The Marxists of yore thank you for
continuing their anti-American efforts.
Posted on 12/30/2001 6:40:48 PM PST by Justin Raimondo
Militant Hindus Assault Christians
Persecution of religious minorities stirs Christian outrage against government inaction.
By Manpreet Singh in New Delhi
1/31/01
In a renewed round of violence, Hindu extremists in India assaulted priests and nuns and ransacked Christian churches and schools. A growing atmosphere of religious intolerance in India is threatening to further damage relations between Hindu moderates and Christians.
Militant Hindu organizations such as the Rashtiriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Sangh Parivar (SP) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) receive support from members of the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), thus fueling a campaign against religious minorities in India.
In November, about 400 VHP activists desecrated and forcibly took over a church belonging to the Evangelical Church of India in the Surat district, Gujarat state. They removed the church's cross from the altar, replacing it with Hindu idols. They also hoisted a saffron flag, symbolizing that the church had become a place of Hindu worship.
A five-member fact-finding team headed by John Dayal, secretary general of the All-India Christian Council (AICC), alleged that Hindu fundamentalist organizations were trying to convert the church into a temple. The matter, now a national controversy, is pending in court.
In the incident, about 80 Christian families, some 200 tribal Christians in all, were driven out of the village and took refuge in a nearby forest. VHP activists have warned that the Christians will be allowed back only if they embrace Hinduism.
Area Christians say the district police assisted the SP. "The situation in Gujarat has deteriorated," said Joseph D'Souza, president of the AICC. "We feel that the government is conniving with the Sangh Parivar outfits. We take very strong objection [to] the government's claim that the church land is disputed—and [to] the forcible takeover of the church."
Dayal says, "We have ample proof that the government is conniving with the Hindu fundamentalists and is putting pressure on the police and judiciary."
Catholic Priest Murdered
In Gwalior, northern Madhya Pradesh state, central India, several men forced their way into the home of a 64-year-old priest, C. Alphonse. They beat him with sticks and iron rods, leaving him with a head injury, fractured arms and legs, and broken teeth after the 1 a.m. attack. Meanwhile, members of the radical Bajrang Dal group and the VHP assaulted a pastor, Amulya Pegu, in Majuli, Assam, apparently to curtail the growing Christian influence in the area.
In Uttar Pradesh state, armed men held captive nuns of St. Mary's Convent in the Haridwar district while looting cash and other valuables. In the Kolar district of Karnataka state, a mob of about 100 threw stones at Christians and a church, alleging that evangelistic pamphlets and books were being distributed.
In Bokaro village, near Ranchi, in Bihar state, more than a dozen armed men assaulted St. Anna High School's principal and three nuns. After raping the cook, they fled with cash and other valuables. School officials accuse local authorities of failing to take action against the culprits.
In northeastern Manipur state, gunmen abducted and murdered a 32-year-old priest, Shajan Jacob Chittinapilly. He was taken to a field and shot in the forehead at point-blank range. Condemning the attacks, the AICC has urged Prime Minster A.B. Vajpayee to take action. The United Christian Forum for Human Rights, meanwhile, has urged the government to act firmly against the continuing violence and is seeking protection for Christian workers in northeastern Indian states.
"Churches and Christians have become more and more vulnerable, particularly in the states where the Sangh Parivar has strong influence," D'Souza says. "Minority-bashing is going on as the [government refuses] to enforce the rule of law. I am sure the situation is going to deteriorate further [since] the VHP is conniving with the authorities."
"We are broadening our campaign against violence and seeking the support of other communities, [such as] Buddhists and even moderate Muslims," D'Souza adds. "In solidarity with even secular Hindus and civil society, we will continue to put moral and political pressure on the government."
Richard Howell, general secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India, sees the pre-Christmas violence, particularly in Gujarat, as part of a continuing four-year trend. "It is part of the Hindu fundamentalists' communal strategy," Howell says. "Hatred and humiliation of minorities is their agenda. The violence against Christians has long been there, but now it is backed up by communal forces, unashamedly. And the silence of the government is a new dimension."
Delhi's archbishop, Vincent Michael Concessao, sees the renewed violence in the light of a rightist propaganda campaign against evangelism. "The literature ascribing wrong motives over conversions and Christianity is being spread, now even in the remote villages," Concessao says. "And the authorities are unable to catch the culprits."
The archbishop says the violence is linked to Christian efforts to serve the downtrodden in India, such as the Dalits (formerly known as untouchables).
"I am not a prophet, but I am sure that things are going to worsen," Concessao says. "The more we work for the poor and Dalits, and the more they are going to demand their rights, the [more] violence will escalate. But that's the price we have to pay to fight for equality and justice. And we should be prepared to face this."
One wonders how much worse it would be were sexual deviants in charge of a nation of sexual perverts which had nuclear weapons.
A five-member fact-finding team headed by John Dayal, secretary general of the All-India Christian Council (AICC), alleged that Hindu fundamentalist organizations were trying to convert the church into a temple.
Gee, ya think?
Reached for comment, X42 Bill Clinton stated he remembered those churches being violently converted to temples by racists when he was just a boy...oh, wait. Wrong country.
Just thought this needed to be highlighted.
If you're auditioning for Jamaat-i-Islami or something, I don't think you'll qualify for membership.
No, it wasn't the US that recently concluded an arms deal with India -- that was Israel. But isn't it funny how some people get these two quite different countries confused in their minds?
Apparently so are you. May I remind you of exactly where our sons and daughters are currently stationed?
Heres a clue, Its not India.
The hatred that the bastards feel toward the true children of God, is a revelation in and of itself. They are driven by the need to destroy the heirs of salvation, with the expectation that they, the bastards, will recieve the inheritance intended for the children.
The hard times behind are a picnic, compared to the hard times ahead for true Christians.
Any Christian would take the Hindus anyday over the Muslims.
The current leadership, we would point out, was elected, after their most pro-U.S. Prime Minister in years, in the early '90's, was given the back of the hand by Bill Clinton, who funded and assisted India's thousand year enemy in every way he could, thus substantially contributing to giving the Hindu nationalists the upper hand in the ensuing elections. It would seem, however, that the pendulum could swing back if we work with rather than against India as Clinton did. Little matters like giving the Panama Canal to the Chinese, which you deemed irrelevant, did not seem so to many in India.
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