli thana by an SPO saying there is a warrant against him. He went there where he and 25 others were told that either they must agree to ‘surrender’ or they will be booked in a case of killing Nagesh, an SPO who was killed 2 years ago. He is 55 years old and he said that the other 25 cases were also not genuine surrenders. They all were given Ra 10000 each on the spot. Several others also testified to fake surrenders but are afraid of reprisals from the Maoists. We were told that the sarpanch, Kosa, is also under threat from Maoists for having facilitated the fake surrenders.

Conditions in the Village

Two AIPF teams covered 1650 kilometres in their journey, where they encountered more than 60 police and CRPF camps. But in the 25 villages that the teams visited, the villagers were insecure and suspicious of each other. In these 4 districts, political groups and other organizations are rather inactive, suggesting that the scope for democracy has shrunk there. Most of the villages visited by the teams were without electricity, without roads, and lacking in education and health facilities. In Ketulnar, two baby girls died after drinking milk provided by the anganwadi. We found that the village had 8 mitanin who did not even have medicines to treat diarrhea and vomiting and the hospital is 10 kilometres away because of which the little girls could not be treated. Now after the death of the girls, medicines have been provided but a case of culpable homicide is yet to be registered against the milk provider.

Signed

Dr Sunilam

 (9425109770)

Kavita Krishnan

(09560756628)

Brijendra Tiwari

(9926146022)

               

on behalf of AIPF

More attacks on Indian Christians at Sunday worship

Christian worship services and prayer meetings across India are often targeted by Hindu radicals. Last Sunday in Bihar and the Sunday before in Uttar Pradesh, worship services were disrupted by armed men who assaulted the pastors and, in Bihar, the entire congregation including women and children.

Uttar Pradesh: Pastor and wife severely assaulted during Sunday worship but warned not to get medical attention or complain to police

Pastor Lalta Prasad, 58, and his wife were assaulted by four masked men with wooden sticks during their church’s worship service on Sunday 29 May. The church is located in the village of Naupur, Jaunpur district, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Pastor Prasad (left) with his wife and a member of his church who was also injured in the attack

Around 50-55 Christians were present at the church when the attack took place. Amongst those present were women, children and the elderly, all of whom escaped. The men in the church remained and attempted to rescue Pastor Lalta Prasad and his wife, but they too were attacked.

The attack lasted for 15-20 minutes, before the assailants fled on their motor bikes.

Both Prasad and his wife were taken to the police station and then to the district hospital for treatment.

Dinanath Jaiswar, a church leader from the city of Varanasi who visited the couple on Tuesday (7 June), said to Barnabas Fund, “The doctor on duty warned the couple of the consequences of getting a medical examination done and on filing a case against the assaulters on the basis of the medical test. The couple got extremely frightened and agreed not to get into further trouble and decided not to proceed with the medical examination and thus the police complaint was not filed”.

Jaiswar added, “The political pressure on the police and the medical staff is evident in this case”.

Prasad sustained internal injuries to his head, back, face, legs and muscle tissues, while his wife is unable to stand due to the many blows she received to her back. “They have been very tactfully attacked with no blood and no fractures, so that their injuries would not seem severe to the police”, said Jaiswar.

Prasad, his family and members of the church remain in shock after the attack. According to Jaiswar, “there has been no church service [since the attack] and it seems that the assaulters have been successful in their motives”.

In March this year, Prasad received threats from a group of Hindu extremists and a complaint against him was lodged with the District Magistrate (DM), falsely alleging that he was enticing Hindus into Christianity with the promise of money or employment. The DM ordered an enquiry and instructed the police to look into the matter.

The police investigated Prasad and other Christians, and submitted their report to the Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) stating that, “These Christians only pray and worship; they pray in the name of Jesus and healings take place; they do not do any conversion activity.”

Jaiswar comments that “the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh [a Hindu nationalist organisation] were shocked that the police were supportive of the Christians and thus they explored other means to stop Pastor Prasad from ministering to the people”. 

Bihar: Pastor and church members brutally attacked by mob of Hindu extremists; further attacks feared in revenge for arrest of one person

On Sunday 5 June, a mob of 25 Hindu extremists belonging to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) stormed into a church in the city of Patna, in the Indian state of Bihar, brutally assaulting its pastor and all those attendence, including women and children, with bamboo sticks, belts and stones. Many sustained severe injuries and were admitted to hospital. One arrest has so far been made in connection with the attack.

Meeting together in India as Christians can carry great risk.jpg

Meeting together in India as Christians can carry great risk

The incident began at around 1:30pm at the India Mission Centre at Kas Mahal, Patna, when two young men, disguised as students and living in the neighbourhood of the church, disrupted the worship service. The men argued with church members, accusing them of conversion activity. Stones and verbal abuse were thrown by the two men, who have since been identified as Vishnu Kumar and Rahul Kumar.

“The church service was disrupted by members of the ABVP disguised as students. They stormed the venue, created a disturbance and proceeded to beat the Christians present using their belts. They also pelted stones at the women and children present,” said Arun Kumar, a local church leader, speaking to Barnabas Fund.

“When Pastor Meera Rani attempted to intervene in the situation, she too was beaten up by the attackers,” Kumar added.

The attackers were soon joined by Golu Kumar and a mob of around 25 people, all from the ABVP. The Akhil Bhartiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) is the student wing of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), the main political power in the Indian government. ABVP is known to be violently opposed to minority groups.

“Soon a mob also came and joined the attackers. They beat the Christians present with bamboo sticks, used their belts on women and children, and pelted stones. The pastor was beaten up again,” Kumar said to Barnabas Fund. “Many of the Christians were seriously injured and had to be admitted to the local hospital for treatment and first aid”.

Kumar added, “Pastor Meera Rani suffered a fracture in one of her fingers, her back is blue with the beating and she also received a cut under her ear”.

The police are investigating the case and so far one person has been arrested, but this in itself may lead to further attacks on the church.

“The attackers have threatened the church members and the pastor that they will take revenge as one of them is under arrest,” said Arun Kumar. “The ABVP people have warned the Christians not to conduct any more worship services in the church or else next Sunday they will come with guns and swords and will kill the Christians and cut them to pieces.”

The church has approached the police for protection and they have assured them of this. However, the landlord in whose property the church has been meeting is now under pressure and has asked the church to vacate the property by Sunday (12 June). The church has been meeting together in the area for the last six years but has only been meeting at their current location for the last six months.

“Tension and fear prevails. We ask that you pray for our protection, so that we can worship in safety without fear for our lives,” pleaded Kumar.

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Hindu extremists in India beat young Christian woman unconscious

On Sunday 15 May, Kamli Kawasi, a 22-year-old woman, was severely beaten and left unconscious by four young Hindu men who came hunting for her younger brother at their home in a village 40 kilometres from Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh state. Kamli’s crime was being a Christian.

Kamli (centre) with her brother and mother

Kamli, along with her brother Bamaan (19) and their mother, attended the Sunday worship service at a church four kilometres from their village, Parapur, on the morning of 15 May. Parapur falls under the Lohandiguda area in the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh state. That evening, the four young men (aged between 16 and 24) came to their house, hunting for Bamaan. They wanted to beat him up because the family were Christians.

“Because of you, our gods and goddesses are leaving the village and running away,” they told Kamli. They blamed the family for causing deaths in their village. “A child in the village had died a natural death and these young men blamed the Christians for causing this death by leaving their own faith and following Christ, thus causing Hindu gods to get angry”, said local pastor, Bhupendra Khora, to Barnabas Fund. 

They also accused the Christians of practising ‘black magic’.

Kamli was hand-grinding the grain in the courtyard when the young men started to verbally abuse and physically assault her. Bamaan and his mother, who were inside the house, heard the commotion and remained where they were. The young men dragged Kamli by her hair and mercilessly beat her chest, face, abdomen and all parts of her body, resulting in her falling unconscious. Her assailants then fled.

Kamli’s uncle, who lives nearby, happened to visit the family’s home and found Kamli unconscious outside in the dust. It was then that Bamaan and their mother came out of hiding. They immediately rushed Kamli to the government hospital in Lohandiguda. “Kamli regained consciousness on Tuesday (17 May) and was able to state her ordeal only then”, said Khora.

When a team from the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) visited Kamli on her third day in hospital, she was still bleeding heavily. She stayed in the hospital for eight days and was then transferred to a Christian hospital in Jagdalpur. Kamli's brother, Bamaan, spoke to EFI and told them, “They would have killed me, if I came out of hiding”.

It is more than 15 days since the attack, and Kamli, her brother and mother have not been able to go back to their village. “After being discharged from the hospital on 24 May, they have taken shelter at a believer’s house”, Khora said. “They have been threatened not to enter the village. ‘We will kill them, if they return’, the extremists have warned”.

According to sources, each evening since the attack the four young Hindu men return to the family’s house in the village searching for them.

Khora said that a First Information Report was registered with the police on 24 May, “but no investigations have been done by the police untill now”. Khora, along with Kamli, her brother and mother, visited the Additional Superintendent of Police on 31 May, stating that they have not been able to return back home because of the threat of further attacks. “He has assured us of some action against the assaulters”, said Khora.

Khora added, “Kamli complained of not being able to hear in her left ear after the assault and still has chest pain”. He continued, “They are poor and illiterate, they do not know what to do and how to face the situation. They are frightened but yet don’t want to leave Christ”.

Khora continued, “Though Parapur is a tribal village and tribals are animists and worship nature or ancestors, they have [now] started to worship Hindu gods and goddesses. It is a part of the Bajrang Dal’s mission to Hinduize the tribals”. The Bajrang Dal is a militant Hindu organisation that forms the youth wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad.

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Hindu organizations to start campaign to stop 'Hindus' from going to Church in Satna

Right wing Hindu organizations made an announcement on 2nd May 2016 at Satna that they will start a campaign to stop Hindus from going to Church according to a report published in Jansatta paper. Hindu groups claim that a large number of Hindus are being converted in the name of prayers being held every Sunday in Churches. This week itself a Hindu right wing group stormed in a Church and prevented a wedding. A leader of Bajrang Dal told the Indian express, "Because of our efforts no one went to the Sunday prayers this Sunday."

Our take: The targeting of Churches will increase because of this so called campaign. The government authorities must take notice and prevent communal elements from spreading hatred and from disturbing the harmony in society.

Try Christians for sedition says Madhya Pradesh member for minority welfare department

A member of the Madhya Pradesh Backward Classes and Minority Welfare Department who enjoys minister of state status, Laxmi Yadav, was present when Bajrang Dal activists stormed into a church in Satna on April 27 and stopped a wedding alleging the couple had converted.

As the Bajrang Dal insists Arun Kushwaha and Subhadra Kushwaha can marry only in a temple, Yadav said, “This is the first case in the country when Christians were caught red-handed converting and marrying OBCs. We will reconvert them, purify them after sprinkling Gangajal and hold a Hindu marriage for the couple. I am seeking legal opinion on whether sedition charge could be invoked against the Christians for waging a war against the country.”

Bajrang Dal leader Rajkumar Mishra, who has spearheaded campaigns against conversion, love jihad and cow slaughter and claims to have “saved hundreds of Hindu girls”, led a protest two days after the Church attack where an effigy of the Pope was burnt in front of a leading Catholic school of Satna. The protesters tried to enter the school premises too but were stopped by police.

Both Arun, 24, who has studied up to Class XII, and Subhadra insist they have not formally converted to Christianity, only undergone “man parivartan (a change of heart)”. They say their families were attracted to Christianity after their ailing parents, who couldn’t be helped by medical practitioners, were cured.
“We went to five doctors, and then the sixth (Christ) cured them, so we started believing in Him,” says Arun.

However, the Bajrang Dal men kept asking them why they were getting married in a church if they hadn’t converted, they say. The couple had chosen April 27 for the wedding as it was Arun’s birthday.

Bajrang Dal activists had barged into the Church of God (Full Gospel) in India, where the wedding was happening, followed by the local police, roughed up relatives from both sides, and stopped the ceremony. Police say they went because they were told “conversion was taking place”.

Pastor Sam Samuel says Wednesday’s was the first-ever wedding being held at the church that came up in 1998. “The presence of so many Hindus, many of whom believe in our way, had the right wing worried. Police abused us in front of the activists and later apologised saying they had to put up an act,” he says. He says he was also asked by police not to visit the church or his first-floor residence that night and later not to venture out of his home.

Amid claims and counterclaims over conversion, and proof demanded by right-wing activists, police checked Subhadra’s Class VIII mark-sheet and found that she was 10 days short of turning 18. Nine persons, including six pastors and Arun, were arrested and a case registered under the anti-conversion law, prevention of child marriage law and the IPC section related to hurting religious sentiments. They were released on bail late in the night.

“No one misbehaved with me but they pushed Arun around and asked how and why did he convert to Christianity,” says a distraught Subhadra.

According to Arun, Bajrang Dal men told them, “If you are ready to marry according to Hindu traditions, we will take you to a temple and perform the wedding on a grand scale. If you insist on marrying in a church, we have to take you to the police station.”

Her father Loknath Kushwaha claims his daughter is actually 19 years old and that her marksheet wrongly mentioned her birth year as 1998. He has so far failed to provide proof from the hospital where she was born but shows three marksheets of his youngest son Jashwant that mention different years of birth.

“Who gave the Bajrang Dal the right to storm into a church, beat up pastors and insult all of us?” asks Loknath, calling their action an “atikraman (encroachment)”. “Punish us if she is a minor but why insult us like this? We are vishwasu (people of faith). When both sides are ready to marry, how can others interfere?”

The family had printed invitations and many relatives had come for the wedding when the Bajrang Dal attacked. He is also angry with pastor Samuel for not going through Subhadra’s marksheet before fixing the wedding day at Arun’s insistence. “He should have waited till her birthday and we would not have ended up like this,” he says, pointing to his despondent daughter.

Police dubbed Loknath “mentally unstable”, claiming relatives have told them this. Subhadra’s 44-year-old mother Munni says she used to get “visits from ghosts” till 10 years ago and no doctors could cure her. She admits to have received baptism at Gaughat in Allahabad, but adds, “no one has given us money and we have not paid anything. I turned a believer after I was cured.”

Loknath’s elder brother Gayaprasad, who incidentally is a BJP member, having joined the party after spending more than two decades in the BSP, was among those present at the wedding.

Later, he filed the complaint that led to the arrests. He claims police made him a scapegoat by getting him to file the complaint. The grocer also says that while his brother has changed his faith, he continues to be a Hindu. “I have seen weddings of other community but had never seen a Christian marriage, so I was curious and went to the church,” he claims.

Bajrang Dal leader Mishra says their protests were justified. “The couple have converted but haven’t changed their names to get the benefits that are due to OBCs.”

Pointing out that Madhya Pradesh’s anti-conversion law requires those who change their faith to notify district authorities, he adds, “If they have already converted or are set to convert, where is the letter of permission?”

Meanwhile, Arun and Subhadra remain determined to marry. “I am not scared by what happened but it’s at the back of my mind that I may be harmed when I am out. We will marry again when she becomes major in a few days. It will be a court marriage because we have no other option,” he says, adding that he would henceforth see whether authorities take similar action in cases of other Hindu minors getting married.

Standing at her home that is still decorated, for what would have been the first wedding in the family, Subhadra nods, “I will marry him.”

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Tribal Christians flee Indian village following threat

Six families of Gond tribal Christians have fled their village in the central Indian Chhattisgarh state after Hindu neighbors allegedly threatened to kill them if they didn't convert, their pastor has said.

Following a week of harassment and attacks, all 37 Christians fled Katodi village in Kanker district on April 29, Moses Annel told ucanews.com May 2.

They were "beaten up and their houses were destroyed" after they refused the majority Hindu tribal villagers' "demand to give up their Christian faith," Annel said.

Korar police officials confirmed tensions and said a Maoist insurgency has made it difficult for them to inspect the village.

Police inspector D.P. Shrivastava said tensions erupted April 25 after Christians refused to "contribute" money to a village temple festival.

"It should not be seen as a religious issue. Both parties were tribal people and it was dispute over a donation and it was settled," the police officer said. However, he said he is not aware of the fleeing incident.

But Annel said the attack was based on religion. On April 25, a village meeting summoned six Christian families and directed them to quit Christianity.
"When they refused, they were beaten. Six of them suffered internal injuries and are still undergoing treatment in a government hospital," he said.

Following the Christians' complaints, district officials intervened and brokered a peace between the parties. All were sent back to the village with assurances from Hindu villagers that they would not harm the Christians.

But on April 29, the villagers demolished the houses of Christians and prevented them from fetching water from the common water source, the pastor said.

The attackers also threatened they would kill them if the Christian villagers did not remove the police complaint, Annel said.

That threat forced the Christians to flee their village to a hill top forest at least 70 kilometers away.

The state, ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, a Hindu-nationalist party, has become a hotbed of anti-Christian violence with right-wing Hindu groups attacking Christians with impunity.

Christian leaders said police are indifferent to attacks on Christians and that the government tacitly supports violence on religious minorities.

Father Sebastian Poomattam, vicar general of Raipur Archdiocese, said the situation has worsened after Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in New Delhi two years ago.

"Our life has become miserable" after Modi began to head the federal government, he said. "We see a sudden rise in the attacks against Christians in the past couple of years," he said, adding, "These are all organized attacks."

The Evangelical Fellowship of India has documented at least four verified incidents of hate crimes targeting Christians from January to March in the state.

However, Chhattisgarh Christian Forum president Arun Pannalal said there were at least 20 cases of attacks on Christians this year so far.

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Madhya Pradesh Police, Bajrang Dal stop church wedding in Satna

The Madhya Pradesh Police Wednesday entered a church in Satna and stopped a wedding ceremony following a complaint by the Bajrang Dal that the bride and the groom had been unlawfully converted to Christianity.

Accompanied by Bajrang Dal activists, a Kolgawan police team entered the Church of God in India and arrested 10 people, including pastor Sam Samuel and the groom’s parents.

CSP (Satna) Sitaram Yadav said the bride was a minor as she was 10 days short of turning 18. He said the couple had converted to Christianity four years ago, but district authorities were not informed, which is a crime under the state’s anti-conversion legislation. Satna SP Mithilesh Shukla also claimed that the girl is “a Hindu and a minor”.

“Bajrang Dal informed police that members of the Kushwaha community were being converted to Christianity at the church. We registered an FIR on a complaint by the bride’s uncle,” Yadav said, adding that her father is not mentally sound. The groom, Ajay Kushwaha, 24, works with a private firm.

Besides Sections 3 and 4 of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, police have invoked IPC Section 295 (A) (deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings) and Section 14 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.

Church spokesman Mariyosh Joseph called the charges false and said the bride and groom were Christians. He said the Bajrang Dal and the RSS were behind the complaint.

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Why it's no longer safe to be a Christian in Chhattisgarh - Catch News

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The attacks

• This Saturday, goons entered a church in Bastar and tried to set the pastor and his pregnant wife on fire
• They allegedly forced people to shout Jai Shri Ram
• Attacks on Christians have been on the rise in Chhattisgarh, often abetted by the administration

More in the story

• How Christians are being targetted in Chhattisgarh
• The administration's response
• How violence is backed up by discrimination

About a month after goons entered a church in Raipur, vandalised it and attacked the women and children present there, a Christian couple was attacked in a church in Bastar this Saturday.
Hooligans, reportedly carrying pistols, rods and knives, are said to have entered the church on Saturday night and assaulted Pastor Dinbandhu Sameli, his 7-month pregnant wife and daughter Roushni Vidya.

The attack

After entering the premises, the assailants attacked the pastor and tried to destroy the Holy Bible, furniture and religious material kept inside. They also tried to set the church on fire.

Pastor Dinbandhu Sameli and his 7-month pregnant wife. Photo: Suhas Munshi/ Catch News
The president of Chhattisgarh's Christian Forum Arun Pannalal says that the attack was carried out by the workers of Bajrang Dal and accused police of "covering up" the incident.

"The church was vandalised by Hindu fundamentalists during prayer meeting on Saturday. Activists wearing bhagwa (saffron) head bands, were forcing Christians to chant 'Jai Shri Ram', then they doused the pastor and his 7 month pregnant wife with petrol. And now the police is trying to protect them," he said.

The officer investigating the case, Abdul Khan, had a totally different view of the case. "Who told you that these people [the attackers] chanted 'Jai Shri Ram'? You go and ask those people these questions.. As far as the investigation is concerned, it's happening and in due time we'll catch the people responsible for this," he said.

 

 

But even if the police nabs the attackers, what are they planning to charge them with? Certainly not the charges of attempt to murder, causing grievous injury or criminal conspiracy, sections which would match the gravity of the crime - of trying to set a 7 month pregnant woman on fire.
Instead police has registered an FIR under sections like 452 (house trespass), 395 (dacoity), 435 (committing mischief by fire and causing damage of Rs 100), 427 (committing mischief and causing damage of Rs 50), 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship) and Section 34 (acts done by several people in furtherance of a common intention).

Christians targeted

According to data compiled by Chhattisgarh Evangelical Foundation, the attacks on Christians are only increasing with time. But many feel that the attacks aren't just physical in nature. That the attacks often seem to be well coordinated and abetted by people in power.

The table below shows the number of incidents of violence against Christians in Chhattisgarh. The data was compiled by the Catholic Secular Forum.

Here are some other examples:
1. In 2013 some villages in Chhattisgarh decided to ban the entry of non-Hindus in their village. By last year, some 150 villages had passed such resolutions. These resolutions were finally taken to the High Court that struck them down as being unconstitutional.
2. Chhattisgarh is one of the 5 states in the country to have passed an anti-conversion law. While banning one's conversion to any other faith, the law has provisions for anyone wanting to return to their 'ancestor's faith' or their 'original religion'. This won't be considered 'conversion' according to the law.
3. Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) banned distribution of sweets by Santa Clauses in the area on the occasion of Christmas. It has asked the community to instead refer to the sweets as 'prasad'.
4. It has also forced churches in and around Bastar to display pictures of the Hindu Goddess Saraswati in their schools.

Pastor Surendra Chalki. Photo: Suhas Munshi/ Catch News
"Physical attacks are not as worrisome as the attitude of this administration. They were privatising and taking over the model schools in the state and giving them over to a particular community group. We had to approach High Court against this and last month got a stay," Pannalal said.

He added that in Korba, Hindu fundamentalists were trying to force a sister to install Saraswati statue.
"When she refused, the collector of the area booked her in a case of disturbing communal harmony. When we approached National Human Rights Commission, they made the same collector the inquiring officer in the case," said Pannalal.

Reverend Rajesh Robin has seen communal attacks and state apathy from up close. He's been part of several protests, one of which was against vandalism of a cemetery. Instead of seeing police action against hooligans, he has been booked under several cases like attempt to murder, kidnapping and seeking ransom. He even had to spend 3 days in jail in connection with one of the cases.

Reverend Rajesh Robin. Photo: Suhas Munshi/ Catch News
"This year alone we've seen cases of pastors and parishioners being beaten in Bijapur, Narayanpur, Raipur, Madhauta...In Narayanpur they were beaten so badly that they had to be brought to Jagdalpur for treatment. In Jagdalpur we're still better off, but there still is a palpable fear of police and Hindu fundamentalists here."

It is because of incidents like the vandalism of their graveyard that shook the faith of people like Pastor Rajesh in the state.

"So these people recently demolished a wall that was being built around the graveyard. The police did not even register a case. Then these goons came to us and claimed that this graveyard belonged to their faith some 150 years ago. Just like they did in the case of Babri Masjid. So what are we supposed to do now?"

Pastor Surendra Chalki who runs an ashram for children and elderly women in Jagdalpur also suffered a shock recently. An brick and mortar ashram that he was building with the donations he collected from his neighbours, was demolished by the municipality, even though he had secured a nod from his gram sabha. But he's still hopeful.

"When we approached the collector, he told us that the ashram was demolished by mistake. We will hopefully get a clearance from all the authorities and start building the ashram afresh."
Edited by Aditya Menon

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Indian pastor and pregnant wife attacked by militant Hindus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Indian pastor and his pregnant wife were assaulted and their church set on fire on Sunday evening (17 April) after they refused to praise a Hindu god.

Pastor Dinbanhu Sameli, 30, and his wife, Meena, 26, seven months pregnant, lead a church in the troubled Bastar district of the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh.

Two young men approached the pastor outside his home next to his church at around 7pm, initially asking for prayer, claiming they were from a nearby Methodist church. But they later brought out a sword which they held to the pastor’s neck, and demanded the couple shout the phrase, “Jai Shri Ram” (Victory to the god Ram).

“Where is your Jesus?” the two men demanded; Sameli replied “We believe that he is with us”. When asked “Why don’t you believe in Ram?” husband and wife remained silent.

When the couple refused to do praise Ram, and also refused to stamp on a Bible, the two men took a litre of petrol and set fire to the church, including musical equipment.

Sameli said he “felt fear in his heart” with the sword on his shoulder, but “prayed that God would save him”.

As the church burned, the couple fled and filed a report with the police.

Fire damage at the church, 2016

But local media then blamed the incident on the local Methodist pastor, and also erroneously reported that the couple had been doused in petrol and set alight.

The incident took place in the remote village of Karanji, in the Tokapal area of the sprawling Bastar district, which has seen several recent incidents of anti-Christian violence at the hands of Hindu fundamentalists. Last year, the couple told World Watch Monitor, a gang of people from a militant Hindu group, Bajrang Dal, came on two tractors, shouted “Jai Shri Ram” in front of the church, and wrote the same slogan on its front wall, on both the sides of the main door.

In July 2014, the village of Belar, also in Bastar, passed a resolution banning all non-Hindu religious activities.

In October 2014, the high court of Chhattisgarh state asked the state government to ensure that anti-Christian resolutions passed by village councils would not infringe religious freedom. A Christian organisation challenging the local resolutions said at the time that the court order was “only a minor relief.”

“This [latest] incident cannot be seen in isolation from what is happening here,” Arun Pannalal, president of Chhattisgarh Christian Forum (CCF), told World Watch Monitor.

Part of the incident's First Information Report

“[That] the police have registered [a report] against ‘unknown miscreants’ is laughable,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “In a small town, police [are] well informed. Police [are] trying to protect them.”

“Tokapal is a very small place, where everybody knows everybody. Police registering [a report] against unidentified persons itself is an indication that police [are] trying to downplay the incident and protect the accused,” Pannalal was quoted by the Times of India as saying.

Pannalal told World Watch Monitor “the police officers who have failed to protect our fundamental rights should be suspended immediately and [investigated] for dereliction of duty.”

Sameli assured WWM contacts who phoned him on Thursday 21st April that police are now working with him on the case. 

Recent incidents involving minority Christians

Between January and April 2016 there have been 49 reported incidents -14 in April alone - in Chhattisgarh, ruled by the Hindu nationalist party the BJP. Over ther same time there have been 116 in total in central India, although these include women tortured by their husbands for their faith, other beatings of pastors, and a case of villagers not allowing a Christian to be buried.

On 17 March, the Municipal Corporation of Raipur, the state capital, gave a demolition notice to a Pentecostal church, saying it had been built on land to which it had no right. 

Ten days before, the church had been vandalised by Hindu fundamentalists during Sunday worship, and worshippers beaten up.

Over a thousand Christians staged a sit-in under the banner of CCF the next day, and the demolition order was withdrawn.

In February, a pastor was beaten during a prayer meeting, while two months earlier a group of activists from Bajrang Dal demolished a venue where people were celebrating the establishment of a church in Korba.

In 2014 and 2015, 93 organised attacks on Christians were reported in Chhattisgarh.

Church vandalized, pastor attacked in Chhattisgarh

Raipur: Two unidentified persons on Sunday barged into a Protestant church and thrashed the pastor and his pregnant wife in a central Indian state.

The Times of India called the attackers “goons” and described the incident as another case of vandalization of church in Chhattisgarh’s troubled Bastar region.

The church is located at Tokapal area.

Arun Pannalal, president of Chhattisgarh Christian Forum, said the intruders poured petrol and torched the Bible, furniture and other religious material kept inside set the church.

The attackers who were armed with knife, hammer and sword, forced the pastor and his wife to chant ‘Jai Sri Ram’ and then poured petrol on them as well.

The goons manhandled the pastor’s children and destroyed mike set, gifts and tables. 

They also tried to set ablaze pastor’s house. The family ran out for life.

Later, the matter was reported to police who deployed security at the spot throughout the night.

Pannalal said the pastor’s wife was seven months pregnant.

A case was lodged at Parpa police station in Bastar and the police in charge Abdul Kadir Khan said that an FIR was registered against the two unidentified persons for creating communal tension and trying to set ablaze the pastor.

Pannalal remarked, “Police registering an FIR against unknown miscreants is laughable. In a small town police is well informed, they are trying to protect the accused. The police officers who have failed to protect our fundamental rights should be suspended immediately and enquired for dereliction of duty.”

Recently in March, a group of 15 men had vandalized a church and manhandled the congregants at Kachna in state capital while a prayer meeting was in progress. Nine persons were then arrested in connection with the case. 

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Now, Bastar church vandalized, pastor & family attacked

In yet another vandalization of church in Chhattisgarh's tribal Bastar region on Sunday evening, "two unidentified" persons barged into a church located at Tokapal area, poured petrol on Holy Bible, furniture and other religious material kept inside and set them ablaze.

According to the FIR, the pastor was assaulted by the goons who allegedly poured petrol on him and threatened to set him ablaze. The goons destroyed mike set, gifts, and tables and manhandled the children of pastor too. They were well-armed men carrying knife, hammer, sword and when they tried to set ablaze pastor's house, the family rushed out and ran for life.

However, Christian organisations alleged that the police tried to downplay the incident. Chhattisgarh Christian Association president Arun Pannalal alleged that pastor Deenanath and his pregnant wife was beaten up, forced to chant "Jai Sri Ram" and then petrol was poured on them, but the couple somehow escaped. Later, the matter was reported to police following which security was deployed at the spot throughout the night.

Parpa police station in-charge Abdul Kadir Khan told TOI that an FIR has been registered against the unidentified persons for creating communal tension and trying to set ablaze the pastor. However, senior police officials, including Bastar district superintendent of police, remained incommunicado throughout the day.

"Tokapal is a very small place where everybody knows everybody. Police registering an FIR against unidentified persons itself is an indication that police is trying to downplay the incident and protect the accused," Christian Association president Arun Pannalal said.

In March 2014, Tokapal block in tribal Bastar region was in news after an aggressive campaign by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad had led to a ban on the entry of and propaganda by non-Hindu missionaries, especially Christians. Many gram panchayats in Tokpal block had passed orders under Section 129 (G) of the Chhattisgarh Panchayat Raj Act banning all "non-Hindu religious propaganda, prayers and speeches in the villages."

Recently in March, a group of 15 men had vandalized a church and manhandled the congregants at Kachna in state capital while a prayer meeting was in progress. Nine persons were then arrested in connection with the case.

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