The man behind the Babri Masjid destruction and architect of communalism in the modern India is saying he is secular….shame on advani for saying one thing and doing another. While saying that he was educated in Christian schools, his followers are systematically destroying them in Orissa, probably with his tacit support! If you are communal and want to exploit the majority Hindu population through politics of religion and fear to help recapture the power in Delhi, at least try to be honest! please..

Vivek

India and Religious Persecution (A rising power not yet ready for global leadership)
The American Prowler ^ | 9/11/2008 | Doug Bandow

Posted on 11 September 2008 11:50:04 by nickcarraway

In Washington India is increasingly looked to as a potential counterweight to China. But the communal violence of the late August, in which thousands of Christians were forced to flee rampaging Hindu mobs, should give even admirers of India pause. It is a country not yet ready for global leadership.

India appears to be on the same trail as China. At present growth rates India’s population will overtake that of China, India finally is enjoying significant economic growth, New Delhi possesses nuclear weapons and an expanding conventional military, and India’s government is pressing for a greater international role. Strained bilateral relations between the U.S. and India have turned into increasingly positive ties. Today Washington is pressing for approval of a compromise agreement to acknowledge and oversee India’s nuclear program.

There is much to admire about India. An ancient civilization, it has become a relatively free nation, and has the potential to play an enormously positive international role in the years ahead.

Unfortunately, the latest violence against Christians demonstrates that India is not ready to take its place among the first rank of nations. Attacks on minority faiths are routine in India, and the national government has been unable or unwilling to stem the violence. Worse, local and state authorities often abet if not aid religious attacks.

The latest round of violence occurred in the northeastern coastal state of Orissa. Hindu radicals led several days of rioting, in which at least 18 Christians were killed, thousands of Christians were forced to flee, and 75 churches and thousands of homes of Christians were destroyed. An Indian policeman reported: “Moments after we passed by a Christian village, people set it on fire and everything was over within minutes.” Babu Joseph, with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, spoke to some of the victims: “They said that it was a horrifying experience. Groups arrived at their villages carrying guns, swords and homemade weapons and even small bombs, which they used to blast the places. The groups targeted every Christian house in their villages. The people had a list of Christian houses and institutions and none were spared.” Mobs even torched a Christian orphanage, killing a 21-year-old teacher — a Hindu. Swarupananda Patra, general secretary of the All Orissa Baptist Churches Federation, said,”All Christian villages [are] empty in Kandhamal as Christians, old and young, sick and pregnant mothers [are] hiding in forests exposed to non-stop monsoon rains without food.” Samuel Wallace of International Christian Concern said, “It looks like the only defense these Christians have is God himself, because the Indian government has proved itself unable to stop the violence.”

Christians, who only make up 2.3 percent of India’s population of 1.1 billion, long have been convenient scapegoats for Hindu militants. In the Kandhamal District of Orissa, a Hindu religious leader, Swami Laxmmananada Saraswati, was killed — by Maoist guerrillas, say the police. The group apparently even claimed responsibility for the murder. But Subhash Chauhan of the World Hindu Organization blamed Christians, setting off much of the violence. The Orissa government proclaimed that everything was under control, but eventually called for deploying the army. The national government did nothing.

NO ONE, LEAST OF ALL the Indian authorities, should be surprised by the violence in Orissa. Last year Hindu mobs destroyed some 104 churches and four people were killed in the sectarian violence. Around Easter earlier this year Hindu mobs destroyed scores of churches and hundreds of Christian homes. Yet the Orissa government blocked charities and churches from aiding the victims. Human Rights Watch last year reported: “For several years, extremist Hindu groups in Orissa have been conducting an anti-Christian campaign that has grown violent at times, while government officials have looked the other way.” In fact, the attacks go back years: In 1999 Hindu radicals burned an Australian missionary, Graham Staines, and his eight- and ten-year-old sons to death in their car after they participated in a Bible study. (Staines ran a hospital and leprosy clinics. His widow, Gladys, forgave the killers and continued to minister in Orissa until 2004.)

Nor is this the only example of recent violence against Christians. In January in the neighboring state of Chhatisgarh, a Hindu mob disrupted a prayer meeting, beating many of the Christian participants. A local leader of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party led a group that attacked three Christian pastors. In 2006 there were several serious legal attacks on Christian organizations in Rajasthan. Indeed, last year the All India Christian Council figured that an anti-Christian attack occurred somewhere in India every three days, with the perpetrators rarely captured or punished. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom points to “a marked increase in violent attacks against members of religious minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians,” in the late 1990s, and “hundreds of attacks on Christian leaders, worshippers, and churches throughout India” over the last decade. (Hindu radicals also often target Muslims, who make up about 13.4 percent of the population.)

What really galls Hindu extremists is that many lower-caste Hindus convert to Christianity to escape the humiliating discrimination embodied by Hinduism’s rigid caste system. When Christians minister to the needs of social outcasts, radical Hindus contend that the assistance — which upper-caste Hindus do not deign to provide — is a bribe for conversion. Rather than address the horrid treatment of lower-caste Indians, Hindu militants prefer to attack Christians.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called the violence in Orissa a “national shame,” but his government has done little to stop the current attacks or to prevent similar outbreaks in the future. India is a parliamentary democracy, but rather less than a fully free society. The human rights group Freedom House ranks India as a 2 (on a scale of 1 to 7, with 1 the highest) for political rights and 3 for civil liberties. Elections are generally free but, notes Freedom House, “Government effectiveness and accountability are also undermined by pervasive criminality in politics, decrepit state institutions, and widespread corruption.” The State Department observes: “There were numerous reports that the government and its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings, including extrajudicial killings of suspected criminals and insurgents, or staged encounter deaths.”

Religious liberty is another problem area. The Commission has labeled India as a Country of Particular Concern since “religious minorities in India continue to be subject to violent attacks, including killings,” while “Those responsible for the violence are rarely held responsible for their actions.”

ALTHOUGH THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT has been reliably secular and the constitution guarantees religious freedom, several states refuse to protect that same freedom. The Institute on Religion and Public Policy points to Orissa as one of four states — along with Chhatisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh — that formally restrict evangelism activities and conversions.

Moreover, notes the Institute, “The Indian judicial system also hinders the ability of prosecutors to investigate and pursue criminal cases against individuals that violate human rights. The courts are notoriously slow, primarily due to the lack of a sufficient number of lawyers and judges prosecute these cases in a timely and effective manner.”

The State Department makes a similar observation: “Some state governments enacted and amended ‘anti-conversion’ laws and police and enforcement agencies often did not act swiftly enough to effectively counter societal attacks, including attacks against religious minorities. Despite government efforts to foster communal harmony, some extremists continued to view ineffective investigation and prosecution of attacks on religious minorities, particularly at the state and local level, as a signal that they could commit such violence with impunity.”

Although reform is most needed at the state level, only the national government may be able to give the push necessary to improve respect for religious liberty in the most abusive states. For this reason, the Institute recommends that New Delhi push for abolition of the so-called anti-conversion laws, as well as training for police at both the local and state levels to enable officers “to remain unbiased during their investigations and the manners in which they handle interreligious violence and tension.” Local governments, in particular, “also must put greater emphasis on the prevention, investigation, and prosecution of violators of religious freedom in order to encourage an environment that promotes religious diversity and expression for all faith communities.”

The Italian government urged New Delhi to halt the violence as attacks in Orissa mounted. The U.S. should encourage action as well. Washington has established a good relationship with India’s government and should put its diplomatic capital to good use. Moreover, the Congress Party-led coalition government is more likely to expand religious liberty than the opposition BJP, which includes more radical Hindu nationalists.

ALTHOUGH THE U.S. GOVERNMENT is in no position to enforce religious freedom abroad, it should highlight the importance of guaranteeing protection of this most basic human right if India wishes to play an increasingly important international role. New Delhi will be in a better position to claim the moral mantle of the world’s largest democracy if its society also offers a free and safe home for religious minorities. In contrast, a country in which mobs periodically rule the streets, killing and destroying as they see fit, will have a harder time convincing other nations that it is fit to lead.

The latest outbreak of violence demonstrates the limits of Indian democracy, but India remains a far more hopeful place than the usual authoritarian regimes that restrict religious liberty. Observes the Institute on Religion and Public Policy: “The Indian constitution provides a strong protection for religious freedom, despite the problems that one encounters in numerous state ‘anti-conversion’ laws. The country is massive with a population in excess of 1 billion people. These people come from a wide variety of backgrounds, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, and Jains, all live peacefully within the same neighborhoods. This is a promising indication India can develop a religiously tolerant society.” The rest of us now must encourage India to build a freer and more tolerant society upon this promising foundation.

Doug Bandow is the Senior Fellow in International Religious Persecution at the Institute on Religion and Public Policy. He is also a Fellow at the American Conservative Defense Alliance and the author of Foreign Follies: America’s New Global Empire (Xulon Press).

Monday January 19, 2004

The American media often has a lot to say about Islamic militants and Muslims who commit violence in the Middle East, and it is true that they pose a threat to others (as well as to other Muslims). However, that same media typically ignores similar extremism and similar violence committed by Hindu nationalists in India. Pakistan’s Daily Times reports:

Paul Marshall, a senior fellow at Freedom House’s Centre for Religious Freedom who recently published a book on the rise of Hindu extremism in India, writes that a country once personified by Mahatma Gandhi is fast becoming known for religious hatred and violence. While India remains the world’s largest democracy, the ruling BJP is linked to Hindu extremist groups like the RSS, the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which mount hate campaigns and sometimes-violent attacks against religious minorities and demand that Hinduism dominate society and politics. The RSS was founded by admirers of fascism and Nazism, produced Gandhi’s murderers and is now perhaps the world’s largest paramilitary organisation, with millions of members, he adds.

India’s political traditions are founded upon liberalism, democracy, and tolerance - but the growth of extremism in that nation threatens those foundations, and threatens to ignite not only internal violence, but also conflict with other nations like Pakistan. There are justifiable concerns about the possibility of Muslim extremists taking over in Pakistan, a country with nuclear weapons, but we should have similar concerns about India as well - a country which is much larger, more powerful, and which possess more nuclear weapons than Pakistan.

Hindu Extremism on the Rise in India

Conservative News Service, Feb 14, 2000

NEW DELHI, India (CNS) — Hindu fundamentalist groups in India are trying to curb the activities of other religious groups and control the “expressions” of those not conforming to their world view, according to analysts here. As examples, analysts point to Hindu attempts to change the Indian constitution in ways that would curb artistic free expression and restrict the right of minority Christians and Muslims to preach and practice their religion freely.

“Increasing intolerance among the Hindu fundamentalist organizations, which pose a grave threat to democracy, are an indication of the rise of fascist forces in India,” said politics professor M. Mohanty of Delhi University.

“What happened with European fascism is now happening with the Hindus,” he told CNSNews.com.

Kanti Bajpai, professor of international politics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, agreed, telling CNSNews.com that “the rise of right-wing politics in India is far more advanced and violent than in Austria.”

More than 80 percent of India’s nearly one billion people are Hindus. Muslims form a sizeable minority of around 15 percent, while just 2.5 percent are Christians.

Although Hindu fundamentalist leaders have formally denied responsibility for attacks on minority religious communities, their propaganda is characterized by threats of violence.

In Orissa, where Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons were murdered 13 months ago, the local government passed an order last November prohibiting religious conversions without the prior permission of the local police and a district magistrate.

The order, an amendment to the 1967 Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, stipulates that a citizen wishing to convert must undergo a police inquiry to explain his or her reasons.

India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, has passed a bill restricting the building and use of places of worship. It is awaiting the approval of the Indian president.

The western state of Gujarat recently lifted a ban on government employees being members of the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (national self-service organization, or RSS).

The RSS, which claims to be a socio-cultural organization, is the main think tank of several fundamentalist bodies in India, including the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The RSS functions as the principal guardian of Hindu ideology.

An RRS member assassinated Mahatma Gandhi in 1948. It has been banned three times since independence for its activities.

Also in Gujarat, lawmakers soon will debate a draft Freedom of Religion Bill, which makes it a criminal offense to use force or fraud in converting a person from one religion to another.

Hindu fundamentalists forced an Indo-Canadian movie director, Deepa Mehta, from filming a movie that reportedly depicted an upper caste Hindu widow falling in love with a lower caste laborer as well as widows being forced into prostitution by those in the upper castes.

Taking exception to the storyline of “Water,” activists said it “tarnished the image of the country and Hindus.”

Actress Nandita Das, who stars in “Water,” said the fanatics were misleading people and causing trouble for the whole society “in a country known for its unity in diversity.”

Political scientist Mohanty warned that the greatest danger to India’s “extremely strained social fabric” may come not from Sikh or Muslim separatists, but from Hindu fundamentalists.

The vice-president of the ruling BJP, J.P. Mathur, said Hindus were known for their tolerance, but that “Muslim fundamentalism has now forced us to raise our head and counter it. It is all because of the survival of the fittest.”

India has a long history of violence between the Hindu majority and Muslims. Recently, Christians also have been targeted.

The New Delhi-based United Christian Forum for Human Rights has documented more than 120 attacks against Christian individuals, churches, and schools, allegedly by Hindu fundamentalists, in the past year. Half of the incidents have occurred in Gujarat.

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Delhi, Alan de Lastic, said extremists were employing a national-level strategy to try to stem the influence of Christians.

“It is more pronounced in states where there is a government affiliated to the Hindu ideology and a small Christian population,” he said.

A resurgence of Hindu fundamentalism has taken place over the past decade, beginning with an RSS television campaign in the late 1980s to forge a self-conscious collective Hindu identity.

In 1991, present Home Minister L. K. Advani undertook a historic “chariot journey” from a Hindu temple in Gujarat to the legendary birthplace of the Hindu god Ram.

The symbolic journey helped transform the BJP from marginal group with just two seats in parliament a decade ago to the ruling party today.

In 1992, Muslims became the main targets of Hindus with the destruction of a mosque built in the 16th century on a site some Hindus believe a Hindu temple once stood.

International politics professor Bajpai compared the strategy used by the RSS to that of Joerg Haider and the Freedom Party in Austria.

“The right here too advocates extreme and flagrant positions and then retreats and recants as a way of disarming critics and opponents - and succeeds only too well.”

The fundamentalists had also used the fear of “outsiders within” to build a support base.

“Immigration has been one way of doing this, but more important here has been the portrayal of religious and ethnic minorities as aliens whose loyalty to the nation is questionable,” Bajpai explained.

“Measures need to be taken to curb this trend, otherwise it will destroy the multi-cultural fabric of India,” warned Mohanty.

24th August 2008

Shri B. S. Yeddyurappa

Chief Minister of Karnataka State,

India.

Honorable Sir,

Subject:           1).  Welcoming your visit to the United States of America.

2).  Requesting a meeting with your honorable self.

It gives us immense pleasure to extend our warm welcome to your honorable self during your visit to the United States of America.

We are proud of Karnataka as it is the eighth largest Indian state by area, the ninth largest by population and comprises 29 districts.  Karnataka has been home to some of the most powerful empires of ancient India.  It has contributed significantly to the multicultural diversity of India.  Writers in the Kannada language have received the most number of Jnanpith awards in India.  Bangalore, the capital city, is at the helm of the rapid economic and technological development that India is currently witnessing.  In the field of super-specialty health care, Karnataka’s private sector competes with the best in the world.  It is also the manufacturing hub of some of the largest public sector industries in India, like Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, etc.  Many of India’s premier science and technology research centers, such as Indian Space Research Organisation, Central Power Research Institute, etc., are headquartered in Karnataka.  In the field of Information Technology, it remains the undisputed global leader with companies such as Infosys, Wipro, and thousands of other firms.  It is a religious tolerant state and different religions like Advaita, Vishistadvaita, Dvaita, Veerashaivism, Shakti Vishishtadvaita, Lingayat, Jain, Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity exist in peaceful cooperation and harmony.

Christianity reached Karnataka in the sixteenth century with the arrival of the Portuguese and St. Francis Xavier in 1545.  Since that time, Christians have enjoyed religious freedom as members of the other religions have enjoyed.  However, now it seems that Christians are being persecuted in the name of forcible conversions.  Arrogance, Pride, Force, Violence, and other such terms are alien to Christianity.  Christians are peace-loving people and they never have, or are using now, or ever will in the future, use force, gifts, donations, etc., to convert people.  Christians believe in the dignity and freedom of every individual.  Christians also accept the democratic system of Karnataka and thus they never attempt any means, whatsoever, to convert Non-Christians into becoming Christians.  But they are being falsely framed thus and are mercilessly persecuted.  There are innumerable reports in the media reporting that Christians are assaulted, humiliated, paraded half-naked, beaten up, their limbs mutilated, tortured, and even murdered by falsely and unjustly implicating them in the name of conversions.  There are about 143 incidents of violence against peace-loving Christians in the state of Karnataka.  All the Christians of India and the world are in extreme shock and profound grief, over these brutal and heartless events happening against Christians in Karnataka.  Being a forever peace-loving and religious tolerant community, Christians are remaining mute spectators to these intensely inhuman and barbaric acts.  But the international community is taking note and thus a lot of negative publicity is also being generated.

Christians of India and all over the world have full faith in your dynamic, charismatic, and justice driven leadership.  We are confident that as you have made Karnataka into one of the leading economic states of India, you will also make it into one of the leading religious tolerant states of India.  We look forward to your guidance and leadership in this matter.  We desire that we present our case to your honorable self for your kind consideration, so that necessary action may be initiated to stop the inhuman atrocities being committed against Christians in Karnataka.  We, thus, request a meeting with your honorable self in New York or Chicago, as per your convenience.  Do kindly let us know the date, time, and venue of the meeting and oblige. 

On behalf of the Federation of Indian Christian Organizations in North America, I take this opportunity to extend our warmest welcome to your honorable self in the United States of America, and eagerly look forward to a meeting with your honorable self.

Thanking you,

With warmest regards,

Reverend Bernard Malik

President

Federation of Indian Christian Organizations in North America

29 August 2008

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon,

United Nations

Honorable Sir,

Subject:  Appeal to intervene to stop Ethnic cleansing of Christians in Orissa

With profound grief, I have to state that all codes of human rights have been grossly violated in Orissa, India.  Christians of India and of the world are shocked and appalled at the inhuman, ruthless, and brutal treatment being subjected to their brethren in Orissa by supposedly Hindu radicals.  Christians are being persecuted, attacked, and victimized, simply because they follow the Christian religion.  More than thirty Christians have been killed, nuns have been gang raped, priests have been humiliated, tortured, paraded half-naked, and even murdered in last 72 hours.  Scores of churches have been burnt and razed to the ground.  Christians have been forced to flee from their homes and about 10,000 Christians are hiding in jungles and hills in Kandhamal while the police are mute spectators.  The Orissa government has failed to provide safety and shelter.  The army needs to intervene to normalize the situation.  Relief camps need to be set up so that food and other essential supplies are provided for the victims of the riot-torn areas.  The government needs to provide compensation for the victims besides rebuilding their burnt houses and churches.  The situation is grave, the government machinery has failed, and thus international intervention is essential to normalize the situation.

The Vatican has “deplored” the killings.  The Federation of Indian American Christian Organization of North America (FIACONA), is dazed, grieved, and extremely disturbed at the continuing violence against Christians in Orissa.  It is reported that Italy would also summon the Indian envoy in Rome to register its protest against the attack on Christians in Orissa.  France, the European Union head is also being asked to address the matter.  The international pressure is building up as violence perpetrated to Christians in any country cannot be taken lightly and cannot be defined as an internal matter of another sovereign country.  It should be reminded that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue and that justice delayed is justice denied.  The ongoing violence against Christians is not only injustice personified, but also is a demonic form of a great crime against humanity.  This violence has to be stopped immediately and peace, love and harmony has to be restored without any further delay.

FIACONA firmly believes in your historic words as given below:

“If security and development are two pillars of the UN’s work, human rights is the third. The promise contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which will mark its sixtieth anniversary in 2008, must continue to drive actions on the ground. The Human Rights Council must live up to its responsibilities as the torch-bearer for human rights consistently and equitably around the world. The expression “never again” must hold real meaning. I will strive to translate the concept of the Responsibility to Protect from words to deeds to ensure timely action when populations face genocide, ethnic cleansing or crimes against humanity. ”

- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Priorities for Action, Human Rights (http://www.un.org/sg/priority.shtml)

On behalf of FIACONA, I sincerely appeal to your honorable self to urgently look into this naked violation of human rights, to this crumbling of the very foundations of civilized society, to this absolute degradation of morals and values of coexistence and cooperation, and to this blatant denial of the virtues of peace, love, and harmony.  All the Christians of India and the world look up to your valuable and esteemed support to end this macabre, horrendous, chilling, gruesome, and ghastly carnage of Christians in Orissa.

Thanking you,

With warm regards,

Bernard Malik

President, FIACONA

30th August 2008

Dr. Manmohan Singh,

Honorable Prime Minister of India,

The Prime Minister’s Office,

New Delhi,

INDIA.

Honorable Sir,

Subject:          Unabated violence against Christians in Orissa and Karnataka

The Federation of Indian American Christian Organization of North America (FIACONA), is profoundly shocked, deeply grieved, and extremely upset at the continuing violence against Christians in Orissa and Karnataka. 

In the last 72 hours, 30 Christians were martyred and 400 plus injured.  Tens of thousands of Christians have fled to the jungles to save their lives and are subsisting on roots and herbs.  Hundreds of village churches have been burnt and razed to ground.  Christian nuns have been gang-raped and burnt to death.  Priests have been killed and attacked with iron rods, clubs, swords, and country made guns.  Alleged Hindu radicals are supposedly responsible for this utterly unbelievable carnage.  It is reported that they force Christians to bow before Hindu Gods and threaten them with death if they do not denounce Christianity and accept Hinduism.  Christians are targeted irrespective of age and gender.  Even children are not spared from these barbaric acts.  Christians are assaulted, humiliated, paraded half-naked, beaten up, their limbs mutilated, tortured, burnt alive, raped, and murdered.

There are more than 124 incidents in Orissa and more than 143 incidents in Karnataka, where Christians have been mercilessly victimized.  These stupendously anti-humanity acts are not only appalling, but are also macabre, horrid, revolting, disgusting, vile and inhuman acts of violence that are big blots of shame on the secular and democratic fabric of the Indian Constitution.  It is a shame that on the land of the Mahatma, where non-violence is the sacred mantra, violence is so unashamedly, unabashedly, and unabatedly propagated, instigated, and supported by few anti-social individuals or groups, in the name of religion.  Christians are a peace-loving community and abhor violence of any kind.  All the Christians of India and the world are mere mute spectators at the ghastly events happening in Orissa and Karnataka against their peace-loving brethren.

The international community is deeply concerned, and on 29 August 2008, a day of prayer will be observed in front of the Office of the United Nations from 12 pm to 3 pm, where innumerable Christians assembled to denounce the villainous acts perpetrated against Christians in Orissa and Karnataka. 

On behalf of The Federation of Indian American Christian Organization of North America (FIACONA), I request your honorable self to urgently look into this matter, and if necessary to call the armed forces to intervene and thus stop this shameless violence.

All the Christians of India and the world look up to your intervention to stop this violence, as the constitutional machineries of Orissa and Karnataka have completely broken down.  We have full faith and confidence in your abilities and are certain that you shall indeed restore peace, love and harmony, once again in these troubled states. 

Thanking you,

With warmest regards,

Reverend Bernard Malik

President, FIACONA