World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty
Commission (WEA RLC)
June 15, 2007
INDIA:Bangalore - The Barometer of India?
- shocking mob attack on Christian pastor highlights Hindutva's hatred
The following posting consists of a Compass Direct News Flash by Vishal Arora that highlights the escalating severity of persecution of Christians in India. Arora's report (along with a photograph of Pastor Laxmi Narayan Gowda) can also be found on the Compass Direct (CD) website: http://compassdirect.org
There are several things to note in Arora's report:
The attack took place in a suburb of Bangalore, the capital city of the south-western state of Karnataka, India. Bangalore with a population of six million is one of India's largest cities. It is the fastest growing city in all Asia and is commonly referred to as "The Silicon Valley of India", "The Fashion Capital of India", "The Pub City of India" and "The Garden City of India". So this attack did not occur in a remote and backward tribal jungle village where primitive tribal "justice" is sometimes administered in ignorance and in the absence of police.
The attack was organised by an educated elite (in this case, reportedly a lawyer), led by a band of Hindu nationalist militant youths from the Bajrang Dal, and participated in by 50, then 100, and then 1,000 local citizens, including immediate neighbours.
The attack was not only exceedingly intimidating and humiliating, it was! also violent, and only by the mercy of God was it not far worse. (The kerosene Pastor Gowda was dowsed in did not ignite when lit.)
The police in this "Silicon Valley of India", this hub of Indian civilisation and globalisation, showed up an hour after the event and only in response to a phone call from Pastor Gowda's distressed relatives. (Did any "neighbour" or observer, care enough about the Gowda family or even the social fabric of India to phone the police and request intervention? Did the police, as is their habit, deliberately turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to this mob violence (making themselves complicit) simply because the victim was a Christian?)
Four days after the horrendous attack, which involved grievous assault and attempted murder as well as vandalism and destruction of property, the police still had not even registered a case against the attackers. Impunity is once again the order of the day.
Hindutva's toxic ideology is infecting India's educated elite and saturating! the once peaceful and liberal grassroots. If the federal government does not act soon to combat Hindutva ideology, challenge unconstitutional state laws and put an end to impunity, it may be too late. Hindutva is gaining momentum and no-one appears to be willing or able to stop it.
As Hindutva gains momentum, persecution of Christians escalates in intensity and frequency, with persecutors emboldened by the lure of impunity. Unrestrained, full-speed Hindutva would be absolutely catastrophic for India's Christians, a mere two percent minority in a population of one billion, whose positive influence and invaluable contribution to nation building over the centuries belies the reality of their immense vulnerability
Elizabeth Kendall
rl-research@crossnet.org.auÂ
HINDU MOB IN INDIA BEATS, STRIPS, PARADES PASTOR.
During assault, they douse him with kerosene and toss burning Bible at him.
by Vishal Arora
NEW DELHI, June 12 (Compass Direct News) - A mob of Hindu extremists on Friday (June 8) beat a pastor and tried to set him on fire before parading him naked in the suburbs of Bangalore, capital of Karnataka state.
Laxmi Narayan Gowda, an independent pastor and representative of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), was recovering in a hospital at press time with swelling and numerous bruises.
The incident took place at about 7 p.m. in Hessarghatta, about 30 kilometers from Bangalore, when a group of about 50 people barged into the pastor's house and threatened him wit! h violence unless he moved out of the area, said Sam Josep h, a Karnataka-based leader of the All India Christian Council (AICC).
The group returned with 100 more people shortly after, cornered Pastor Gowda in a room in his house, and began assaulting him in front of his wife and two small children.
Extremists of the Bajrang Dal, youth wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP or World Hindu Council), allegedly led the mob.
One of the assailants threw kerosene on the pastor, and others started burning Bibles. Someone tossed a burning Bible onto Pastor Gowda, but miraculously he did not catch fire, Joseph told Compass.
The extremists then stripped the pastor naked and hung a board around his neck that said, "I am the one who was converting people," before parading him through the area.
"By this time, the mob had swollen to about 1,000 as more people joined in to harass and torture the pastor," Joseph added.
Local police arrived about an hour later, after one of the pastor's relatives calle! d them by telephone.
The assailants burned at leas t 250 Bibles and also vandalized furniture and equipment.
Police had not registered a case against the attackers at press time. When Compass spoke to Inspector R. Malesh of the Soladevanhalli police station, he said the victim did not want to file a complaint.
"We have requested the Christians to give us a complaint in writing, but they do not want to press charges against the attackers," he said.
Malesh claimed that the mob consisted of local people who did not belong to any Hindu extremist groups. Some of Pastor Gowda's neighbors attacked, he said, because they do not want Christian prayers and meetings to take place in his house.
A local source, however, told Compass on condition of anonymity that the attack was pre-planned and directed by an unidentified lawyer. The lawyer suggested to the crowd that if they hit the pastor as a mob, then there would be no possibility of prosecution, said the source.
Before Pastor Gowda accepted Chr! ist about 15 years ago, the source said, he was a member o f the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the parent organization of numerous Hindu extremist groups in India.
"The attackers seemingly wanted to punish Pastor Gowda for converting to Christianity from their Hindu nationalistic ideology, and warn others against doing so," added the source.
Pastor Gowda has been working in the area for the last 12 years. The source also said the pastor was firm in his faith following the attack.
Dr. Sam Paul, AICC's public affairs secretary, said that although Karnataka was known for anti-Christian attacks, the situation has become more volatile in the state since the Janata Dal-Secular party, in coalition with the Hindu nationalistic Bharatiya Janata Party, took power from the Congress Party in February 2006.
"Extremists in Karnataka are emboldened as the police usually turn up after the incident," he said. "There are also times when the police encourage anti-social elements to harass Christians."
Paul also s! tressed the need to educate India's people about true conv ersion, in particular that it does not mean that one becomes anti-national.
Dr. Sajan K. George, national president of the GCIC, told Compass that he was thankful to God for saving the life of one of his organization's representatives.
END
For more reports on persecution in India, see Compass Direct India Archives: http://compassdirect.org/content/index.php?id=25
Copyright 2007 Compass Direct News
Compass Direct Flash News is distributed as available to raise awareness of Christians worldwide who are persecuted for their faith. Articles may be reprinted by active subscribers only.
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Elizabeth
Kendal is the Principal Researcher and Writer for the World Evangelical
Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (WEA RLC)
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