South Asia Features
Radical Hindus attack Christians over "forced conversions" (News Feature)
By Stefan Mentschel Oct 3, 2008, 12:31 GMT
New Delhi - Communal tensions are on the rise in eastern India as radical Hindus in the state of Orissa have torched hundreds of churches and Christian homes since late August.
As in past confrontations in recent years, the violence between Hindus and Christians has centred in Orissa's Kandhamal district.
Kandhamal lies in a remote mountainous region in the heart of Orissa, some 200 kilometres west of the state capital Bhubaneshwar.
The district, home to some 600,000 people, is among India's poorest.
The majority of the population belongs to India's indigenous people that calls itself 'Adivasi,' which translates as 'first inhabitants.'
The Adivasi maintain their own cultural identity and traditionally are animists, believing in nature spirits.
But over the past few decades, tens of thousands of Adivasi converted to Christianity, mainly because many Christian aid organizations operating in the region were not only building schools and hospitals for the impoverished tribes people, but also brought their religion.
Today, almost a quarter of Kandhamal's population is Christian. The national proportion of Christians is only slightly over 2 per cent.
Fundamentalist organizations like the Hindu World Council, or Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), have accused Christian aid workers of engaging in missionary work in the tribal areas.
The VHP claim the aid workers routinely demand conversion to Christianity from the people in exchange for material assistance.
Although Christian authorities in India have vehemently rejected these accusations, the claims have been used by radical Hindu groups to justify their aggressive campaign against Christians.
The situation came to the attention of the international community for the first time almost 10 years ago when Australian priest Graham Staines and his two underage sons were murdered.
Hindu fanatics firebombed the Staines' family car in Orissa and the father and his 2 children were burnt alive.
Staines had spent 34 years caring for lepers in Orissa's tribal areas.
Triggering the latest wave of violence was the murder in late August of a VHP cadre who had led the campaign against allegedly forced religious conversions in Kandhamal district.
At the time Maoist rebels, who are also active in the region, claimed responsibility for the killing.
But the radical Hindu groups accused the Christians of the murder and launched a series of bloody revenge actions.
Since then hundreds of homes and many Christian institutions and churches have been put to the torch and at least 34 people were killed during the brutal assaults.
A local nun was raped by the Hindu mob, while an estimated 20,000 Christian Adivasi fled their villages.
Pope Benedict XVI and numerous Western politicians have sharply denounced the violence and called upon India's central government to prevent further attacks.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh responded by insisting that religious freedom was guaranteed in the country's constitution and would be defended by his government.
But he also said that it was the responsibility of Orissa's state government to ensure the security of its people and to protect their property.
But in a signal that he understands the severity of the current volatile situation, Singh has ordered India's interior minister to dispatch an additional 5,000 security personnel to Kandhamal since the violence intensified in late August.
COMMENT
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Older Talkback
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Hinduisam does not seak converts.
India is home of Hindus, please leave Hindus alone.
Christian are not minorities. Easterns 5 states of Inida, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura and Assam has 95% Christian population and are fighting govt of India to establish Christian Country.
India is the only country in the world named after its religeous beliefs in modern times. There is no further elaboration needed. The Christians are double faced and hypocritic at best. They should migrate to west and leave us alone.
Hindus are teaching the Muslims how to treat the Christians, but it is deplorible anyways.
This saddens my heart to hear that people are so desperate and hungry for the Word of the Lord and that persecution is so rife...
I cannot picture this, being so free here to worship and pray and to intercede the way we do here in South Africa.
I will definitely in prayer for the move of God there and for His Hand of protection and guidance to be upon His people.
we can make a difference, our voices are strong enough to pray for God to move over Orissa - India.
Reading some of the comment to this article prompt me to write something here!One is seemingly from a Hindu fundamentalist,who says Hinduism doesn't seek converts and India is a place of Hindus. I would say Ignorance is Bliss, for a person like you. Hinduism has been actively involving in the act of conversion for thousand of years, some times even using coercion if exploiting the ignorance of many non Hindu communities. During ancient period it was Sankara the peer was the top most Hindu missionary, he converted the Dravidian communities of southern to Hinduism,around AD 8th century. Dravidian's were mainly bud hists and animists.in this process he killed many budhist, using the kings he already converted, monks who resisted the act of conversion.
then the history of hinduism in north eastern region of India tells us the
cunning methods adopted by Hindu missionaries to covert native people of these region. these took place in between 15 to 17th centuries
lets come to Orissa, where, violence against tribal convert Christians, took place recently,these or any tribal s of India were not Hindus. they were animists and most of them are still. a small number became Christians and Hindus due to the missionary activity of respect religious sects.
Above read respective missionaries of respective religious sects.
then for your (the commentator) kind information: India is not a Hindu nation its a secular republic. According to our constitution every citizen has a right to believe, propagate, practice, or join to any religion he prefers. the allegation of forceful conversion is nothing but a ploy to attack minorities because in the state of orissa there has been a law in existing for over last 20 years against force full conversion but till date not a single complaint filed in this regard.
Another fellow , probably, a Muslim, written that, Hindus taught muslims how to treat x'ians. obviously he is enlighten by the act of Hindu fundamentalists. I am sure that this person is not an Indian Muslim. If possible, you should talk to any Indian Muslim to know what these Hindu fundamentalist done to innocent Muslims of Bombay , Gujarat and elsewhere in India.. and in fact the Muslims, Sikhs, and Buddhist minorities of India are in solidarity with Christians in this hour of persecution.
India, as a secular state has international obligations to unhold freedom of religious belief. State and national governments should therefore take all necessary measures to protect anyone who suffers physical, economic, social or psychological attacks because they choose a particular spiritual path. The government of India needs to rise above short term political concerns and uphold the rule of law and the constitution of the State or risk sectarianism undermining its foundations.
people are finally starting to rise as enraged groups. enraged at the audacity of christianty (as people, not the actual religion). christians makes a big deal about being persecuted however aside from a very short period in history, they have been the persecutors; going places and destroying cultures by force and deception. going out and telling people, 'what you have believed for generations into the fog of history is wrong! believe our way.' once en mass the violence would begin, torture and sluaghter of those who believe otherwise. so tell me why i should be horrified when a people say 'no more, we are who we are and will not be threatened or coerced into betraying that identity'. personally i applaud the resolve of the hindu people of india even if the method be extreme. their resolve is an example to all those, even in christian dominated countries to stand firm for their beliefs and not be bullied by others anymore.
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michelfulanoOct 3rd, 2008 - 18:31:52
Seems to be a new chapter for Bill Maher's Religulous. It saddens me to read of inhumanity like this.
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