In a recent message addressed to "Dear World", the
Catholic-Christian Secular Forum (CSF) has appealed for global intervention in
the wake of the continued "ethnic cleansing of Christians in India". "I promised
the hundreds of victims – babies, women, nuns, priests, pastors and innocent
others – whom I personally met that I would at least tell the world of their
desperate situation and appeal to the international conscience," said the letter
sent out by the Mumbai-based CSF general secretary Joseph Dias.
The CSF, it pointed out, is India’s only certified NGO for
"undertaking community development programmes for human rights, social service,
medical aid, education, charity and relief" of the laity, supported by the
clergy. Dias, who as part of different fact-finding missions has visited
violence-hit areas in different states, has called on all concerned "to act
before India flares up in communal frenzy as in the past".
The attacks on
Indian Christians, minorities and innocent others have not been restricted to a
single state but have been taking place across at least seven states since last
Christmas when this bout of violence first erupted in Orissa. The other affected
states include Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand,
Rajasthan, Gujarat, Kerala and even New Delhi.
Ø The attacks are premeditated, carried out with military
precision.
Ø Over 50 people have so far been killed, 4,000 houses
destroyed, nuns raped and priests brutalised, church workers burnt to death or
buried alive. Over 20,000 are living in abject conditions in slumlike refugee
camps while over 50,000 others are hiding in jungles, in desperate need of food
and medicine. Over 300 churches, cathedrals, tabernacles, presbyteries, schools
and shops have been torched.
Ø The attackers are activists of the right-wing Hindu saffron
brigade – Bajrang Dal, RSS, VHP – with the tacit approval of the state
governments. The BJP is in power in most of these states, either on its own or
in alliance with political partners. Its sympathisers within the police and
officialdom abet and participate in the criminal destruction of life and
property.
Ø The objective is to wipe out Christianity from India,
marginalise Christians to the periphery of the mainstream, make them subservient
to the majority, forcibly reconvert minorities, foist a Hindu party at the helm
in the coming elections and perpetuate a caste-ridden Hindu society.
Ø The UPA government at the centre is hesitating to act for fear
of incurring the wrath of Hindus who comprise 80 per cent of India’s population.
Ø The victims are thousands of low caste (Dalit) or tribal
Christians in the rural areas and the helpless clergy and laity in the urban
areas, who are soft targets. The Blessed Sacrament has been vandalised,
cloistered nun-sisters attacked, crucifix and statues of saints desecrated,
Bibles burnt and church institutions torched.
Ø For a large section of the media the relentless attacks are
not even news.
The appeal has asked for support for its demands which include:
Ø Immediate ban on the Bajrang Dal and related mob terror
outfits.
Ø Call on the union government to fulfil its constitutional
obligation and demand urgent action from the state governments to protect the
life and liberty of Christians.
Ø Immediate relief and adequate compensation to the victims and
internally displaced persons as per the provisions of the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights to which the Government of India is a party.
Ø Adequate compensation to the churches and residences of
priests/house churches, etc for losses incurred.
Ø Fast track courts to try the culprits and enforce the rule of
law.
Ø A probe into the foreign funding of extremist Hindu NGOs and
the issuance of travel advisories to tourists not to come to these states.
Ø A CBI investigation into all aspects of the anti-Christian
violence in various states and the business houses funding the hate campaign of
the saffron brigade.
Ø Preventive custody of the culprits and suspension of police
and government officials for gross dereliction of duty and complicity in the
"ethnic cleansing".
Ø Put Kandhamal district, Orissa, under army control.
Ø Immediate release of hundreds of Christians under illegal
detention in Karnataka.
Ø Trace and provide security, relief and compensation to the
thousands of Christians believed to be hiding in Orissa’s forests.
Ø Scheduled Caste (SC) status for Dalit Christians.
Ø Constitution of a thorough inquiry under the Commissions of
Inquiry Act; the terms of reference to include affixing responsibility on erring
government servants and politicians.
Ø Adequate security to Christian religious places and
institutions.
In addition to the other demands, the CSF has made several
recommendations which include:
Ø Treat incidents of communal violence as a crime akin to
terrorist acts.
Ø Enactment of a new law on the lines of the Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act to protect minorities from
the brute force of the majority.
Ø Move law and order from the state list to the concurrent list
so that the union government is obliged to intervene without flimsy excuses.
