[This is published in The bHimal newsmagazine, Kathmandu, this week.Financing faith ]
While there is a lot of talk about the Indian government dismissing the Constitution in order to support some Muslim institutions and rituals, little is said of state support for Hinduism.
By : John Dayal
bilash rai
Do not expect graphs or charts in this article: it covers the Indian government’s spending on religion and related infrastructure, a topic that has long been a closely guarded secret, even within the halls of Parliament. Pertinent information only leaks out when some smart member of the national or state legislature strikes it lucky. One such incident took place last year in the Rajya Sabha, when Minister of State for Human Resource Development D Purandeswari, in a written reply to Andhra Pradesh representative C Ramachandraiah, stated: “The state government of Andhra Pradesh has submitted a proposal for financial assistance of Rs 243.27 lakhs for modernization of madarsas.” This was meant without any irony, even though newspapers were simultaneously reporting a Lok Sabha answer that the union government was seriously considering the enactment of new legislation to check the receipt and utilisation of foreign funds by madrassas and other organisations.
Religion is a touchy subject in India, and the interface of government and religion even more so. Most political parties, including the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), often come dangerously close to being disqualified from parliamentary politics by the vigilant Election Commission for dabbling in the spiritual with an eye on the electorate and the next elections. To be fair, the Constitution does force on the government an entirely Western concept of the secular state, with religion completely divorced from governance and the instruments of state. Yet tradition and culture nonetheless compel the state players to devise radically new definitions of secularism – from the Nehruvian ‘Equal distance from every religion’, to the BJP’s ‘Equal respect for every religion’. But in this, Hinduism still remains the native, the ‘default’, form. The ‘non-Indic’ – a new term evolved by academics loyal to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) – faiths are ultimately tolerated only as minority panths, or denominations, rather than as separate religions.
The New Delhi government has been challenged repeatedly to state its attitude towards religion – or worse, to take sides in religious wars in the name of communal violence. The controversy surrounding the Babri Masjid is just one such dispute. The latest is the Ram Sethu controversy, where the government’s maritime dream to have a sea channel linking the Bombay and Cochin ports with Madras through Adam’s Bridge, thereby cutting 30 hours out of the shipping time, has long been stymied by Hindu devotees. Top scientists have been dragged into the fray, and by mid-September, the government found itself in the unenviable position of having to tell the Supreme Court that there has been no evidence of Ram, the bridge or Ravan. But roadblocks in various cities, and accusations levelled at Sonia Gandhi’s United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for “insulting Hindu sentiment”, had the UPA do a quick about-face, and state that “the existence of Ram cannot be doubted”.
Not that other religions have not similarly charged the government with bias. Christians are angry that New Delhi has given Hindu Dalits privileges denied to Christians converted from the same caste. Sikhs, meanwhile, are still nursing wounds from their last encounter with the Indian state, in 1984. Buddhists are fighting for an identity, and Jains are struggling just to establish that they exist separate from Hinduism. Such is life, but it is made more complicated by various maverick judges. For instance, Justice K Srivastava of the Allahabad High Court, on 10 September, just days before his retirement, ruled that Muslims were not to be treated as a minority with special rights, and that the Bhagwad Gita should be regarded as the national holy book.
Muslim monies
If the relationship between religion and state is a shrouded issue in India today, the formal financing of all things religious from the national coffers remains even more out of reach for information seekers. The one time that a bit of light can be shed on the matter is when the issue is raised regarding government subsidies for two items: Haj and madrassas. Indeed, the Indian spotlight remains on Islam, and that light is focused mainly by members of the Hindutva Parivar – in Parliament, in the courts, in academia and in the public discourse.
As D Purandeswari indicated in the Rajya Sabha questioning, the central government does pay for the upkeep of madrassas in most states, and Islamic teachers are paid out of public funds. In addition, there is a sizable subsidy (though the amount is not publicly known) for the propagation of the Urdu language. Most states have also made provisions for financing madrassas, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
Again, these figures are kept well shrouded, and exact amounts are almost impossible to come by. Data given in provisional budget speeches is in round figures, and most is said to remain unspent. As such, it is all but impossible to estimate exactly how much is spent each year by the central and state governments on madrassas and related scholarship, teachers’ salaries, books and Urdu-language promotion. Even if this figure runs into the billions of rupees, as charged by the Sangh Parivar, it could easily be explained as legitimate expenses for ‘human-resource development’.
The subsidy for Haj is a more complicated matter entirely. There is no equivalent of Haj in any other religion: the Hindu teeraths do not come close, and Christianity has nothing remotely similar. Even in Islam, Haj is obligatory only for those who are in sound health and can afford it. They cannot perform the pilgrimage on borrowed money, nor on the charity of others. There is likewise no mention of help from the state, other than facilitation.
Last year, one B N Shukla went to court against the Haj subsidy, demanding it be withdrawn. His plaint pointed out that the Constitution provides equal status to all Indians, while also restricting the government from giving benefits to one faith at the cost of others. Shukla did not site any official record, but alleged that every year the government spends more than INR 3 billion on more than 100,000 Hajjis. Special flights are run on the national carrier, Air India; air-conditioned Haj houses have been built across the country; and pilgrims are provided free food and lodging during the course of their trip. Even Islamic countries do not give subsidies for Haj, Shukla’s application noted. A notice was subsequently sent to the government, the official response to which was reiterated in its response to a question in Parliament.
The Haj subsidy was formally raised in the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs during P V Narasimha Rao’s government, following the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992. All parties were represented in the Committee, and the recommendation to reduce and eventually abolish the subsidy was unanimous. Fourteen years later, in 2006, the government reported that 83,000 pilgrims performed the Haj during the previous year, out of which the government subsidised around INR 1.8 billion. For good measure, Parliament was told that 529 Hindu pilgrims performed the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra that same year, at a public cost of INR 17.2 million. Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma, who reported these figures, also said that 8179 people visited Sikh gurudwaras and Hindu temples in Pakistan the previous year. Both groups were given free medical assistance, security and various escorts.
For the RSS, the Haj-related data came at an opportune time. It reported a 500 percent increase in just seven years, which the RSS described as an “alarming, non-secular appeasement of one religious community when one considers that the Indian government is so desperate to reduce food grains and fertiliser subsidy to the large and poor farming community.”
Muslims and secular scholars alike point out that the Haj subsidy began during the early 1970s, after the oil crisis had caused Haj-related transportation prices to skyrocket. It was introduced as something of a stopgap measure – and the charge of official ‘appeasement’ of minorities has lingered ever since. The Haj charter fare was first fixed at INR 6000, before being eventually doubled. Of the 120,000 Indian Muslims who undertook the Mecca pilgrimage this year, some 70,000 went by air, and were able to avail themselves of a subsidy of more than INR 20,000 per person. (There is no subsidy for the 50,000 others who went by ship.) But former Member of Parliament Syed Shahabuddin points out that many Indian Muslim pilgrims come from rural areas, and are not even aware of the government subsidy. As such, much of this money is simply going to an elite group of Muslims, who would, one would assume, least need the taxpayer’s subsidy.
Islam in India further benefits from the public exchequer in the larger mosques, which receive government doles for salaries, annual upkeep and additional expenses. As elsewhere, however, very little information on these headings is public.
Mela monies
The situation with regards to Hinduism is even murkier. Despite the significant attention paid to the interface between the government and Islam, rarely are questions raised regarding government subsidies to Hindu and Sikh pilgrimages, in temple upkeep, in paying for the salaries of Hindu priests, and in maintaining public spaces during such events as the Maha and Ardha kumbhs. (Christians, meanwhile, claim that there is next to no money spent on them, other than by the Archaeological Survey of India on heritage buildings in Goa, or by the British government on graves for soldiers.)
As noted, Hindus do receive government subsidies for pilgrimages to Mount Kailash, and from a variety of sources. First, the Ministry of External Affairs routes INR 3250 to each Kailash yatri. The Uttar Pradesh state government then adds INR 5000 per pilgrim. The Delhi state government adds another INR 5000 for any pilgrim from Delhi. Likewise, the Gujarat government gives a kit worth INR 2500 to every yatri from that state. This kind of subsidy may well be given by other states as well, although such information is not publicly available.
Gujarat presents a particularly interesting case of state money being funnelled towards Hindu causes. The BJP government in 2001 announced that it would begin paying monthly salaries to Hindu priests in the state. During the first phase, each priest of the 354 government-controlled devasthans, or temples, would be entitled to a monthly salary of about INR 1200. The late Haren Pandya, at that time Minister of State for Home Affairs with the additional charge of “pilgrimage development and cow protection”, told the media that priests of other religions were paid from either the Waqf Board or trusts managing the place of worship. The new payments were “to give justice to the feelings of the Hindu society that salaries are being paid to them”, Pandya explained.
There is some information available on the tab for massive Hindu fairs, although much of this spending is merely labelled as ‘infrastructure development’. The grounds of the gargantuan 12-yearly Allahabad Maha Kumbh, for instance, are spread over 1500 hectares. During the last Kumbh Mela, in 2001, the site boasted 12,000 taps, capable of supplying 50.4 million litres of water; 450 kilometres of electric lines and 15,000 streetlights in place; 70,000 toilets; and 7100 sweepers to clean up the mess generated by an estimated five million devotees. There were also 11 post offices and 3000 temporary phone connections, while 4000 buses and five trains were also requisitioned for the mela period. At its peak, the mela administration had more than 80 officials working full time. The budget for all of this was INR 1.2 billion – INR 800 million from the state government, and INR 400 million from the Centre. This did not include the costs of deploying around 11,000 policemen, as well as 40 companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary and other paramilitary forces.
The case of the Ujjain Ardha Kumbh, in Madhya Pradesh in April 2004, was no different. At that time, Chief Minister Uma Bharati promised that she would do all she could for the festival, which at the time was expecting millions of pilgrims. Bharati ultimately received additional funds from the Centre to the tune of INR 10 billion.
Melas and pilgrimages aside, the government does not reveal how much it costs to broadcast the gurubani from the Golden Temple in Amritsar, nor explain why some temples and church groups receive tax exemptions on commercial activities such as medical colleges, charging hundreds of thousands of rupees in capitation or admission charges.
Faithful monies
Hopefully, right-to-information exercises will soon help the public assess the full extent of direct, indirect and tertiary financing of the faith in India. Or will it?
The courts are themselves not insulated from dabbling or intervening in matters of faith. This is not merely to do with the photographs of Hindu deities in the reception rooms of the Supreme Court in New Delhi. Nor is it only to do with judges like Justice Srivastava and their obviously religious biases. Rather, this is a problem of systemic lack of separation between religion and the judiciary, as well as the other arms of the state, which only public vigilance can expose.
Yet keeping track of government and private funding of religion in India requires apparatus that even the Right to Information Bill seems incapable of offering – at least in its current avatar, in which government reasoning and official notes remain out of the public domain.
It was during the Emergency, in 1976, that Indira Gandhi brought forward the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA). This was to keep an eye on – and, if possible, to prevent – the flow of alleged West European funds to the Gandhi Peace Foundation, as well as other organisations that supported the popular agitation led by Jayprakash Narayan. The FCRA has been used largely to scrutinise Christians priests and nuns, a few Muslim groups and secular NGOs who receive funding through official channels. Meanwhile, hawala dealers are able to evade FCRA checks with the same felicity that they avoid Home Ministry surveillance. Recent unofficial research has found that the foreign money coming to large Hindutva and Islamic groups by way of personal donations and hawala transactions runs into the tens of billions of dollars.
The indication of monies received comes only through the visible evidence of where the money has gone. There is a rash of temple-school complexes in about around 100,000 villages in central India and Gujarat that have not been financed through documented means. Meanwhile, the growth of mosques in the Tarai belt along the Nepali border is a visible red rag to Hindu activists. Exactly who pays for the massive rallies sponsored in pursuit of politico-religious agendas remains a question no one wants to answer. The lack of transparency contributes to the increase in fundamentalist activities of all hues, funded by money that enters the country through dubious means.
The question of whether a secular state should be allowed to finance religious activities at all is a part of the extensive debate as to how exactly to define ‘secularism’ in the Indian context. But that politicians in power are potentially able to utilise state funds to further the religious agendas espoused by their parties should surely be a matter of concern for democratic-rights activists and secular citizens alike.
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Showing posts with label Relgion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Relgion. Show all posts
Monday, October 1, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Recording violence against Christians in India
John Dayal Response to questions by Journalist Vishal Arora on the United States
Question: I m writing a story talking about how the statistics of anti-Christian attacks in India is alarming and worrisome. I have heard many people who are involved in international advocacy for the persecuted church as saying that governments in many countries feel that the incidence of persecution is not a cause for concern because the population of India is more than one billion (So what if 150 or 200 attacks take place?). I am using the US international religious freedom report as the peg for the story.
RESPONSE:
I was saddened to read your note.
I understand the western attitude, and am not surprised at all.
First of all we are dealing with NGOs in a post Christian post modern West. Does it really matter to the people at large if the Christian is wiped out in the East and South.
Perhaps secularism has turned full circle and now seen with Veda chanting in US Senate, Yoga in England and a free visa to any Hindu tantric who wants it, even if India bans all Christians preachers from its soil coming from the west or the east.
I do not mean to scoff at genuine, well meaning and honest advocacy groups to whom I remain indebted for their continuing support to the Freedom of Faith and Civil Liberties activists such as I. It is their support that sustains me -- their moral support, for I do not have an FCRA account and do not receive moneys from any source other than few personal friends and supporters.. I am, as you know, not backed by the Indian church which has to protect its institutions and its presence and cannot take an open and aggressive position of human rights issues, much as individual priests may want to, or even as the Bible may command us to do.
Now about figures.
Sudan, Burma and some other countries have persecution of a magnitude where even thousands killed in a week seem to be about average. Or Saudia where you can be jailed for bringing in a bible. I weep for every Christian killed, but figures seem to inure us to the crisis, and somehow in some evil conspiracy, make them invisible as human tragedy.
This is now how civil society and human rights issues work.
In India, it is not about gigantic data or pogroms, it is about civil rights, of which religious rights are important, above all, it is about the right to life. The most important of all.
India is a secular society by law, with a peculiar population. The bulk remains Hindu, at about 80 per cent even if we construe it to be made up of a series of macro minorities such as the Dalits, tribals and other backward castes. The ethos is Hindu and Hinduism is the `default religion’ as everyone well knows. Often, the State too seems ‘Hindu’.
Islam constitutes from 12 to 15 per cent -- smaller than the Hindus but a very large population group. They get killed by the hundreds, and sometimes by the thousands in pogroms, some of them sponsored by provincial governments. Muslims also live on conglomerations, often discernable sharply from the Hindu groups in the city-scape or the rural landscape. Muslims, even if two or three are killed in a month, remain confined to a defined are and police can record the violence and take action. This is called a riot. The violence against them follows a pattern, as has been proved in at least eight judicial enquiries in fifty years.
The government’s new law proposed against communal violence may curb anti Muslim violence but is impotent against anti Christian hate and violence we do not comer under the scrutiny of its defining and screening measures. The Christians constitute a mere 2.3 to 2.8 per cent population, going by the most generous estimates. They do not live in ghettos but are dispersed. They, unlike Muslims, also go out with a religious message inside Hindi majority areas. This is where they are targeted – the pattern of their interaction with Hindu fundamentalist segment of the society.
Christians are dispersed. The violence against them is also dispersed. It may be just one case a year in one village across the country. But there are four hundred thousand villages, and the total violence may be as much.
I record and prove between 200 to 400 cases of anti Christian violence a year in my unofficial white papers released annually since 1997. The total figure may be from one to two thousand such cases a year, perhaps even more.
How do we define this violence and persecution if governments continue to say these are isolated cases?
If one thousand isolated cases occur in one country, they fit a pattern.
As an example, in state like Lakshadweep where ninety-nine per cent of the population is Muslim, if the few Christians are killed or forced to flee, it means a hundred per cent or total elimination of Christianity in that state.
This is what the RSS groups are threatening in many villages, districts, even states.
I am happy at the routine focus the current US religious freedom report has given on India. This is one of the few authentic international commentaries on freedom of faith in India, and is therefore to be welcomed. We hope there will be more international investigations the freedom of faith situation in India and other countries. This may seem anti national, but India is a signatory to international human rights covenants and it is important that there is total transparency in assessing freedom of faith in India.
At the South Asian level, even Islamic groups, a majority elsewhere, are a minority in India. Hindus are a majority in India, Fiji, Nepal and some other countries in the Carob islands and some Pacific or Indian Ocean islands. Indians are also victims of human rights violations in Pakistan, Bangladesh and other places. Christians are a major victim in all the eight south Asian countries.
In India, no political party is really innocent in the matter. The BJP and its frontal organisations of the Sangh Parivar are guilty in the extreme as we have see in Orissa, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and other area. These are states where the police do not register cases when Christians are victim and Sangh Parivar is the aggressor. And yet the same police accompanied Sangh aggression storm troopers when they attack home churches, or conduct the so called Ghar wapsi. The Sangh privet's violence is now at its peak.
The Congress party however is no less guilty.
Dispute the confused secularism of the top leaders including cabinet ministers, Prime Minister Manmohan Singha and Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, and despite the effort of the National Commission of Minorities, it needs to be remembered that violence continues in Congress states such as Andhra Pradesh.
Other Congress states such as Himachal have also passed the same laws against Christian activity that have been put in place by BJP state government. The stable state of Andhra Pradesh ahs banned Christian and Muslim activity in seven hills around the Tirupathi temple by an executive order. Now it is bending backwards to please the Sangh Parivar in other issues, including the so called ram setu or Adam's bridge issue.
The Union government has to ensure that the state remains secular and it does not encourage the mixing of religion and politics.
The mixing of Religion and policies missing is the worst thing possible in a country such as India with so many different regions, communities and also on.
This American report also puts a pressure on the US government to ensure that it soil is not abused by NRIs to fund the Sangh Parivar in India.
John Dayal
Question: I m writing a story talking about how the statistics of anti-Christian attacks in India is alarming and worrisome. I have heard many people who are involved in international advocacy for the persecuted church as saying that governments in many countries feel that the incidence of persecution is not a cause for concern because the population of India is more than one billion (So what if 150 or 200 attacks take place?). I am using the US international religious freedom report as the peg for the story.
RESPONSE:
I was saddened to read your note.
I understand the western attitude, and am not surprised at all.
First of all we are dealing with NGOs in a post Christian post modern West. Does it really matter to the people at large if the Christian is wiped out in the East and South.
Perhaps secularism has turned full circle and now seen with Veda chanting in US Senate, Yoga in England and a free visa to any Hindu tantric who wants it, even if India bans all Christians preachers from its soil coming from the west or the east.
I do not mean to scoff at genuine, well meaning and honest advocacy groups to whom I remain indebted for their continuing support to the Freedom of Faith and Civil Liberties activists such as I. It is their support that sustains me -- their moral support, for I do not have an FCRA account and do not receive moneys from any source other than few personal friends and supporters.. I am, as you know, not backed by the Indian church which has to protect its institutions and its presence and cannot take an open and aggressive position of human rights issues, much as individual priests may want to, or even as the Bible may command us to do.
Now about figures.
Sudan, Burma and some other countries have persecution of a magnitude where even thousands killed in a week seem to be about average. Or Saudia where you can be jailed for bringing in a bible. I weep for every Christian killed, but figures seem to inure us to the crisis, and somehow in some evil conspiracy, make them invisible as human tragedy.
This is now how civil society and human rights issues work.
In India, it is not about gigantic data or pogroms, it is about civil rights, of which religious rights are important, above all, it is about the right to life. The most important of all.
India is a secular society by law, with a peculiar population. The bulk remains Hindu, at about 80 per cent even if we construe it to be made up of a series of macro minorities such as the Dalits, tribals and other backward castes. The ethos is Hindu and Hinduism is the `default religion’ as everyone well knows. Often, the State too seems ‘Hindu’.
Islam constitutes from 12 to 15 per cent -- smaller than the Hindus but a very large population group. They get killed by the hundreds, and sometimes by the thousands in pogroms, some of them sponsored by provincial governments. Muslims also live on conglomerations, often discernable sharply from the Hindu groups in the city-scape or the rural landscape. Muslims, even if two or three are killed in a month, remain confined to a defined are and police can record the violence and take action. This is called a riot. The violence against them follows a pattern, as has been proved in at least eight judicial enquiries in fifty years.
The government’s new law proposed against communal violence may curb anti Muslim violence but is impotent against anti Christian hate and violence we do not comer under the scrutiny of its defining and screening measures. The Christians constitute a mere 2.3 to 2.8 per cent population, going by the most generous estimates. They do not live in ghettos but are dispersed. They, unlike Muslims, also go out with a religious message inside Hindi majority areas. This is where they are targeted – the pattern of their interaction with Hindu fundamentalist segment of the society.
Christians are dispersed. The violence against them is also dispersed. It may be just one case a year in one village across the country. But there are four hundred thousand villages, and the total violence may be as much.
I record and prove between 200 to 400 cases of anti Christian violence a year in my unofficial white papers released annually since 1997. The total figure may be from one to two thousand such cases a year, perhaps even more.
How do we define this violence and persecution if governments continue to say these are isolated cases?
If one thousand isolated cases occur in one country, they fit a pattern.
As an example, in state like Lakshadweep where ninety-nine per cent of the population is Muslim, if the few Christians are killed or forced to flee, it means a hundred per cent or total elimination of Christianity in that state.
This is what the RSS groups are threatening in many villages, districts, even states.
I am happy at the routine focus the current US religious freedom report has given on India. This is one of the few authentic international commentaries on freedom of faith in India, and is therefore to be welcomed. We hope there will be more international investigations the freedom of faith situation in India and other countries. This may seem anti national, but India is a signatory to international human rights covenants and it is important that there is total transparency in assessing freedom of faith in India.
At the South Asian level, even Islamic groups, a majority elsewhere, are a minority in India. Hindus are a majority in India, Fiji, Nepal and some other countries in the Carob islands and some Pacific or Indian Ocean islands. Indians are also victims of human rights violations in Pakistan, Bangladesh and other places. Christians are a major victim in all the eight south Asian countries.
In India, no political party is really innocent in the matter. The BJP and its frontal organisations of the Sangh Parivar are guilty in the extreme as we have see in Orissa, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and other area. These are states where the police do not register cases when Christians are victim and Sangh Parivar is the aggressor. And yet the same police accompanied Sangh aggression storm troopers when they attack home churches, or conduct the so called Ghar wapsi. The Sangh privet's violence is now at its peak.
The Congress party however is no less guilty.
Dispute the confused secularism of the top leaders including cabinet ministers, Prime Minister Manmohan Singha and Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, and despite the effort of the National Commission of Minorities, it needs to be remembered that violence continues in Congress states such as Andhra Pradesh.
Other Congress states such as Himachal have also passed the same laws against Christian activity that have been put in place by BJP state government. The stable state of Andhra Pradesh ahs banned Christian and Muslim activity in seven hills around the Tirupathi temple by an executive order. Now it is bending backwards to please the Sangh Parivar in other issues, including the so called ram setu or Adam's bridge issue.
The Union government has to ensure that the state remains secular and it does not encourage the mixing of religion and politics.
The mixing of Religion and policies missing is the worst thing possible in a country such as India with so many different regions, communities and also on.
This American report also puts a pressure on the US government to ensure that it soil is not abused by NRIs to fund the Sangh Parivar in India.
John Dayal
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Withdraw so-called Freddom of Religion Laws in India
PRESS STATEMENT
31 July 2007
Civil Society, Human Rights and Freedom of Faith groups welcome decisions of Solicitor General of India and Gujarat Governor Nawal Sharma trashing so called Freedom of Religion Laws
Bills shame Secular India, encourage bigotry, hate campaigns and communal politics, says John Dayal; Congress-ruled Himachal urged to withdraw its law
New Delhi, 31 July 2007
Dr John Dayal, Member of the National Integration Council, has welcomed Gujarat Governor Nawal Kishore Sharma’s refusal to sign Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s controversial amendments to the notorious Freedom of Religion Bill, and has called upon the Congress ruled
Himachal Pradesh to recall a similar law enacted this year.
Speaking on behalf of the All India Catholic Union, the All India Christian Council and other groups, Dr Dayal said it was time the Union government also picked up the political courage to purge the Statute Books of all such laws which eroded fundamental rights as Freedom to profess the Faith of one’s choice. Such laws encourage religious bigotry and hate crimes, Dr Dayal said. They also lead to police brutalities and miscarriage of justice, especially in rural areas.
Data collected by the All India Christian Council, Dalit and Tribal groups and the Christian Lawyers Association in recent months clearly shows how emboldened fundamentalists groups have become in several states where they are being backed by the local police and political elements.
Mr. Sharma is the third Governor of a State in recent months to reject the so called Freedom of Religion Bills, which are a thinly disguised attempt to curb freedom of Faith under the pretext of preventing conversions by force or allurement by Christian missionaries.
Before Governor Sharma, President Pratibha Patil in her capacity as the then Governor of Rajasthan similarly rejected a Bill passed by the State assembly though the Christian population is less than one per cent. The third is the case of Madhya Pradesh where Governor Balram Jhakkar who has refused to sign amendments by the BJP government o an older Bills, has been told by Solicitor general of India that the measures are against the Constitution. In Tamil Nadu, the then Chief Minister Dr J Jayalalitha had herself withdrawn a Freedom of Religion Act her government had enacted a few months earlier.
In his ruling today, Gujarat Governor Sharma – a former Union Cabinet Minister and long time Congress leader from Rajasthan known for his secular credentials – has also debunked a popular Sangh Parivar thesis which snatches the rights of Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism as independent religions,. The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh described them as wings of Hinduism.
The Gujarat Freedom of Religion (amendment) Bill, 2006 sought to replace the definition of convert by a new one under which a person renouncing one denomination and adopting another denomination of the same religion was to be excluded from the meaning of `convert'. Returning Bill the Governor said "what made it more objectionable were the three explanations stipulating that the "Jains" and "Buddhists" shall be construed as denominations of Hindu religion, Shia and Sunni of Muslim religion and Catholic and Protestant of Christian religion". The provisions of amendment Bill are violative to the Article 25 of the Constitution which guarantees to all citizens to freely profess, practice and propagate a religion.”
Ruling United Progressive Alliance’s Vice Presidential candidate Mr. Hamid Ansari in his earlier position as Chairman of the National Minorities Commission had asked States to disclose incidents of forcible conversions, and no state had been able to present a single genuine case.
Solicitor General of India Goolam E Vahanvati has similarly faulted several amendments in the Rajasthan Act as being against Constitutional Guarantees. His opinion was sought by Governor Balram Jhakkar. ”If somebody merely objects to the proposed conversion, does that make it forcible? A conversion may be purely voluntary but any objection can lead to an adverse report, he has held. The Solicitor General correctly rejects the new powers sought to be given to the police, and says a heavy burden is placed on citizens, which in turn violates article 25 of the Constitution.
--
Released to the Media by
Dr John Dayal
Member: National Integration Council,Government of India
National President: All India Catholic Union (Founded 1919)
Secretary General: All India Christian Council (Founded 1999)
President: United Christian Action, Delhi (Founded 1992)
505 Link, 18 IP Extension, Delhi 110092 India
Email: johndayal@vsnl.com
http://groups.google.com/group/JohnDayal
Phone: 91-11-22722262 Mobile 09811021072
31 July 2007
Civil Society, Human Rights and Freedom of Faith groups welcome decisions of Solicitor General of India and Gujarat Governor Nawal Sharma trashing so called Freedom of Religion Laws
Bills shame Secular India, encourage bigotry, hate campaigns and communal politics, says John Dayal; Congress-ruled Himachal urged to withdraw its law
New Delhi, 31 July 2007
Dr John Dayal, Member of the National Integration Council, has welcomed Gujarat Governor Nawal Kishore Sharma’s refusal to sign Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s controversial amendments to the notorious Freedom of Religion Bill, and has called upon the Congress ruled
Himachal Pradesh to recall a similar law enacted this year.
Speaking on behalf of the All India Catholic Union, the All India Christian Council and other groups, Dr Dayal said it was time the Union government also picked up the political courage to purge the Statute Books of all such laws which eroded fundamental rights as Freedom to profess the Faith of one’s choice. Such laws encourage religious bigotry and hate crimes, Dr Dayal said. They also lead to police brutalities and miscarriage of justice, especially in rural areas.
Data collected by the All India Christian Council, Dalit and Tribal groups and the Christian Lawyers Association in recent months clearly shows how emboldened fundamentalists groups have become in several states where they are being backed by the local police and political elements.
Mr. Sharma is the third Governor of a State in recent months to reject the so called Freedom of Religion Bills, which are a thinly disguised attempt to curb freedom of Faith under the pretext of preventing conversions by force or allurement by Christian missionaries.
Before Governor Sharma, President Pratibha Patil in her capacity as the then Governor of Rajasthan similarly rejected a Bill passed by the State assembly though the Christian population is less than one per cent. The third is the case of Madhya Pradesh where Governor Balram Jhakkar who has refused to sign amendments by the BJP government o an older Bills, has been told by Solicitor general of India that the measures are against the Constitution. In Tamil Nadu, the then Chief Minister Dr J Jayalalitha had herself withdrawn a Freedom of Religion Act her government had enacted a few months earlier.
In his ruling today, Gujarat Governor Sharma – a former Union Cabinet Minister and long time Congress leader from Rajasthan known for his secular credentials – has also debunked a popular Sangh Parivar thesis which snatches the rights of Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism as independent religions,. The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh described them as wings of Hinduism.
The Gujarat Freedom of Religion (amendment) Bill, 2006 sought to replace the definition of convert by a new one under which a person renouncing one denomination and adopting another denomination of the same religion was to be excluded from the meaning of `convert'. Returning Bill the Governor said "what made it more objectionable were the three explanations stipulating that the "Jains" and "Buddhists" shall be construed as denominations of Hindu religion, Shia and Sunni of Muslim religion and Catholic and Protestant of Christian religion". The provisions of amendment Bill are violative to the Article 25 of the Constitution which guarantees to all citizens to freely profess, practice and propagate a religion.”
Ruling United Progressive Alliance’s Vice Presidential candidate Mr. Hamid Ansari in his earlier position as Chairman of the National Minorities Commission had asked States to disclose incidents of forcible conversions, and no state had been able to present a single genuine case.
Solicitor General of India Goolam E Vahanvati has similarly faulted several amendments in the Rajasthan Act as being against Constitutional Guarantees. His opinion was sought by Governor Balram Jhakkar. ”If somebody merely objects to the proposed conversion, does that make it forcible? A conversion may be purely voluntary but any objection can lead to an adverse report, he has held. The Solicitor General correctly rejects the new powers sought to be given to the police, and says a heavy burden is placed on citizens, which in turn violates article 25 of the Constitution.
--
Released to the Media by
Dr John Dayal
Member: National Integration Council,Government of India
National President: All India Catholic Union (Founded 1919)
Secretary General: All India Christian Council (Founded 1999)
President: United Christian Action, Delhi (Founded 1992)
505 Link, 18 IP Extension, Delhi 110092 India
Email: johndayal@vsnl.com
http://groups.google.com/group/JohnDayal
Phone: 91-11-22722262 Mobile 09811021072
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Dont redefine India's religious minorities
Dr. John Dayal
Member: National Integration Council
Government of India
National President: All India Catholic Union (Founded 1919)
Secretary General: All India Christian Council (Founded 1999)
President: United Christian Action, Delhi (Founded 1992)
MOST URGENT
505 Link, 18 IP Extension, Delhi 110092 India
Email:
\u003c/span\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:right\" align\u003d\"right\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:10pt\"\>Phone: \n91-11-22722262 Mobile 09811021072\u003c/span\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cu\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:14pt\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\"\>PRESS STATEMENT \n\u003c/font\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/u\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\" size\u003d\"3\"\>14 July 007\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cu\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:14pt\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"text-decoration:none\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\"\> \u003c/font\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/u\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cb\>\u003cu\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:14pt\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\"\>Civil Society distressed at racial Profiling of Indian \nMuslims\u003c/font\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/u\>\u003c/b\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\" size\u003d\"3\"\> \u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\" size\u003d\"3\"\>Civil Society in India must be deeply distressed \nthat our democratic Government admits to have started religious profiling of its \nown Muslim citizens in the wake of the bombings in the Untied Kingdom in which \nat least one Indian doctor is a prime suspect.\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\" size\u003d\"3\"\>No activist or association working for Human \nRights, Civil Liberties and Freedom of Faith issues condones terrorism, or the \nkilling and maiming of civilians – or for that matter even of combatants – in \nbombings, shootouts, or attacks. It is because of this that we condemn landmines \nand booby traps as much as we do torture, custodial deaths and fake \nencounters.\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\" size\u003d\"3\"\>We are also all of one accord that terrorism and \nterrorists can not be labeled by religion, caste, race or nationality, and at \nthe end whatever motivates the killers, it is ordinary men, women and children \nwho have nothing to do with the confrontation, who get killed. This has been the \ncase all through.",1]
);
//-->
johndayal@vsnl.com
Phone: 91-11-22722262 Mobile 09811021072
PRESS STATEMENT
14 July 007
Civil Society distressed at racial Profiling of Indian Muslims
Civil Society in India must be deeply distressed that our democratic Government admits to have started religious profiling of its own Muslim citizens in the wake of the bombings in the Untied Kingdom in which at least one Indian doctor is a prime suspect.
No activist or association working for Human Rights, Civil Liberties and Freedom of Faith issues condones terrorism, or the killing and maiming of civilians – or for that matter even of combatants – in bombings, shootouts, or attacks. It is because of this that we condemn landmines and booby traps as much as we do torture, custodial deaths and fake encounters.
We are also all of one accord that terrorism and terrorists can not be labeled by religion, caste, race or nationality, and at the end whatever motivates the killers, it is ordinary men, women and children who have nothing to do with the confrontation, who get killed. This has been the case all through.
\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\" size\u003d\"3\"\>Profiling of communities because of the actions of \nindividuals is a shortcut that States take when their respect for their own \npeople is overwhelmed by the colossal failure of their security forces. The \nworse case scenario is when governments and authorities in charge of security \nand police forces are themselves guilty of partisanship, bigotry and \nhate.\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\" size\u003d\"3\"\>Christians have been victims of religious \nprofiling in Gujarat for almost ten years now, \nand have borne the brunt of it under the chief ministership of Mr. Narendra \nModi, a hero to a political ideology that feeds on hate.\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>Sikhs suffered religious profiling for \nmore than a decade through the Seventies and into the Nineteen hundred and \nEighties. \u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>Muslims, whether we have \nthe courage to accept it or not, have been victims of an informal, unofficial \nand latent profiling since Independence, and the absence of the community from \nthe Intelligence Bureau, Raw, and till quite recently, from the higher echelons \nof the Army, are directly linked to this national aberration.\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\" size\u003d\"3\"\>As is obvious, once it is given legitimacy, \nreligious, caste and racial profiling spreads its tentacles far beyond the \nimmediate police needs of surveillance. An entire community is stigmatized, its \npatriotism and nationalism tested and made suspect.\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\" size\u003d\"3\"\>It is the worst in the case of stigmatizing of the \nreligious minorities. No one, quite correctly, bothers about the religion of the \narmed militants of the ULFA or of the many terrorist groups of the North East. \nNo one bothers about the religion of dacoits and the many thugs and gang-lords \nwhose writ runs in large tracts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, ",1]
);
//-->
Profiling of communities because of the actions of individuals is a shortcut that States take when their respect for their own people is overwhelmed by the colossal failure of their security forces. The worse case scenario is when governments and authorities in charge of security and police forces are themselves guilty of partisanship, bigotry and hate.
Christians have been victims of religious profiling in Gujarat for almost ten years now, and have borne the brunt of it under the chief ministership of Mr. Narendra Modi, a hero to a political ideology that feeds on hate. Sikhs suffered religious profiling for more than a decade through the Seventies and into the Nineteen hundred and Eighties. Muslims, whether we have the courage to accept it or not, have been victims of an informal, unofficial and latent profiling since Independence, and the absence of the community from the Intelligence Bureau, Raw, and till quite recently, from the higher echelons of the Army, are directly linked to this national aberration.
As is obvious, once it is given legitimacy, religious, caste and racial profiling spreads its tentacles far beyond the immediate police needs of surveillance. An entire community is stigmatized, its patriotism and nationalism tested and made suspect.
It is the worst in the case of stigmatizing of the religious minorities. No one, quite correctly, bothers about the religion of the armed militants of the ULFA or of the many terrorist groups of the North East. No one bothers about the religion of dacoits and the many thugs and gang-lords whose writ runs in large tracts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan,
\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\" size\u003d\"3\"\>I, personally, am deeply distressed that the Union \nHome Minister, Mr Shivraj Patil whose name was at the top of the list for the \nNational Presidency, and the Prime Minister, himself the pride of the minority \ncommunities in India, should be so directly party to the decision to profile the \nMuslim community. And this even as lip service is paid to the plight of Indian \nMuslim doctors who may now find it difficult to get a visa to the \nUK. There is something morbid in the \ncynicism of senior bureaucrats who say there should be no surprise in Indians \nfacing visa problems for has not India itself been denying visas to Pakistani \nand Bangladesh citizens. No remorse, so feeling for the human tragedy, no sense \nof guilt.\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:12pt;color:windowtext\"\>As \nthe report by Laskshmi Iyer in Bombay and New Delhi newspapers chains said on 14 \nJuly 2007, officials `admitted that instructions have gone to states to keep \ntrack of the activities of the community.` \u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>Before the Glasgow case, it was enough to \nprofile just those who attended madrasas and were members of fundamentalist \ngroups. Now even those who have had liberal education are being \nprofiled.\u003c/span\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:12pt;color:windowtext\"\>It is \ngood that social and political leadership of the Muslim community has made clear \nin the words of Justice Sachchar Committee secretary and eminent economist Dr \nAbu Salah Sharief, the suspected bombers are individuals “whose actions cannot \nbe a reflection of the entire community or the nation.”\u003c/span\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:12pt;color:windowtext\"\>The \ngovernment of India must make it clear that it has \nnot put the Muslim community under the microscope. It must, of course, also make \nsure that anyone who in due process of law is found guilty of conspiracies \nagainst the state and against the people will not be spared, whether he or she \nbelongs to the majority community, or to the minority communities. The rule of \nlaw demands – and expects -- no \nless.",1]
);
//-->
Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
I, personally, am deeply distressed that the Union Home Minister, Mr Shivraj Patil whose name was at the top of the list for the National Presidency, and the Prime Minister, himself the pride of the minority communities in India, should be so directly party to the decision to profile the Muslim community. And this even as lip service is paid to the plight of Indian Muslim doctors who may now find it difficult to get a visa to the UK. There is something morbid in the cynicism of senior bureaucrats who say there should be no surprise in Indians facing visa problems for has not India itself been denying visas to Pakistani and Bangladesh citizens. No remorse, so feeling for the human tragedy, no sense of guilt.
As the report by Laskshmi Iyer in Bombay and New Delhi newspapers chains said on 14 July 2007, officials `admitted that instructions have gone to states to keep track of the activities of the community.` Before the Glasgow case, it was enough to profile just those who attended madrasas and were members of fundamentalist groups. Now even those who have had liberal education are being profiled.
It is good that social and political leadership of the Muslim community has made clear in the words of Justice Sachchar Committee secretary and eminent economist Dr Abu Salah Sharief, the suspected bombers are individuals “whose actions cannot be a reflection of the entire community or the nation.”
The government of India must make it clear that it has not put the Muslim community under the microscope. It must, of course, also make sure that anyone who in due process of law is found guilty of conspiracies against the state and against the people will not be spared, whether he or she belongs to the majority community, or to the minority communities. The rule of law demands – and expects -- no less.
\u003c/p\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/div\>\u003c/div\>\n",0]
);
D(["ma",[1,"\u003ctable class\u003datt cellspacing\u003d0 cellpadding\u003d5 border\u003d0\>\u003ctr\>\u003ctd\>\u003ctable cellspacing\u003d0 cellpadding\u003d0\>\u003ctr\>\u003ctd\>\u003cimg width\u003d16 height\u003d16 src\u003d\"/mail/images/doc.gif\"\>\u003ctd width\u003d7\>\u003ctd\>\u003cb\>j aicc statement on muslim profiling 14 july 07.doc\u003c/b\>\u003cbr\>29K \u003ca target\u003d_blank href\u003d\"/mail/?attid\u003d0.1&disp\u003dvah&view\u003datt&th\u003d113c4c65e48e2c0c\"\>View as HTML\u003c/a\> \u003ca target\u003d_blank href\u003d\"/mail/?attid\u003d0.1&disp\u003dattd&view\u003dwtatt&th\u003d113c4c65e48e2c0c\"\>Open as a Google document\u003c/a\> Scanning for viruses...\u003c/table\>\u003c/table\>","113c4c65e48e2c0c"]
]
);
//-->
Member: National Integration Council
Government of India
National President: All India Catholic Union (Founded 1919)
Secretary General: All India Christian Council (Founded 1999)
President: United Christian Action, Delhi (Founded 1992)
MOST URGENT
505 Link, 18 IP Extension, Delhi 110092 India
Email:
\u003c/span\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:right\" align\u003d\"right\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:10pt\"\>Phone: \n91-11-22722262 Mobile 09811021072\u003c/span\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cu\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:14pt\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\"\>PRESS STATEMENT \n\u003c/font\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/u\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\" size\u003d\"3\"\>14 July 007\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cu\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:14pt\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"text-decoration:none\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\"\> \u003c/font\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/u\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cb\>\u003cu\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:14pt\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\"\>Civil Society distressed at racial Profiling of Indian \nMuslims\u003c/font\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/u\>\u003c/b\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\" size\u003d\"3\"\> \u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\" size\u003d\"3\"\>Civil Society in India must be deeply distressed \nthat our democratic Government admits to have started religious profiling of its \nown Muslim citizens in the wake of the bombings in the Untied Kingdom in which \nat least one Indian doctor is a prime suspect.\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\" size\u003d\"3\"\>No activist or association working for Human \nRights, Civil Liberties and Freedom of Faith issues condones terrorism, or the \nkilling and maiming of civilians – or for that matter even of combatants – in \nbombings, shootouts, or attacks. It is because of this that we condemn landmines \nand booby traps as much as we do torture, custodial deaths and fake \nencounters.\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\" size\u003d\"3\"\>We are also all of one accord that terrorism and \nterrorists can not be labeled by religion, caste, race or nationality, and at \nthe end whatever motivates the killers, it is ordinary men, women and children \nwho have nothing to do with the confrontation, who get killed. This has been the \ncase all through.",1]
);
//-->
johndayal@vsnl.com
Phone: 91-11-22722262 Mobile 09811021072
PRESS STATEMENT
14 July 007
Civil Society distressed at racial Profiling of Indian Muslims
Civil Society in India must be deeply distressed that our democratic Government admits to have started religious profiling of its own Muslim citizens in the wake of the bombings in the Untied Kingdom in which at least one Indian doctor is a prime suspect.
No activist or association working for Human Rights, Civil Liberties and Freedom of Faith issues condones terrorism, or the killing and maiming of civilians – or for that matter even of combatants – in bombings, shootouts, or attacks. It is because of this that we condemn landmines and booby traps as much as we do torture, custodial deaths and fake encounters.
We are also all of one accord that terrorism and terrorists can not be labeled by religion, caste, race or nationality, and at the end whatever motivates the killers, it is ordinary men, women and children who have nothing to do with the confrontation, who get killed. This has been the case all through.
\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\" size\u003d\"3\"\>Profiling of communities because of the actions of \nindividuals is a shortcut that States take when their respect for their own \npeople is overwhelmed by the colossal failure of their security forces. The \nworse case scenario is when governments and authorities in charge of security \nand police forces are themselves guilty of partisanship, bigotry and \nhate.\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\" size\u003d\"3\"\>Christians have been victims of religious \nprofiling in Gujarat for almost ten years now, \nand have borne the brunt of it under the chief ministership of Mr. Narendra \nModi, a hero to a political ideology that feeds on hate.\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>Sikhs suffered religious profiling for \nmore than a decade through the Seventies and into the Nineteen hundred and \nEighties. \u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>Muslims, whether we have \nthe courage to accept it or not, have been victims of an informal, unofficial \nand latent profiling since Independence, and the absence of the community from \nthe Intelligence Bureau, Raw, and till quite recently, from the higher echelons \nof the Army, are directly linked to this national aberration.\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\" size\u003d\"3\"\>As is obvious, once it is given legitimacy, \nreligious, caste and racial profiling spreads its tentacles far beyond the \nimmediate police needs of surveillance. An entire community is stigmatized, its \npatriotism and nationalism tested and made suspect.\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\" size\u003d\"3\"\>It is the worst in the case of stigmatizing of the \nreligious minorities. No one, quite correctly, bothers about the religion of the \narmed militants of the ULFA or of the many terrorist groups of the North East. \nNo one bothers about the religion of dacoits and the many thugs and gang-lords \nwhose writ runs in large tracts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, ",1]
);
//-->
Profiling of communities because of the actions of individuals is a shortcut that States take when their respect for their own people is overwhelmed by the colossal failure of their security forces. The worse case scenario is when governments and authorities in charge of security and police forces are themselves guilty of partisanship, bigotry and hate.
Christians have been victims of religious profiling in Gujarat for almost ten years now, and have borne the brunt of it under the chief ministership of Mr. Narendra Modi, a hero to a political ideology that feeds on hate. Sikhs suffered religious profiling for more than a decade through the Seventies and into the Nineteen hundred and Eighties. Muslims, whether we have the courage to accept it or not, have been victims of an informal, unofficial and latent profiling since Independence, and the absence of the community from the Intelligence Bureau, Raw, and till quite recently, from the higher echelons of the Army, are directly linked to this national aberration.
As is obvious, once it is given legitimacy, religious, caste and racial profiling spreads its tentacles far beyond the immediate police needs of surveillance. An entire community is stigmatized, its patriotism and nationalism tested and made suspect.
It is the worst in the case of stigmatizing of the religious minorities. No one, quite correctly, bothers about the religion of the armed militants of the ULFA or of the many terrorist groups of the North East. No one bothers about the religion of dacoits and the many thugs and gang-lords whose writ runs in large tracts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan,
\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\" size\u003d\"3\"\>I, personally, am deeply distressed that the Union \nHome Minister, Mr Shivraj Patil whose name was at the top of the list for the \nNational Presidency, and the Prime Minister, himself the pride of the minority \ncommunities in India, should be so directly party to the decision to profile the \nMuslim community. And this even as lip service is paid to the plight of Indian \nMuslim doctors who may now find it difficult to get a visa to the \nUK. There is something morbid in the \ncynicism of senior bureaucrats who say there should be no surprise in Indians \nfacing visa problems for has not India itself been denying visas to Pakistani \nand Bangladesh citizens. No remorse, so feeling for the human tragedy, no sense \nof guilt.\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:12pt;color:windowtext\"\>As \nthe report by Laskshmi Iyer in Bombay and New Delhi newspapers chains said on 14 \nJuly 2007, officials `admitted that instructions have gone to states to keep \ntrack of the activities of the community.` \u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>Before the Glasgow case, it was enough to \nprofile just those who attended madrasas and were members of fundamentalist \ngroups. Now even those who have had liberal education are being \nprofiled.\u003c/span\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:12pt;color:windowtext\"\>It is \ngood that social and political leadership of the Muslim community has made clear \nin the words of Justice Sachchar Committee secretary and eminent economist Dr \nAbu Salah Sharief, the suspected bombers are individuals “whose actions cannot \nbe a reflection of the entire community or the nation.”\u003c/span\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:12pt;color:windowtext\"\>The \ngovernment of India must make it clear that it has \nnot put the Muslim community under the microscope. It must, of course, also make \nsure that anyone who in due process of law is found guilty of conspiracies \nagainst the state and against the people will not be spared, whether he or she \nbelongs to the majority community, or to the minority communities. The rule of \nlaw demands – and expects -- no \nless.",1]
);
//-->
Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
I, personally, am deeply distressed that the Union Home Minister, Mr Shivraj Patil whose name was at the top of the list for the National Presidency, and the Prime Minister, himself the pride of the minority communities in India, should be so directly party to the decision to profile the Muslim community. And this even as lip service is paid to the plight of Indian Muslim doctors who may now find it difficult to get a visa to the UK. There is something morbid in the cynicism of senior bureaucrats who say there should be no surprise in Indians facing visa problems for has not India itself been denying visas to Pakistani and Bangladesh citizens. No remorse, so feeling for the human tragedy, no sense of guilt.
As the report by Laskshmi Iyer in Bombay and New Delhi newspapers chains said on 14 July 2007, officials `admitted that instructions have gone to states to keep track of the activities of the community.` Before the Glasgow case, it was enough to profile just those who attended madrasas and were members of fundamentalist groups. Now even those who have had liberal education are being profiled.
It is good that social and political leadership of the Muslim community has made clear in the words of Justice Sachchar Committee secretary and eminent economist Dr Abu Salah Sharief, the suspected bombers are individuals “whose actions cannot be a reflection of the entire community or the nation.”
The government of India must make it clear that it has not put the Muslim community under the microscope. It must, of course, also make sure that anyone who in due process of law is found guilty of conspiracies against the state and against the people will not be spared, whether he or she belongs to the majority community, or to the minority communities. The rule of law demands – and expects -- no less.
\u003c/p\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/div\>\u003c/div\>\n",0]
);
D(["ma",[1,"\u003ctable class\u003datt cellspacing\u003d0 cellpadding\u003d5 border\u003d0\>\u003ctr\>\u003ctd\>\u003ctable cellspacing\u003d0 cellpadding\u003d0\>\u003ctr\>\u003ctd\>\u003cimg width\u003d16 height\u003d16 src\u003d\"/mail/images/doc.gif\"\>\u003ctd width\u003d7\>\u003ctd\>\u003cb\>j aicc statement on muslim profiling 14 july 07.doc\u003c/b\>\u003cbr\>29K \u003ca target\u003d_blank href\u003d\"/mail/?attid\u003d0.1&disp\u003dvah&view\u003datt&th\u003d113c4c65e48e2c0c\"\>View as HTML\u003c/a\> \u003ca target\u003d_blank href\u003d\"/mail/?attid\u003d0.1&disp\u003dattd&view\u003dwtatt&th\u003d113c4c65e48e2c0c\"\>Open as a Google document\u003c/a\> Scanning for viruses...\u003c/table\>\u003c/table\>","113c4c65e48e2c0c"]
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Saturday, July 7, 2007
They don't kill Christians, do they?
REPORT: 200 MILLION CHRISTIANS AT RISK OF SUFFERING PERSECUTION
[JOHN DAYAL’s NOTE: The problems of Christians in India suffering persecution at the hands of the Sangh Parivar, and often enough now at the hands of the State in some provinces, do seem to pale into insignificance compared to the plight of our brethren in faith in China, Africa, and nearer home, in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Burma, Bhutan and Bangladesh. Each victim of persecution is as precious as the other, and deserving of our support, prayers and whenever possible, our intervention and advocacy. Even if there are no rivers of Christian blood flowing in India – rivulets of Muslim and Sikh blood have stained this great land in the past. What should worry Indians in general, the Church and the Government in particular, is that persecution takes place in India despite a written secular and democratic Constitution, with guarantees of freedom of faith, and a political culture that affirmed the polyglot, multicultural and multinational nature of Indian society, its people and its systems of governance. And yet it is possible for a small but powerful group such as the Sangh Parivar to force its writ and its will even on the state, to dictate to the media, to penetrate the police and the administration, to openly carry on hate campaigns, often using government-owned postal and telegraph systems. We are warned,]
[Source: Assist news Service and Catholic News Service]
A report in Sunday Express magazine quotes a British Secret Service, MI6, report that some 200 million Christians in 60 countries around the world are at risk of suffering persecution.
The report reveals that in Sudan, for example, "thousands of Christians have been massacred and the fundamentalist government has done little to protect them." In Iraq "Christians do not have their own militia to defend them, and Sunni and Shiite factions accuse them of collaborating with the American `crusaders.'"
The study also reveals that during the last year, at least 70 Christians were killed in Pakistan. In the Central Asian nations of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, Islamic preachers "under the influence of al-Qaeda" present Christians as followers of a religion closely associated with Western colonialism, and they call for their expulsion.
The report also mentions North Korea, China, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Uganda as other countries where Christians are persecuted. "North Korea has sent some 50,000 Christians to concentration camps while in China some 40,000 have suffered the same fate," the report stated
[JOHN DAYAL’s NOTE: The problems of Christians in India suffering persecution at the hands of the Sangh Parivar, and often enough now at the hands of the State in some provinces, do seem to pale into insignificance compared to the plight of our brethren in faith in China, Africa, and nearer home, in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Burma, Bhutan and Bangladesh. Each victim of persecution is as precious as the other, and deserving of our support, prayers and whenever possible, our intervention and advocacy. Even if there are no rivers of Christian blood flowing in India – rivulets of Muslim and Sikh blood have stained this great land in the past. What should worry Indians in general, the Church and the Government in particular, is that persecution takes place in India despite a written secular and democratic Constitution, with guarantees of freedom of faith, and a political culture that affirmed the polyglot, multicultural and multinational nature of Indian society, its people and its systems of governance. And yet it is possible for a small but powerful group such as the Sangh Parivar to force its writ and its will even on the state, to dictate to the media, to penetrate the police and the administration, to openly carry on hate campaigns, often using government-owned postal and telegraph systems. We are warned,]
[Source: Assist news Service and Catholic News Service]
A report in Sunday Express magazine quotes a British Secret Service, MI6, report that some 200 million Christians in 60 countries around the world are at risk of suffering persecution.
The report reveals that in Sudan, for example, "thousands of Christians have been massacred and the fundamentalist government has done little to protect them." In Iraq "Christians do not have their own militia to defend them, and Sunni and Shiite factions accuse them of collaborating with the American `crusaders.'"
The study also reveals that during the last year, at least 70 Christians were killed in Pakistan. In the Central Asian nations of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, Islamic preachers "under the influence of al-Qaeda" present Christians as followers of a religion closely associated with Western colonialism, and they call for their expulsion.
The report also mentions North Korea, China, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Uganda as other countries where Christians are persecuted. "North Korea has sent some 50,000 Christians to concentration camps while in China some 40,000 have suffered the same fate," the report stated
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Quite a Comment on India’s Silicon Valley, and the Sangh Parivar
Hindutva 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 Hindutva 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 with violence unless he moved out of the area, said Sam Joseph, 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 called them by telephone. The assailants burned at least 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 Christ about 15 years ago, the source said, he was a member of 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 stressed the need to educate India’s people about true conversion, 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**********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.
For subscription information, contact:
Compass Direct NewsP.O. Box 27250Santa Ana CA 92799-7250USATEL: 949-862-0304E-mail: info@compassdirect.orgwww.compassdirect.org
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 Hindutva 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 with violence unless he moved out of the area, said Sam Joseph, 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 called them by telephone. The assailants burned at least 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 Christ about 15 years ago, the source said, he was a member of 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 stressed the need to educate India’s people about true conversion, 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**********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.
For subscription information, contact:
Compass Direct NewsP.O. Box 27250Santa Ana CA 92799-7250USATEL: 949-862-0304E-mail: info@compassdirect.orgwww.compassdirect.org
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