Julio Ribeiro is one of the best known police officers in India. Recently
(March 16, 2015) he wrote in his article that he is feeling like a stranger in
this country. ‘I feel threatened, not wanted, reduced to a stranger in my own
country’. This pain and anguish of a distinguished citizen, an outstanding
police officer has to be seen against the backdrop of the rising attacks on
Churches and rape of the 71 year old nun in Kolkata. All over the country the
rage amongst the Christian community is there to be seen in the form of silent
marches, candle light vigils and peaceful protests.
As such during the last several months in particular the instances of attacks,
and intimidation of the minority community has become more frightening. There
is also a noticeable change in the pattern of violence against them. Earlier
these attacks were more in the remote Adivasi areas, now one can see this
taking place in urban areas also. The change in frequency of these attacks
after the new Government took over is a striking phenomenon.
As such Christians are one of the very old communities in India. Right
from the first century when St. Thomas visited Malabar Coast in Kerala and set up a Church there the
Christian community has been here, part of the society, contributing to various
aspects of social life. The missionaries, the nuns and priests, have also spent
ages in the rural hinterlands setting up educational and health facilities and
have also founded the most reputed educational institutions in most of the
major cities of the country. Christians today are a tiny minority (2.3% as per
2001 census). It has been a community which like any other has its own internal
diversity with various Christian denominations.
In this context the rise of anti Christian violence during last few decades in
Adivasi areas, Dangs (Gujarat) Jhabua (MP)
Kandhamal (Orissa) has been an unnerving experience for the community as a
whole and for those believing in pluralism and diversity of the country in
particular. The violence which picked up from mid nineties peaked in the
burning alive of Pastor Graham Stains (23rd Jan 1999) and later Kandhamal
violence in 2007 and 2008. After this there was a sort of low intensity
scattered violence in remote areas, till the attack on Churches in Delhi from last several
months. The Churches which were attacked were scattered in five corners of Delhi, Dilshad Garden (East), Jasola (South West), Rohini (Outer
Delhi), Vikaspuri (West) and Vasant kunj (South), as if by design the whole
terrain of Delhi
was to be covered for polarization. It was claimed by police and state that the
main cause of these has been theft etc.; in the face of the fact at most of the
places the donation boxes remained intact. BJP spokesperson are vociferously
giving the data that during this period so many temples have also been
attacked, which is a mere putting the wool in the eye, as the targeted nature
of anti Christian violence is very glaring.
n the meanwhile the RSS Sarsanghachalak, the boss of the
Hindu right, to which BJP owes its allegiance, states that Mother Teresa was
doing the charity work with intent to conversion. Post the statement two major
incidents have come to light. One is in Hisar in Harayana, where a church has
been attacked, it’s Cross replaced by the idol of Lord Hanuman and the Chief
Minister of Haryana, who again has RSS background, stated that the Pastor of
the Church has been alleged to be part of the conversion activities. At the
same time RSS progeny Vishwa Hindu Parishad stated that more such acts of
attack on churches will take place if conversions are not stopped. This
incident reminds one of the placing of the idols of Ram Lalla (Baby Ram) in
Babri Mosque in 1949 and then claiming that it was a birth place of Lord Ram.
In addition the statement of the Chief Minister gives a clear indication as to
how the investigation of the incident will take place and whether the real
culprits will ever be nabbed. Incidentally there are no police complaints about
Pastors’ conversion activities if any, in the police records. This ‘they are
doing conversions’ is a standard ploy which is propagated for anti Christian
violence, which one has witnessed so far.
After Bhagwat’s comments on Mother Teresa the anti Christian violence seems to
be intensifying by the day and the incidence of Haryana and Kolkata are symbols
of that and VHP is openly talking of more attacks. When Prime Minister Modi
broke his deliberate silence on the issues of violence against minorities, he
did say that religious freedom will be respected. But one also knows that what
he says and what he means are mostly not the same. Also that now the silence of
last several months has given a clear message to his associates in RSS combines
that they can carry on their disruptive and polarizing activities at will. A
large section within the Christian community feel that Modi was voted on the
agenda of development and this type of violence was not anticipated! That is a
sheer naivety, Modi is a RSS trained Pracharak, for whom the divisive agenda
remains at the core, to be implemented by a clever ‘division of labor’
implemented through different organizations, which are part of RSS combine
popularly known as Sangh Parivar.
As such India
has been the cradle of many religions, which celebrated and lived together, a
far cry from the present atmosphere which is intimidating the minorities.
Christian’s plight in recent times is something to which the concerned
democratic rights individuals need to wake up to. This seems to be unfolding of
the script, Pehle Kasai Phir Isai, (First Muslim, then Christians). It is not
just a violation of their rights; it’s also a violation of very basic norm of
democracy. As they say, a democracy has to be judged by the litmus test of
level of security and equity its minorities enjoy!
