Anti-Christian violence in India
Naomi Philip ’09
A history of unrest
Communal tensions between local tribal groups have escalated into a religious crisis within the past month. Kandhamal, an insular district of Orissa has recently seen some of the worst violence since the riots during independence more than 60 years ago. The region has experienced unchecked rivalry between the Kandha tribes, who make up the majority, and the Pana Dalit Hindus, who have converted to Christianity in droves. According to one Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHS), a radical Hindu party, pamphlet, “Christians in the area have long been trying to convert the tribal population… The tribals in the region over the last few years have been despising conversion due to the attacks on their cultural moorings by the Christian community.”
The Kandhamal tribes have been described as assertive and proud, with literacy rates having risen to 40%, just under the state’s average; they have found no reason for mass conversion. The untouchables, on the other hand, who live on the dregs of society converted to gain respect in society and for a better standard of living. While the Christian population in the district has gone up by 56% between 1991 and 2001, the Hindu population has only grown by a modest 12%. The law states that all conversions must be carried out free of fraud or force and recorded by the authorities. Shockingly, only 2 conversions, one each to Christianity and Hinduism, have been officially documented.
Recent violence
When Swami Laxmananda Saraswati, a leader of the VHS party, began campaigning against Christian conversions and the influence of the Church in the state of Orissa, the tensions between tribes began to acquire a religious bent. To his credit, he founded schools and clinics, but also became a “formidable force against conversions by Christians.” After 9 assassination attempts, he was killed last month by a group of gunmen. What was originally a struggle for land and identity rights, commuted into a religious battle between tribes. A wave of anti-Christian violence hit the area leaving over 13,000 Hindu untouchables-turned-Christian converts living in refugee camps.
Reactions and outcomes
Asma Jahangir, a special rapporteur on religious freedom for the UN, said: “There is a real risk that similar communal violence might happen again unless incitement to religious hatred and political exploitation of communal tensions are effectively prevented.”
Gauri Prasad Rath, the president of the VHP in Orissa, said: “I do not condemn the violence against Christians. I condemn the killing of Hindu sage Swami Laxmananda Saraswati … Christians killed him.”
Churches in the southern state of Karnataka were damaged and the right wing Bajrang Dal group blames illegal conversion of Hindus to Christians. It was only after the central government intervened that police began investigations and arrested more than 170 people so far.
“Every time their position is weakened, every time elections are around the corner the BJP and its sister organizations launch vicious communal campaign to divide and polarize society, with no regard to loss of lives and livelihoods,” Sonia Gandhi, president of the Congress party.
Every week brings more news of violent crimes against the Christian community. Analysts have suggested that Hindu hardliners are implementing a strategy of hate and divisiveness to gain votes in the upcoming national elections. Aggressive exploitation of unrest within communities, where meeting basic needs is a struggle, to meet political ends is horribly immoral and detrimental to a unified India.