Ruthless and regular persecution of Gujarat's Christians and Muslims

Ahmedabad (AsiaNews) – The government of Gujarat “has conveniently forgotten that Article 25 of the Constitutions guarantees freedom of worship, and it does everything in its power to continue, and to justify, ruthless persecution against Christians and Muslims living in the state”. With these words, Fr Cedric Prakash – director of Prashant, a Jesuit-run centre for human rights, justice and peace – concluded an article he wrote about the “Carnage of Gujarat”: the massacre perpetrated three years ago by “unknown people” against the Muslim community.

Fr Prakash examines the anti-conversion law currently in force that was approved by the nationalist Hindu party, and poses a series of questions to which “the government simply gives no reply”. The Jesuit is well known for his work for human rights: the Indian president awarded him with the Kabir Puraskar prize “for his commitment to promote communal peace and harmony”.

We reproduce the article in full below:

The BJP government [Bharatiya Janata Party, India’s largest political party with nationalist, fundamentalist leanings] in Gujarat rode to a massive two-thirds majority victory in the Assembly Elections of December 2002. This was mainly due to a meticulously organized pogrom on the Muslim minority of the State which is infamously called the “Gujarat Carnage of 2002”.

There was another aspect in their Election Manifesto which they propagated far and wide prior to the elections, namely that an anti-Conversion Law would be in place after they came to power. This promise they did keep when on March 26 2003, three years ago, they rode rough-shod over a feeble opposition and unanimously passed “The Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act”.

Very ironically, that same day, Haren Pandya, a former Home Minister of Gujarat and a vociferous opponent of Narendra Modi, a nationalist leader, was gunned down in the heart of the city in broad daylight. The truth of his assassination has still not yet emerged but if one listens to Vitthalbhai Pandya, his father, then one will easily be convinced that the murderers of his son are not the “Muslim terrorists” who are being accused.

Very strangely, although the Act was passed, until today, the Gujarat Government has not been able to frame the rules needed to govern the implementation of the Act. In its essence, the Act “provides for freedom of religion by prohibition of conversion from one religion to another by use of force or allurement or by fraudulent means”.

The key clauses of the Act are :

1. Anyone wanting to convert or wanting to convert someone else from one religion to another needs prior permission from the District Magistrate.

2. Whoever contravenes this Act will be punished for a period extending up to three years and also liable to a fine which may extend to 50,000 rupees

3. However, if the “guilty” happens to be a minor or woman or a tribal or an outcast, the imprisonment extends up to four years and the fine extends up to 100,000 rupees.

Once this Act was passed, the government was not able to answer simple questions. Are there any instances of forced conversion in Gujarat? Has anyone complained? What does allurement mean? If for example, a person is promised “a more peaceful life” or a technique in the “art of living”, in the acceptance of another religion or way of life, does that amount to allurement? And what happens if one would like to embrace Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism or even Buddhism? Does one need to have permission for that conversion?

Then there are certain draconian aspects of the law: Who is the District Magistrate to sit on judgment on matters related to faith and conscience? How does one decide if permission should be given or not? What happens if one decides to become an agnostic, an atheist? Does that amount to changing one’s religion? Why should there be more severe punishment for a women, dalit, adivasi or minor? Is it because these groups are lesser than the “brahminized males” who dominate our society?

On Christmas Day 2005, in a widely publicized debate on television, the Home Minister of Gujarat, Amit Shah was challenged as to why the rules which are necessary for implementing this law were not being framed. He had absolutely no answer.

Very obviously, the level of rhetoric and the ferocity of the demands were heightened at the Shabri Kumbh Mela [festival of Hindu purification] from 11 to 13 February 2006. At this time, anti-Christian venom and hate were spewed. One of the resolutions of this Mela was to ensure a national law to ban conversions. A couple of weeks later, in a much publicized meeting of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh [RSS, paramilitary formation of extremist Hindus, considered to be the armed wing of the BJP] in Orissa, a similar resolution was adopted.

The question is: why wasn’t such a law approved when the nationalists were in power? Why do they call on the current national government to pass it?

Whilst it is true that the law, as it is, is toothless, it is also a fact that it is like a Damocles’ sword, with some officials misusing it to threaten and intimidate tribals and dalits.

Mrs Jayalalitha in Tamil Nadu brought in a similar but less draconian legislation sometime ago, but she had to eat humble pie because of its impact, so very conveniently and strategically, she withdrew it. The Gujarat government is in a similar quandary: having passed the legislation, they are just afraid to frame the rules for this law. The fact is that when they do so, they know that it will be challenged. It is a political trap they have set for themselves.

Another question that needs to be asked is: “Is the government of Gujarat really afraid that hundreds and thousands of people will actually embrace Christianity?” If this is so, why don’t they ask themselves why people want to convert to another faith?”

In the meantime, the government continues to harass and intimidate Christians, Muslims and other minorities with a terrifying regularity. They are doing all in their power in order to justify this law and persecution. The government has conveniently forgotten that Article 25 of the Constitutions guarantees every single citizen, the freedom to practice, preach and propagate the religion of his/her choice.

26 March 2003 was indeed a bloody day in the history of Gujarat: civil society must speak out for justice, freedom and truth in order to guarantee that such days will never be repeated. And, we need to know…..Is the Gujarat government afraid of something?

Fishing in the troubled waters

Fishing in the troubled Waters: Advani's (W)rath Yatra For National (Dis)integration

By V.B. Rawat (March 11, 2006)

Lal Krishna Advani is back to what he has been an 'expert' for the past 15 years. After the bomb blasts at the Sankat Mochan temple in Varanasi, he hurriedly organized a press meet and informed the hungry journalists that he along with Rajnath Singh would embark on 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' (India integration Yatra) against the policies of the United Progressive Alliance government which have resulted in the blast at Varanasi. Advani says that the blasts were the outcome of 'minorityism' being shamelessly played by the UPA government.

While people of Uttar-Pradesh in general and Varanasi in particular should be complimented for a strong response to the antinational forces who tried to dismantle the communal harmony in the temple town, the Hindutva party was unable to understand the need of the people. Its TV face Prakash Javadekar informed that in democracy every one has a right to express their feelings. Problem with Javadekar is that they would not like this right to be given to Muslims.

However, it would be unfair to Advani if the issue of communalization has not been addressed properly. After the demolition of Babari Masjid, things were coming back to normalcy when the issue of Cartoon dominated the debates in India. There are few questions related to this. These questions are bigger than the religion and need introspection from all of us.

Violent Reactions to Dissent

Our feelings are being 'hurt' every now and then. When the Cartoon Controversy was in full swing, another TV channel was showing how 'Hindu' Gods and goddesses were being denigrated in Europe. Last year Christians also protested against film 'sin' which shows illegitimate relationship between a pastor and young girl who visit the church too often. The Sikhs blasted one play right in London for her blasphemy of their religion. Hence it is not just Muslims who are sensitive to 'criticism' but we all who have closed our windows and want to believe what we believe and feel right. The biggest casualty in this is truth.

Recently several Dalit right activists have been put behind bar when some of them garlanded the idol of Lord Rama with shoes. They burnt the Manu Smriti and Vedas for their alleged contempt towards the Dalits. The Shiv Sena 's goons attacked Zee TVs' office for allegedly offensive play against its Supreme high command Bala Saheb Thackerey. In Uttar-Pradesh the sensibilities of Bahujan Samaj Party were hurt when CNN-IBN report exposed the 'financial' deals of its Goddess Mayawati. Ambedkarites are unhappy with alleged publication of his letters with a British woman who helped him. The Gandhian's do not feel comfortable with ' Mee Naturam Godse Boltai'.

This culture of deification of leaders in the name of identity is a dangerous phenomenon in our part of the world. Whatever we may claim as 'secular' values for our democracy, 'secularism' and 'democracy' are not part of our social system. We live in a sham political democracy, which begin with politicians and end up with them. They use identity as a tool to strengthen their political bargain and purchase unquestioning loyalty from their 'caste' and 'religious' fellows. In other words, it is 'crony' and 'feudal' democracy as there is no space for the marginalized and 'minorities' in such a democracy. The erstwhile Rajas and Mahrajas, religious gurus, big land mafias, criminals, accused, all, have found best shelter in democracy. Any effort to question them meet with threat of dire consequences.

We pretend that the elections are being contested in the name of development. The fact is a big no. It is the identity politics that dominate our elections. Identities thrive not on success but on the fear. The only success that identities can do is to mobilize people and collect fund from them. The fear of the opposite identity subjugating the other one is exploited very well.

An atmosphere of fear is therefore necessary to flourish the identity politics. Once you instill fear by creating an artificial enemy for your community, none of the community poor are going to ask any further question. In fact, he or she would handsomely contribute for strengthening his community work. Ironically, there are no such initiatives for education, hospitals, social work where people can contribute at their own. They still wait for a messiah to come and provide support to them. But in the name of identity, people are ready to 'strengthen' their leaders by 'contributing' handsomely. The collection by the religious organization is matter of research for every one of us. What could be better than using caste and religion to spread their hateful ideology?

Living for Religion

After all, we are told, life is for religion, for our holy books, holy gods and goddess and not vice versa. All of them are unquestionable. The only question we ask is about other faith. Hindus have pernicious caste system say both Muslims and Christians. How can they tackle so many gods and goddesses? The upper caste middle class Hindus would often pretend to be more 'modern' by suggesting Muslim women are worst hit. 'Muslims are fanatic', they would often say. Muslim says George Bush and Christian world are killing the Muslims. They must apologize for attack on Iraq. True, Japan must apologize from Korea, Britain from India, Muslims from Hindus for they ruled over 400 years in India. The Upper caste Hindus should apologize from the Dalits. Men should ask mercy from women and so on. Communist should apologize from freethinkers in China, Soviet Union, Cuba and Venezuela. List is long and the only thing is to change ourself. Bring ourself out of these identities, which makes us doubtful about any one who is not conformity with us.

It is also important to understand that minority identity is easily targeted as 'communal' while majority identity become 'national'. Therefore, we can catch an Abu Salem and put an Interpol warrant against Dawood Ibrahim while our police can do nothing against Bal Thackrey and Lal Krishna Advani. Is not it shameful that the man headed the Ministry who had charge sheeted him on the Ayodhya demolition case. Remember, this man preaches us morality in public life. His 'devotees', mainly the journalists and Internet breed of Non Reliable Indians (NRIs) are ready to catch his words.

Tragically, it is not just Muslims who thrive on the international identity first and national identity later as Vir Sanghvi might make us feel. The Christians do the same. Their mission work irrespective of countries is basically to serve their religion first and national identity later, otherwise, why would mother Teresa come to India and serve the 'poor'.

But are Hindus so naïve not to do this identity business. Why should India open its border with Nepal and not with other countries? Why do we not bother that a porous border with Nepal could be equally dangerous such as with Bangladesh? But Nepal is not on the radar of Hindutva because its feudal Maharaja is serving the cause of Hindutva better than others hence none of Hindutva gangs would talk about feudlocracy rampant in Nepal.

It is not for nothing that Mr Advani during his tenure as home minister asked for dual citizenship. One need not to wonder why the Sangh Parivar and its hate mongering offshoots have the largest supporter groups in United States and United Kingdom. One wonders why they could not learn a lesson or two about diversity and democracy living in free societies.

Identity of 'enemy'

Hence when the Muslim protests in India against George Bush and the so-called Marxists joins it, it makes a lot of soul searching for us. It is easier for our leftist friend to condemn United States and United Kingdom who are much better and independent societies than us. But like Advani, they also need an enemy. Nobody, justify Bush and Blair for their deeds. Their people are against them and they will bite dust next time but how can we get rid of those 'nationalists' who are sitting overhead. The Muslim do not protest against the killing by their co-brotherns in Kashmir or when Saddam gassed the Kurds. The Hindus do not protest when the Dalits are hacked to death in the villages. The Christian right wing is happy with George Bush for his 'family' philosophy.

We all need an enemy in the identity business. Mulayam need a Yaqub Quraishi to incite Muslims for alleged blasphemous act of a cartoonist who 'painted' a picture of prophet. Interestingly nobody know how he looked like hence any drawing in the name of prophet are nothing but idiotic. In fact any drawing in the name of any Gods and Goddess are just by the artificial imagination of our mind. But we easily get hurt. Yaqub Quraishi was ready to give Rs 51 crore to kill the cartoonist. I would suggest him to start a 'Sarva Siksha Abhiyan' for Muslim girls with this money. That would serve him votes and name also. Once Yaqub suggested the killing, the Hindu leaders were ready to offer Rs 101 crore on the head of painter M F Hussein for allegedly insulting Hindu Goddesses.

It is ironical that our democratic values are guided by religious values and not by the human rights values, international code of justices and various reform movements, which challenged the religious hegemony. Any challenge to religion and its demagogues are met with strong protests.

It is not that the 'devotees' are against what is happening or what is being written against our Gods. People and institutions are targeted even if we keep quiet or we do not write or celebrate the birthday of certain particular leader or we do not moan the death anniversary of some. Sambhaji Brigade in Maharastra attacked the office of Marathi Daily, Lok Satta as the daily has not brought any special supplement on the day of Shivaji Jayanti.

When movement for Uttarakhand was gaining ground in the hills in 1994, Mulayam Singh Yadav, the then chief minister asked his supporters to burn the copies of two Hindi dailies named Amar Ujala and Dainik Jagaran. He alleged that these newspapers were inciting the people. The 'devotees' of Mulayam then followed the instructions and hit the vehicle carrying these newspapers.

Advani's Yatra therefore would not bring any change in the otherwise disgruntled Hindutva. The people of this country know it well that one 'enemy' created by either Muslims or Hindutva would not work in longer run. The democracy has taught the Muslim masses to ask more questions from their leaders. One must not forget that the benefit of Muslim identity politics in India has been usurped by the upper caste Hindus both the way. On the one hand it has helped consolidate the RSS, Hindutva and other such organization, the great beneficiaries the other side were Mulayam Singh Yadav or Mayawati.

It is not surprising that Gandhi used the same Muslim identity card to debunk Jinnah's claim to lead Muslim masses in India. Gandhi needed Mullahs to lead Muslims while Jinnah wanted a secular nationalist approach. Today, the same practice is being followed by Advani for Hindus and Mulayam for Muslims in the name of secularism.

Hunger-Poverty biggest Enemy

But then much water has flown in Sarayu and Ganga after the Babari Masjid and Shahbano case. Uttar-Pradesh is in the grip of micro identities and Advani is trying to kill those micro identities by projecting one big Hindu identity. One need to understand is that Advani in his Hindu identity is a Sindhi who do not have any vote bank. His other friends are upper caste Banias and a few Thakurs. BJP's Hindutva thesis revolve around these 'minority' castes added with a few of those 'minorities' who migrated from Pakistan . BJP in the grand Hindu scheme of things represent a tiny of minority upper castes and even those upper castes have now started drifting away from it.

In final analysis communalism is an offshoot of identity politics. Those who gain from caste politics opt for caste identities and those who have everything to lose from caste identities opt for a bigger 'nationalist' identity. There is no individual identity in this country. Religious and caste identities are the biggest challenge to democracy and human rights. India today needs a secular space for its politics and national life. This secular space mean that the state has to keep away from the religiosity and that any dissent on religion should be taken in a democratic spirit. It is too much to die for 400 years old mosque or so-called birthplace of a Lord which has no historic value. Thousands of people have already died in the name of pigs and cows. We need an India that takes care of its have nots, the Dalits and tribals. We need Indian who can feel the pain and agony of its women who suffers in the hate campaign and communal violence. We need Indians who feel ashamed of continuous hunger deaths. Yes, India need community of youngsters who are ready to come 'Swadesh' to fight against hunger, poverty and illiteracy.

Fight against violence, terror and hate go hand in hand. You cannot fight terrorism with a sectarian mindset. Off late, these 'protests' and 'Yatras' have become political tool for revival of 'dead' horses. We have seen such protests and marches against 'enemy'. Unlike the left, the 'enemy' for Advani lives around us. He hates them because their single-minded obsession failed his mission PM. It is time for all of us to heed the prophetic words of Dr Ambedkar when he said ' Hindu Rastra would be the biggest calamity for India.' I can say with conviction that not just Hindu Rastra but any kind of theocratic state would be dangerous for the health of our national life. Let free spirit prevail in India. Narrow parochial Hindtuvavadis cannot fight against the feudal Islamic Jehadis. We need proud secular Indian who can stand against the fanatics who want to keep people subjugated in the name of communal and caste identities. Let us throw these hate mongering identities into the dustbins of history.

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Massive Anti-Christian Poster Campaign in Dangs, India

(February 23, 2006) - The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) www.persecution.org has received additional information on the recent Hindu festival (Shabari Kumbh) in the state of Gujarat. Hosted by the radical Hindu group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (National Volunteer Corps or RSS), the festival included a massive anti-conversion poster campaign, in addition to other festival activities, at Dangs in India’s western state of Gujarat from February 11 to 13.

The festival, organized in the remote, tribal-dominant district, was an attempt to “reconvert” tribal Christians to Hinduism by making them aware of the “Christian conspiracy of conversions.” Although no direct attempt of re-conversion was reported during the festival, the RSS left no stone unturned in preparing the ground for re-conversions in the future.

The RSS displayed at least two dozen anti-conversion posters in an exhibition titled ‘The New Vision for India.’ The posters were made by the neighboring state chapter of an affiliate of the RSS, and were sponsored by a donor situated in Mumbai, the state capital.

The posters mainly carried excerpts of newsletters of Christian missions in India and abroad, especially the West. To change the context of the extracts, headings were given on the top of the posters and statements of warning at the bottom.

A board installed at the gate of the exhibition area said, “Conversions must be stopped.”

Accused of Sponsoring Terrorist Groups in Northeast India

There was a series of five posters linking the Church with terrorist and separatist groups in northeast India.

Titled, “Church-sponsored terrorist groups in Northeast India,” this poster [at left] carried a list of 17 terrorist organizations that allegedly had close links with the church.

The statement in the footer of the poster read, “Terrorism is the true face of Christianity.”

Another poster [at right], titled, “Black shadow of the Cross on the Northeast,” stated that one of the insurgent groups in Northeast India, which has offices in New York and Geneva, had “Nagaland for Christ” written on its letterhead. “The Church funds this organization and China supplies the arms,” it claimed.

It also said that the separatist group National Liberation Front of Tripura, which has close links with the Pakistan’s ISI and Bangladesh’s Directorate General of Field Intelligence, had declared that it would make Tripura a Christian state.

The footer of this poster also read, “Terrorism is the true face of Christianity.”

Accusation of Conversion in the Garb of Social Service

In another series of seven posters, all titled, “Anything for conversions,” Christian missionaries were accused of converting Hindus using the guise of social service.

One poster [at left] stated, “A ‘miracle box’ is kept in many churches in the northeast. People are asked to put in slips carrying their prayer requests, be it freedom from debt or money for house, education, and daily expenses. After a few weeks, a ‘miracle’ takes place. The people get what they had asked for and they convert to Christianity.”

“People are asked to pray in the name of their gods while they are given colorful water, and not medicine, to drink. After a while, real medicine is given and, this time, the prayer is done in the name of Christ. When a person is healed thinking Christ has healed him, he converts to Christianity.”

The line in the footer read, “Christianity is based on superstitions.”

Another poster [at right] claimed that Christians’ involvement in education was meant for conversions. “In 1884, Lord Mochalo used money power to bring down traditional schools and started new schools where the Sanskrit language was taught. On October 12, 1836, he wrote a letter to his father saying, ‘If the education continues at this pace, not even a single Hindu will remain in Bengal; all will convert to Christianity. Those who do remain Hindus will be Hindus merely for name’s sake. They will no longer believe in Hindu scriptures. Thus we will achieve our objective without interfering in Hinduism and without violating their freedom of religion,” it said.

The bottom line stated, “Education in a missionary school is dangerous.”

Likewise, one poster [not shown] sought to associate Christians’ involvement in health services as an attempt to convert Hindus. It quoted members of one International Christian Hospitals as saying, “The number of people coming to hospitals is more than the number of people going to churches. Therefore, hospitals can be used for evangelization.” It also quoted a publication (February 21 to 27, 1983) of the Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, as saying, “People are more interested in issues related to life, death and salvation in hospitals. While Christians cannot preach in many villages of India, doors for evangelism open when you take health services with you.”

The footer declared, “Christian compassion, heights of hypocrisy.”

Views of Great Men of India on Conversion and Re-conversion

Further, three posters on display quoted three great men of India stating their view on Christian conversion and re-conversion of converts to Hinduism.

One poster [at left] carrying quotes of Hindu philosopher, Swami Vivekananda, said, “Even if the whole nation gets together to throw away the dirt into Western nations, they would only reduce it by little given the amount of dirt thrown into the ocean of Hindus. You (Westerners) talk big, but show us just one place where you have brought Christianity without using sword. I know some of our ancestors were converted to Christianity, but they did it because they would have to face the sword otherwise. You talk a lot about peace, but still behave like Muslims.”

“On being asked by a journalist in April 1899 if converts should be reconverted, Vivekananda replied, ‘Definitely, otherwise our population will continue to decrease. When a Hindu converts to Christianity, it does not merely reduce the population by one, but it also increases the army of the enemy by one. Those who have converted to Christianity or Islam have done so fearing the sword. We have reconverted numerous converts, and we need to do that even today.’”

The line at the end of the poster said, “Christian conversion is a hidden war against Hinduism.”

Yet another poster [at right] quoted Mahatma Gandhi as saying, “If I had the right to legislate, I would abolish conversions. I would welcome only those foreigners who come for social service. It is true that because of missionaries, the culture and lifestyle of Hindu families change.”

The statement in the footer read, “Conversion is the second name of violence.”

Influx of Foreign Money

Another poster [at left], titled, “Flood of Foreign Money”, carried a list of foreign agencies that sent money to India during 1997-98 and the amount they sent. The list included the Christian Children Fund, USA: 647.8 million; the Evangelische Zentralstelle (EZE), Germany: 590 million; the Faster Parents Plan International, the USA: 554.5 million; the International Catholic Missionary Work, USA: 486 million; and so on.

The poster stated, “There are three armies of colonialism, namely, ground, water, and air, and fourth one is the Church.”

No Forgiveness

One poster [not shown] titled, “Time has changed, not thinking,” delivered an ominous warning to Christian missionaries, saying, “The mistake of forgiving the offender 17 times will not be repeated.”

ICC has additional photos and descriptions of the posters upon request.

END

ICC is a Washington-DC based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC delivers humanitarian aid, trains and supports persecuted pastors, raises awareness in the US regarding the problem of persecution, and is an advocate for the persecuted on Capitol Hill and the State Department. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.

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