Srinagar priest arrest opens Pandora’s box
Dr. John Dayal
unity of minorities
JOHN DAYAL
In retrospect, the church in India has displayed remarkable sobriety
and a sense of responsibility in their response to the arrest in
Srinagar of Reverend Chander Mani Khanna, pastor of the All Saints
Church. The Muslim Ulema of the rest of India have been reluctant to
condemn the arrest, precipitated by the demand of a local Mufti. The
vital issues of the rights of minorities, and freedom faith are
however involved, which impinge on all minorities even in states such
as Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Orissa and remain relevant in
Kashmir. I suppose one can understand their reluctance in the backdrop
of the complexities and sensitivities involved in anything that is
concerned with the State of Jammu and Kashmir. The same is the reason
perhaps for the silence of civil society in India and in the state of
Jammu and Kashmir. Only journalists and activists Seema Mustafa in New
Delhi and Javed Anand in Mumbai have dared spoken, pleading for
caution but articulating the voice of sanity and freedom.
Before anything else, it is important to recall the political
geography of Jammu and Kashmir. It is, of course, an inseparable
member state of the Union of India, as patriotic voices constantly
remind us. It was once ruled by a Hindu King, the late Hari Singh, not
much liked by the large Muslim population of the Valley of Srinagar,
which is one of the three district entities that make up the state.
The other two are the areas of Jammu, with a huge Hindu population and
a record number of temples, and Ladakh, an almost entirely Buddhist
region with just a handful of Muslims, Hindus and Christians. The tiny
Christian minority in the State lives largely in the Jammu region,
mostly of Dalit origin, with about 500 in the valley and a much
smaller population in Ladakh. For some time after Independence and the
ascension of the state to the Union of India, J and K, as it is known
popularly, had its own prime minister and sadr-e-riyasat, [head of
state] Karan Singh, before they were designated chief minister and
Governor respectively. Special status is accorded to the State under
Article 370, many Indian institutions have no jurisdiction in the
state and many laws have to be extended to the region through the
state legislature.
India and Pakistan have fought four wars over the State, the last
being the infamous Kargil glacier encounter which cost both countries
precious human lives with tension still prevailing in the
uninhabitable heights. In the habitable valley, there is another
confrontation. Half a million Indian soldiers, by some counts, are in
the valley tackling both the border situation and a continuing
confrontation with terrorists as well as with the civilian population,
The confrontation has been violent most of the time. Many innocents
have been killed, entirely illegally. Women and children have been
victims. A major victim of the communalised situation in the valley
has been the exodus of the Hindu Pundit population to Jammu, Delhi and
refugee camps elsewhere. A sad aftermath has been the rise of
fundamentalism and the supremacy of a doctrinaire kind of politico-
religious Islamic clergy.
The seeds of the confrontation with the Christian community lies in
the powerful segment of this clergy which is carving out its space in
challenge to the established state government, the other political
groups, the military and the political parties. As Seema Mustafa
points out, the vast majority of Kashmiris in the valley, all Muslim,
are peaceful people adhering to a soft and melodious Sufi Islam, far
removed from the stridency of Wahabism espoused by the extremist
groups. But there do not seem to be any routes of approaches to the
aggressive clergy,
Apart from the confrontation with the state forces, and the
occasional violence on the small number of Pundits who remain in
Srinagar and some rural areas of the valley, there has been violence
against Christians in the past too. On 26 February 2011 , the school
run by a Christian family was burnt. The government helped with the
reconstruction. Before this the Tyndale Biscoe School Tangmarg was
burnt , The Good Shepherd School of the Roman Catholic church at
Pulwama was burnt. The community as a whole has suffered much, in
silence. The people, who speak with us on conditions of anonymity, and
the family of Rev Khanna, say the situation is very volatile and bad,
stressing they do not want to add fire to the situation there at
present “but try to apply some political pressure from outside the
state in an silent manner so that we get what we want and the lives of
people are safe also”.
This is a sentiment shared by Seema Mustafa who says “We must take
into account the sensitivity of Kashmir as it is different from Madhya
Pradesh and UP. That is imperative or anything you say will create
more trouble than the initial trouble itself. Unlike the popular
perception created here, Kashmiris are secular people and we can reach
out to many there to ensure that sane voices emerge. The state
government has created additional trouble with the arrest, and that
needs to be countered as well. The separatists can be persuaded to
give a statement for secular harmony, I am sure, as can civil society,
and for the release of the pastor. But it has to be worked out
properly.’
Pastor Khanna is a well known personality in Srinagar. Dr Richard
Howell, general secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India and
outgoing secretary of the National United Christian Forum, says “I
have known Rev. Khanna for many years. He in fact was involved in
reconciliation work in Kashmir valley. He confidently went to Srinagar
from Jammu, much against the advice of all. I am sure that he has done
no wrong. We need to move soon on some sort of a dialogue to stop
rumours, the latest being; now it is the turn of Christians to leave
the valley. There are about 400 Christians working in schools and
hospitals, a few in government service.”
The events leading up to Khanna’s formal arrest at the behest of a
Mullah, the Grand Mufti, have opened up serious questions that need
to be addressed. Pastor Khanna had baptised some people in the church
during the regular baptism ceremonies. A few of those were former
Muslims who had been coming to the church for a long time. All were
adults. A video was made of this event and put on YouTube on the
Internet. The pastor was summoned, not by the police, but by the
Mufti, He was questioned for seven hours, harangued, threatened. The
government became scared, or possibly wanted to divert attention from
other on-going crises in the state, not the least of which is an
accusation against chief minister Omar Abdullah of involvement in the
murder of a member of his own party who had become a criminal.
The police told Khanna they were protecting him, then raided his
church, and finally arrested him on charges of fomenting communal
strife. The church feels cornered. It took days for the local church
to make statement. The NHRC, National Commission for Minorities and he
National Advisory Council and others are silent though they have been
informed by many. The political parties are mute. Civil society is
dead in Srinagar, and silent in India. No group of activists has yet
denounced the arrest or the kangaroo court. Right wing Hindutva groups
agree with the mullahs. Political action is patently required and
people have call upon the President of India, the prime minister, the
governor of the state of J and K and the leaders of various political
groups to take steps to get the priest out of the police lockup
Above all, the frail relationship between Muslims and Christians --
both minorities in India – is under great stress. Remember, Christians
had made common cause with Muslims in their hour of crisis in Gujarat
2002 and elsewhere.
The media, as usual, seems barking up the wrong tree, giving
tendentious stories, not questioning how religious groups over-rule
or act on behalf of the police. This is how a local newspaper reported
the episode: Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Central Kashmir Range, A G
Mir told ‘Kashmir Images’ that Khanna has been arrested by Police
Station Ram Munshi Bagh and FIR 186 of 2011 under section 153A and
295A registered against him. Police have also registered a case
against six unidentified Kashmiri youngsters who were allegedly
baptized by the Christian priest. Kashmir’s Grand Mufti, Mufti Bashir-
ud-din last month summoned the priest to his court to explain about
the alleged attempts of conversion. The Pastor, however, was out of
station and had sought time to appear before the Grand Mufti, who
heads Court of Islamic Jurisprudence in Kashmir. And finally when
Khanna presented himself before a group of 15 Islamic scholars and
representatives of various religious groups headed by the Grand Mufti,
he denied his involvement first, but later on confessed his
complicity. Initially he did not accept that he was doing this,” Mufti
Bashiruddin said. The Pastor reportedly said he was on a “peace
mission promoting communal harmony between Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus and
Christians. But when confronted by some boys, he had no option but to
accept,” the Grand Mufti said, adding that they had a CD containing
evidence about how the Pastor was performing conversions. The Pastor
has confessed to having converted 15 boys so far and promised to give
their list to the Grand Mufti, reports said. “The Pastor said some
NGOs and intellectuals were with him in this mission and some of them
had accompanied him to South Africa to preach Christianity,” said the
Grand Mufti. Terming the issue a “grave” one, he said Muslim
‘Ulema’ (scholars) from various organizations including the Jamat-e-
Islami, the Jamiat-e-Ahle Hadees, the Islamic Study Circle and the
Nadwatul Ulema would meet again to take a final decision.As of now I
have reserved my judgment. The Ulema council was scheduled to meet on
November 19, but it has been postponed,” the Grand Mufti said.”
The Church of North India and the local Christian community deny any
wrong doing by the pastor. They have also reaffirmed their resolve to
continue with their mission of service in the valley and the state.
The most incisive comment has come from Javed Anand, general
secretary, Muslims for Secular Democracy of Mumbai. ” Addressing the
media, Kashmir’s grand mufti, Mohammed Bashiruddin warned that such
activities “warrant action as per Islamic law” and will not be
tolerated. “There will be serious consequences of this. We will
implement our part and the government should implement its," the mufti
thundered. What’s Islamic law and a shariah court doing in a secular
democratic polity? ... For what crime has Khanna been booked? Unlike
states like Gujarat, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh, J&K does not have a
law against conversions. But where there is a will there’s a way. The
pastor has been charged under sections 153A and 295A of the Ranbir
Penal Code, the J&K equivalent of the Indian Penal Code. Section 153A
pertains to the offense of “Promoting enmity between different
groups…” and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony”.
Section 295A has to do with “Deliberate and malicious acts, intended
to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion
or religious beliefs”.
“Why should conversion of a few Muslims to Christianity be deemed a
malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings? Why should it be
tantamount to promoting enmity between different groups? These might
be questions for you and me. But Omar Abdullah and his police may well
be wondering whether the FIR and the arrest are enough to douse the
flames. The worse quite possibly is yet to come. A Dharma Sansad
comprising of leaders of different Muslim sects in Kashmir is to meet
soon to deliberate over the “grave issue” and decide on further course
of action. The responses to the video-clip have apparently been
venomous. "We promise to kill all Christian missionaries and burn
their buildings, schools and churches!" pronounces one of them while
another proclaims, "We should burn this priest to death!" Echoes of
Pakistan’s obnoxious blasphemy laws?
“It is far from clear whether the priest is in fact guilty of a cash-
for-conversion deal. Only a thorough and impartial investigation could
establish if there’s any truth in the charge. But in the brand of
Islam the grand mufti and most mainstream Muslim organizations
espouse, the issue of inducement is irrelevant. The theology is
simple: for conversion into Islam, there’s Divine reward aplenty for
both the converter and the converted; but conversion out of Islam is
gunaah-e-azeem(mahapaap), treason of the highest order, deserving of
the harshest punishment.” Human rights groups and Muslim bodies from
the Valley and elsewhere especially, must denounce the hounding of the
pastor and the ‘Islamisers’ reminded that Article 25 of the Indian
Constitution guarantees to all citizens “the right freely to profess,
practice and propagate (their) religion”.
The last word, of course has not been said. Even as efforts continue
to get the pastor out of prison on bail, or to get him transferred to
the Jammu jail for safety reasons, National Commission for Minorities
vice chairman Dr. Hmar T Sang liana was paying a visit to Srinagar to
meet with various groups and the government. Efforts were also on to
open a dialogue with various national and Kashmir Muslim groups for a
long term peace with a broad basic agreement that the dialogue must
continue in an environment of mutual understanding, and not in short
term grandstanding. The government, meanwhile, is being encouraged to
stick to the points in law and not to exacerbate the situation in the
guise of buying peace.
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[First published in Indian Currents, New Delhi]