FIACONA APPLAUDS EU PARLIAMENT ON ADOPTING A RESOLUTION CONDEMNING THE ATTACKS ON CHURCHES IN INDIA:
The Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations of North America (FIACONA) welcomes the strong response from the European Union Parliament (EUP) on the tragic crises in Manipur, India. FIACONA calls the violence in Manipur against Christians as state sponsored. The BJP government armed and aided the militia loyal to the Hindu nationalist BJP party.
In speech after speech, Members of the EUP challenged the Indian government’s disregard for human rights in Northeast India and questioned the policies of the Indian Prime Minister Modi when it comes to human rights within India. The Indian Prime Minister has remained silent on the rapidly deteriorating situation in Manipur where mainly Christians have been killed and churches destroyed.
“The situation in the state of Manipur in the North East of India is serious…violence is ongoing without the perpetrators being prevented. We call on the Indian government to do everything to restore order, bring the perpetrators to justice, and stop the excessive violence. With this resolution of the European Parliament, we call on the most populous democracy in the world to do what it is duty-bound to do as per its Constitution — to maintain religious freedom for the Christians in Manipur,” said parliament speaker Sven Simon, representing the EPP.
“In Manipur, over 120 people killed…not just one or two but 250 churches have been burnt. This is a dramatic situation and we have to do everything in our power to bring an end to this. Without ironclad guarantees in this area, we cannot talk about a new trade agreement with India,” said parliament speaker Bert-Jan Ruissen, representing the ECR.
FIACONA President Mr. Koshy George said, “This is a very timely and appropriate public response from the EUP. The speeches by the EU Parlimentarians reveals to the world the true situation on the ground in India. The Manipur crises can no longer be swept under the rug as being an “internal matter” as claimed by the Modi Government and must be brought to the attention of the international community.”
In a supporting statement, FIACONA Chairman, Mr. John Prabudoss, declared, “The decision of the EUP to bring a resolution to the floor for discussion shows that the world community will not remain silent when the world’s largest democracy perpetuates human rights violations while seeking to be perceived as a major player on the world stage. FIACONA supports and thanks the European Parliament for taking this timely step to put the Indian government on notice that human rights violations anywhere in the world will not be ignored and will have an impact on trade relations.”
The Indian Christian community in the United States is extremely concerned that cases of persecution of Christians in India continues to rise. Efforts are underway to increase the awareness of mainline Christian denominations in the US about the situation in India. Over 50,000 people have been displaced in Manipur alone since early May. People are living in fear.
On January 30, 2023, the Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations launched its ‘Annual Report 2023’ on India for 2022 at an event held at Washington Hilton, ahead of the IRF Summit.
The 2023 Report is unique in several aspects. For the first time, the Report calls for accountability from the government of India for its institutional failures to safeguard the lives and properties of Christians. The Report has recorded 1198 confirmed and verified incidents of violence against the Christian community across India. All these attacks were carried out by groups affiliated with or controlled by the Hindu nationalist party, the BJP, and its parent organization, the RSS.
Most of these attacks took place in states with some Anti-Conversion Laws. The attackers used perceived conversion, restricted by those laws, as a cover to attack the prayer meetings and churches. The police had joined the attackers in many instances.
A copy of the Report can be downloaded from FIACONA.org.
FIACONA is a Washington DC based voluntary, charitable organization advocating on behalf of 1 million strong Indian American Christians from all 50 states and Canada, It is a coalition of Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, Evangelical, Pentecostal and independent church and civic organizations primarily of Indian Americans. FIACONA is a bridge builder for ecumenical advocacy focused on finding ways to reduce violence against Christians in India. Our focus is to preserve the socio-political space of the Christian church from encroachment by nationalist radical groups in the name of Hinduism or their representatives in the Indian government.
PS: If you wish to help rebuild churches in Manipur India, please visit www.fiacona.org/donate
- List Churches Destroyed/Burnt Click to View Document
- List of Villages/towns attacked Click to View Document
- Summary of Churches Attacked Click to View Document
For further inquiries, please contact info@fiacona.org
