In an urgent plea to the Government of India, this month various
Christian organisations under the um-
brella of the Federation of Indian American Christian Organisations of North
America, FIACONA, highlighted the continuing instances of attacks on Christians
in India by extreme factions of Indian society. The Federation, whose mission
includes raising awareness both in India and the US about issues of human rights
and the rights of minorities in India, has said that the Government of India is
failing in its constitutional duty to protect Christian populations in states
such as Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa and Bihar.
Pointing to a stream of attacks in the last two months, the
Federation stated, "We are grieved to note the recent atrocity against a church
and its worshipping congregation in Karnataka on the weekend of Pentecost, when
dozens of Hindu militants attacked during a worship service, injuring the pastor
and his associate. The attack reportedly took place right after the Sunday (May
1) worship at an Assembly of God congregation in Shrirangapattana taluka
near Mysore allegedly by members of the Bajrang Dal." FIACONA national president
Rev. Malik expressed his disappointment at the dubious role of the local police
in addressing the situation. Apparently a written assurance was extracted from
the pastor and his associate that they would not hold any more services in that
place of worship.
This month’s attack was the latest in a series of reported
violent incidents against the Assembly of God church and other believers. The
pastor and his associate were also attacked in April last year and allegedly
beaten inside their church before being taken to the same police station where
they claimed they were kept for the whole night.
Another reported attack took place against members of the
Christian organisation ‘Youth With A Mission’ on May 5 in Kalkari village in
Karnataka’s northern district of Dharwad. The youth members were apparently
dragged to a nearby Hindu temple and made to bow down before an idol. They were
then taken by some Hindu militants to the police station where they were accused
of "disturbing the peace". Fortunately, there were no serious injuries in this
episode.
News from Kerala this month reports that on May 12, eight
students of Beersheba Bible College, run by the India Pentecostal Church at
Chettimukku, near Kozhencherry, were injured when they were assaulted allegedly
by a group of motorbike-borne persons owing allegiance to the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The incident took place when the victims were waiting
by the roadside to attend a funeral. According to the police, the Bible College
students were attacked without any provocation.
In Patna’s Kurji Holy Family Hospital on May 1, a Catholic
priest, Father Mathew Uzhuthal succumbed to the stab injuries he suffered from
an attack on him by a criminal youth at Mokama, Bihar, on April 11. Mr. Abraham
Mammen, national vice president of FIACONA said, "We do not take much comfort
from the fact that the attack was apparently not motivated by anti-Christian
sentiments but was a case of criminal intimidation and assault for extortion of
money. Father Uzhuthal was a distinguished and learned man of God with a long
record of service to his diocese in Bihar."
The Federation stated that the spread of hate campaigns against
Christian institutions have increased in certain states of India. Mr. Mammen
noted that "The great expectation that the Congress-led UPA coalition would take
strong action against those who would disrupt the right of religious freedom in
India has not been borne out. The legacy of the BJP-led government still casts a
big shadow over the nation. However, the reporting on these violations of human
rights and the rights of religious freedom in India by the local and national
media was improving and this is a matter of satisfaction."