Indian bishops make demands in relation to anti-Christian violence

ICC Note: This statement from the Catholic bishops of India puts the needs and demands of the Christians into a well-thought out call to the government of India.

by Card. Varkey Vithayathil
9/26/08 India (AsiaNews) – Here is the statement signed by Card Varkey Vithayathil on behalf of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India concerning anti-Christian violence, released today:

Shocked and grieved by the incidents of extreme violence unleashed against the Christian community recently in various parts of our Country, the members of the Standing Committee (Executive Body) of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India express their utter disappointment at the apathy and inaction of the Governments at the Centre and in the States.

Tragic events

Innocent people were murdered, women were molested, churches and religious places were desecrated, pulled down and burnt; houses of Christians were destroyed in Kandhamal and several other districts of Orissa. The State Government kept giving an assurance that things were normal and security arrangements were perfect. Yet when representations were made, it pleaded inability to control the mobs that vandalized church property assailed religious personnel and Christian population. It was evident that the perpetrators of these hideous deeds were trained agents of radical Hindutva activists who were acting under instructions and executing a master plan of destruction. Even as the Christian community in India was still agonizing under these most painful events, attacks and vandalism spread to Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh

It is India’s ancient civilization that is being humiliated and the values such as Ahimsa, Truth, Tolerance, and Respect for Religions that She has jealously preserved for centuries that are being dragged to the dust. It is India’s fair name that has been tarnished and her secular and democratic image seriously damaged before the international community. These recent horrors in various parts of our country have disgraced the high ideals and principles that our wise men and saints upheld and the vision that our Founding Fathers cherished.

We appreciate the initiative of the Government of India in sending a fact-finding team to study the situation in Karnataka. At the same time we express our disappointment because no corresponding action has been taken until now in the State of Orissa, where the violence and destruction were of much greater magnitude.

Our demands

We make the following demands:

– That stronger and stringent action be taken against all kinds of anti-social and anti-religious elements that violate human rights and terrorize innocent people;

– That culprits should be brought to book and legal action be taken against them;

– That adequate compensation be immediately given to the affected people and institutions;

– That CBI inquiry be immediately ordered to investigate the Orissa incidents and their nexus to attacks on Christian communities in other States;

– That a ban be imposed on fundamentalist groups that train “terrorists” under the banner of Hindutva or any other name;

– That the leaders who act on a communal agenda, or who inspire organized violence against persons of another community, or who use religion for political purposes be restrained.

– ?That in the event of people taking the law into their own hands, the police be instructed to act in accordance with the demands of law and order, with justice and without prejudice… [Go To Full Story]