Fwd: PFA - The CSF Indian Christian Persecution Report 2014 AN TO DISCUSS
The Rainbow Forum
From: "Bro. Joe Dias" <csf...@gmail.com>
Date: 29 January 2015 08:27:51 IST
To: Biji Koshy <bgk...@gmail.com>, Michael Francis Saldanha <mf...@rediffmail.com>, joseph dias <csf...@gmail.com>
Subject: Fwd: PFA - The CSF Indian Christian Persecution Report 2014
29th January 2015, Bengaluru Press Club, 11.30 amJustice Michael Saldanha (Rtd) Releases The CSF Indian Christian Persecution Report 20145 Christians reportedly martyred for the faith. Over 300 clergy & community leaders attacked
Over 2000 women and children victims. Chhattisgarh most dangerous Indian state to be a Christian
At least 5 Christians were killed, including a 11 year-old child, for being Christian in the last year, according to the Indian Christian Persecution Report 2014 published by The Catholic Secular Forum (CSF), a national activist community NGO that records attacks in the country. The report was released by the former judge of the Bombay and Karnataka High Courts, Justice Michael Saldanha and the copy presented to Cardinal Oswald Gracias, one of the 8 cardinals worldwide in Pope Francis' inner circle, who is also president of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences and circulated to the media.
Presented below are excerpts from report, documented & authored by Joseph Dias, the CSF general secretary and he can be contacted at +91 9769555657 or emailed at csf...@gmail.com
Highlights:
* Minimum - An Incident per Day
* Chhattisgarh Tops as Rogue State
* Maharashtra with Maximum Potential
* MP, UP, Karnataka, Odisha & Kerala Follow
* Others - AP, TN, Delhi, Bihar, Punjab, Haryana, Jharkhand, Uttrakhand, etc.
Victims:
5 killed, Minimum 7000 Affected
1600 Women & 500 Children Involved
300 + Clergy & Community Leaders Targeted
The Sangh's Reported Growth:
· 2000 new shakas in 2013. 5000 new shakas in 2014.
· 2.73 lakh minorities being reconverted in the Braj area of UP alone.
· Online requests per month tripled from 2500 (2013) to over 7000 in 2014
· Week-long training (13 - 40 year-olds) rises from 80,000 (2013) to 200,000 in 2014
Statements & Actions from Ministers:
· Uniform Civil Code – Union Law Minister
· Christmas as Governance Day – Union HRD Minister
· Bhagwad Gita as National Book – Union External Affairs Minister
· Ramzaadon (children of Ram) & Haraamzaadon (Illegitimate) – Union Food Minister
Persecution Categories
Most persecution goes unreported for various reasons. Often the police refuse to record it as such, as it would show them in bad light. For the media, its not "news" and there are instances of the local media being biased or taking sides. Often, persecution goes unrecorded because the victims are too afraid to complain or a compromise is forced upon them by politicians. Persecution is also blamed on causes, other than religious - mental illness, drunkenness, economic, enmity, etc. The CSF has categorized the incidents as under:
A. Killed/Murdered/Death
B. Beaten/Assaulted/Manhandled
C. Women Beaten/Molested/Raped
D. Church Broken/Ransacked/Demolished/Shut Down
E. House Broken/Car/Bike/Belongings Destroyed
F. Worship Meeting Disrupted/Stopped
G. Pastors/Christians Arrested/Jailed
H. Threat/Abuse
I. Foreign Missionaries
J. Others – Ghar Whapsi, etc.
Killed
Five Christian deaths were reported this year, including a 11 year old boy in Chhattisgarh who died allegedly of malnutrition being forcefully confined to the house of his non-believer uncle, who opposed his father becoming changing his religion. Rev. Sanjeevulu in Andhra Pradesh was stabbed seven times and beaten with rods, succumbed to his brutal injuries. A believer in Odisha was also fatally assaulted for his denial to revert to Hinduism and for influencing his family and villagers. A Tibetan couple in West Bengal who had converted to Christianity were hacked to death and their 12 year old daughter's eye was gouged out.
Clergy
A nun and Catholic priest in two separate instances were attacked and abused in Kerala.
In Tamil Nadu, another Catholic priest and an evangelist was beaten up during the worship service by a mob of over 100 Hindutva extremists. They also desecrated the altar, destroyed church Bibles, equipment, vehicles, etc. The Christian clergy, comprising of pastors and evangelists, especially from the Independent Churches face most of the brunt. The wives and children of these are either targeted also or get caught in the crossfire.
Rise of All Pervasive Communal Activity:
There is also eminent danger of saffronization of various sectors, like police, education, bureaucracy, judiciary, armed forces, etc. as has been observed from those joining the BJP in the run-up to and after the polls. The statements of prominent many from these spheres points to their communal mindset, at least at the lower levels.
Serious Repercussions – In India & Abroad:
The danger is that such unchecked and encouraged communal activities by non-state actors pose an imminent danger to the development agenda which got the BJP government elected. If the government and secularists remain silent to give impetus to the Hindutva forces, then India will soon be reduced to another Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan…
Minorities who voted for the BJP, which otherwise would not have been able to win the elections, will be compelled to turn away from the party. Such governance is bound to draw the ire of the developed nations, who presently have a good opinion of the establishment, but are also committed to human and minority rights. The frequency of Hindutva provocations makes one suspect that the Hindu State (Rashtra) is nigh – the government is only for Hindus, of Hindus and by Hindus, with not even lip service being paid to minorities. A fear that must be allayed and a misconception that needs to be cleared.
Malicious 5 Ms – The biggest threat to Hinduism is from Macaulayism, Missionaries, Materialism, Marxism and Muslims.
- World Hindu Congress 2014
The RSS has taken possession of as many as 60 churches across the state, where no Christians worship now, "as they have all been re-converted to Hinduism". Our organization sets 2021 as a deadline to cleanse India of “alien Islam and Christianity”.
- Rajeshwar Singh, Dharm Jagran Manch (Hindutva NGO)
There will be a havan anushtaan (puja ritual) and use of Ganga water to purify the converts. Pictures of Hindu deities will be distributed to them. We will tell them methods of our worship and give them our religious books.
- Pruthivi Kumar, a Bajrang Dal associate
Some Hot Spots
Ghar Whapsi Concentration:
Thousands of families, especially in UP (Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Mathura, Firozabad, Etah, Meerut, Mainpuri), Kerala, Uttarakhand and at least 10 BJP ruled states are unable to freely practice their faith.
A Few Churches Desecrated:
* Delhi - Kalkaji, Dilshad Garden, Jasola
* Chhattisgarh - Bastar, Bhilai, Durg, Jagdalpur, Mahasamund
* Karnataka - Udupi &Chitradurga
* Kerala - Thrissur ,
* UP - Jaunpur, Bulandshahar, Aligarh, Meerut
* TN - Karur
* MP - Mandla
Some Instances of Arrests / Police Harassment:
* MP - Dewas, Katni, Indore, Bhopal, Alipur, Satna
* Karnataka - Chitradurga, Davangere, Karwar
* TN - Tirunelveli
* Chhattisgarh - Jashpur
* WB - Mednipur
* Bihar - Patna
* UP - Jaunpur, Faizabad, Noida, Agra
An India Without Christians?
The year started with a fall-out after the Christmas season and there has been on an average 1 incident reported per day until the year end. There has been a very marked rise in attacks on the minorities with the swearing in of new BJP led governments in the union and states - Narendra Modi after May 2014 and at the center and in the states it either rules or put up a great show - MP, AP, Goa, J&K, Delhi, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, etc.
Out of the 365 odd incidences we have come across, we are highlighting Over 125 Top Christian Persecution Incidents spread across 20 states of the country.
The documentation ranges from being murdered for the faith and being brutally assaulted to being raped and jailed for propagation of what one believes in. This list is only illustrative and not exhaustive. In a separate section, we have outlined the systemic or institutional persecution, which has heightened since the new governments at the federal and state levels.
India has over the years moved higher in the world of persecution and reaches its peak thus far, with respect to restrictions on freedom of faith, almost featuring in The Top 20 Persecuting Nations Worldwide. The rise of Narendra Modi as prime minister has ensured India a place among the developed in the comity of nations, but with its vast majority of Hindu citizens and the world's second largest Muslim population, Christians are reduced to a micro-minority of 2.3 percent and persecuted by all faiths because of their non-violent nature.
Lessons from the Earlier Track Record
On Christmas 1998, evening during the earlier BJP-led NDA regime under Prime Minister, AB Vajpayee well over two dozen village churches in the Dangs district of Gujarat on its border with Maharashtra were destroyed. It happened on.
In January 1999, the Australian medicare-giver to lepers, Graham Staines and his two minor sons were incinerated by a Hindutva mob.
In September 1999, after his church was set on fire, a Catholic priest Arul Das was murdered in Jamabani village of Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district.
In June 2000, a Catholic priest Fr. George Kuzhikandam was murdered in his church in Mathura, which is close to the national capital.
In 2007 on Christmas eve the Odisha anti-Christian violence preceded the 2008 mass attack, which saw well over a 100 killed, dozens of churches attacked and over 50,000 displaced.
Index Page No.
* Pics of some incidents. Ghastly ones avoided
* Highlights - States, Victims & Growth of RSS 1
* Hot Spots & India Without Christians 4
* Lessons from Earlier Track Record 5
* Maharashtra & Persecution Categories 5
* Persecution - Killed 7
* Persecution - Clergy 7
* Persecution - Boycott 7
* Persecution - Women 7
* Persecution - Children 7
* Persecution - Christmas 8
* Persecution - Legislation 8
* Persecution - Ghar Wapsi 8
* Persecution - Denied Rations 9
* Persecution - Hindutva Education 9
* Persecution - Churches as Temples 9
* Persecution - Anti-Conversion Law 10
* Persecution - Christian Services & NGOs 10
* Persecution – Other Motives: Economic Exploitation 10
* Persecution – Some Incidents Across States 11
* Persecution – Uniform Civil Code & Personal Laws 12
* Recommendations to the Government 13
* Systemic / Institutional Persecution 14
* Top 125 Incidents – Across 20 States 16
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
www.avast.com
--
134 Infantry Rd, Bangalore 560001, India
91-80-22868800. Fx: 91-80-22865800