Christian Persecution in India

ASIA/INDIA - "Severe persecution" against Christians in Muslim Kashmir

Srinagar (Agenzia Fides) - The Christians in Kashmir suffer severe persecution on behalf of Islamic extremist groups in the Indian state with a Muslim majority, they also govern politics and the judiciary system, eliminating the rule of law. The 400 Christians in the capital Srinagar "are in a state of panic in the uncertainty of the future", "they do not know if they can celebrate Christmas", while "the police act on behalf of the political leadership" expression of the majority Muslim population. This is what is said according to a detailed Report sent to Agenzia Fides, written by a delegation of Christian leaders and human rights activists, led by the Catholic John Dayal, Secretary General of the ecumenical organization "All India Christian Council". The delegation went to Kashmir for a week after the episode of the Protestant Christian Pastor Chander Mani Khanna, of the "All Saints Church", accused of fraudulent conversions and baptisms. The Pastor was arrested by the police, was released on 1 December, after 10 days in jail, on condition that he does not leave the country. The team wanted to ensure respect for human rights and religious freedom in Kashmir and found a "serious and alarming situation".
"Islamic groups in Kashmir valley do not seem to take into account that in the rest of India, both Christians and Muslims are a small minority and they need each other, to meet the challenge of Hindu fundamentalist groups", notes the Document. "The total absence of human rights organizations; the absence of a Commission for Minorities in Kashmir make it difficult to hear the problems, fears and perceptions of religious minority communities, like the Christians", explains the text.
The Report recalls the fact that "pastor Khanna was summoned by a Sharia court guided by Grand Mufti Azam Kashmir Bashir-ud-din as a "disturbing episode". "The court, recall the Christians, is not recognized by the state and "the Islamic court has no jurisdiction over the Christian minority". This inclination "could have serious repercussions for the state and its religious minorities". This episode raises an urgent problem concerning "the state of justice in the valley, where the Bar - also all Muslims - refused to legally defend the pastor". Khanna told the delegation that a small group of about seven people, previously Muslim, after attending the church for ten months, regularly and with great devotion, insisted on receiving baptism. There is no "anti-conversion law" in the state and one is not legally obliged to inform the government or the police in such cases.
The local government is not "able to monitor the situation and to stop the Islamic extremist groups": this is why the Report launches an appeal to the federal government "so that it protects secularism in the entire country", establishes a Commission for Minorities in Kashmir, ensuring the pluralism, multiculturalism and respect for the rule of law in Kashmir.
The Christian presence in the Kashmir valley has been documented since the mid-nineteenth century, with the advent of the first Catholic and Protestant missionaries. Currently there are about 400 Christians in the whole Kashmir valley. The Christian community opened schools which today are the most important in the state, attended by a large Muslim majority. In the past, Kashmir was the scene of violence, which began in 2003, with accusations against Christian missionaries because they preached proselytize and converted young Muslims. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 12/12/2011)

ASIA/INDIA - National campaign in support of the "Law to prevent abuse on religious minorities"

New Delhi (Agenzia Fides) - A national campaign of awareness and prayer, was launched today by Indian Christians, of all denominations, to support the approval of the "Law to prevent violence against religious minorities": this is what is reported to Fides by the All India Christian Council (AICC), an ecumenical organization committed to the defense of religious freedom, of minorities and, in particular, the rights of Christians in India.
The bill "is urgent to put an end to hate campaigns, and to restore confidence in minorities", explains to Fides John Dayal, Catholic activist, AICC General Secretary. The organization urges the Indian government to present to Parliament without delay and to approve the bill, commonly called "Communal Prevention Bill", written in early 2011 by the National Advisory Council and is now standing in Parliament (see Fides 24/5/2011 and 23/9/20119). The AICC has launched a series of initiatives across the nation, finding the support of many Christian groups.
The law was strongly supported by religious minorities but also by a large part of civil society, as an effective means to curb inter-community violence plaguing the country since independence (in 1947). According to official information, in the last ten years there have been over 6,000 interreligious violence episodes in India.
Among the most heinous mass crimes against religious communities, the AICC recalls the violence against Sikhs in New Delhi in 1984, the pogrom against Muslims in Gujarat in 2002, the anti-Christian carnage in Orissa in 2008. In all these serious episodes, the police and public officials remained indifferent or were accomplices. "The worst thing is the question of justice. For most of the victims justice was denied. In Orissa, for example, not one person was convicted of murder", notes the AICC.
The bill - said the AICC to Fides - seeks to ensure justice for victims and to put an end to the climate of impunity, censoring the behavior of extremist religious groups and apathy or the involvement of public officials. The law would also help to curb hate speeches. In past months, the Hindu fundamentalist leader Praveen Togadia called for the beheading of the missionaries "operating conversions". And Subramaniam Swamy, leader of the nationalist "Bharatiya Janata Party", launched a campaign of defamation against Christian and Muslim communities. The AICC also denounces the attempt to scuttle the law, fueling false alarms and, considering inter-religious violence "an evil like corruption", strongly reiterates the urgency of measures to curb the continuous abuses against minorities such as Muslims, Christians, Dalits and tribals. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 12/12/2011)

ASIA/INDIA - Christmas Prayer for the persecuted in Orissa

Bhubaneswar (Agenzia Fides) - In the new Christian settlement of Anandnagar in the district of Kandhamal - scene of the 2008 anti-Christian massacres - the Christians prayed and celebrated hope, waiting for Christmas. In Anandnagar we find the Christians who resettled after being driven from their native villages, in Tikabali area, in Kandhamal district. As reported to Fides by the local Church, about 800 people from nearly 450 Christian families, victims of violence, came together on December 8, feast of the Immaculate Conception for a pre-Christmas gathering of "prayer and hope". Brother K.J. Markos, a Monfort missionary who lives in Kandhamal, informs that it was a peaceful encounter, characterized by a climate of welcome and celebration, prepared by the nuns of the Missionaries of Charity (MC), together with the villagers. The sisters also informed the police and civil authorities, and this enabled the meeting to be carried out smoothly. The meeting heard a catechesis on the meaning of Christmas and attended a prayer meeting led by Don Sisirkant Sabhanayak, Pastor of Mother of God Parish, near Tikabali. The meeting was also attended by Sajan K George, President of the "Global Council of Indian Christians," who had words of encouragement towards the faithful, and ended with a moment of fraternal conviviality.
In past days, His Exc. Mgr. John Barwa, SVD, Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, sent a pastoral Letter to the diocese, in view of Christmas, urging the faithful to be "heralds of a message of hope" despite the suffering of the past and present. The Kandhamal district, which occupies a central part of the Archdiocese, has been the epicenter of the anti-Christian violence in 2008: over 100 were killed, more than 6,000 houses were burnt in 400 villages, as well as 296 churches and small Christian places of worship. More than 56,000 Christians became 'IDPs', some 30,000 still live in refugee camps set up by the government. About 1,000 were warned or threatened by their neighbors: they can return home only if they become Hindus. The rest of the refugees preferred to leave, for fear, the district of Kandhamal in fact has no chance of livelihood in Kandhamal, where they are also victims of a 'veto' and discrimination at an economic and social level. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 12/12/2011)

 

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