Date: Monday 20 March 2006
Subj: Afghanistan: Kabul apostasy trial
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal.
----------------------------------
AFGHANISTAN: KABUL APOSTASY TRIAL
----------------------------------
On Monday 26 January 2004 Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai signed the new Afghanistan Constitution into law. While many rejoiced and hailed the document as a great leap forward, most religious liberty monitors and advocates despaired.
Article Two
Ch. 1, Art. 2
The religion of the state of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is the sacred religion of Islam.
Followers of other religions are free to exercise their faith and perform their religious rites within the limits of the provisions of law.
Article Three
Ch. 1, Art. 3
In Afghanistan, no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam."
(http://www.afghan-web.com/politics/current_constitution.html OR
http://www.af/constitution/ (English translations vary slightly.))
In effect, the requirement of Article Three abrogates any perceived suggestion of religious liberty in Article Two.
A groundbreaking case is about to test Afghanistan's Constitution and the constitution of Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai. An Afghan Christian is presently on trial in Kabul charged with rejecting Islam. He faces the death penalty if he refuses to renounce his Christian faith and return to Islam.
There have been vigilante executions of apostates in Afghanistan in recent years. Between June and September 2004 five Afghan believers, including martyr Mullah Assad Ullah, were stabbed or beaten to death in summary executions by Taliban adherents who accused them of abandoning Islam and then "spreading Christianity" in their communities (Compass Direct 10 Sept 2004). Taliban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi told newsgroup Reuters, "A group of Taliban dragged out Mullah Assad Ullah and slit his throat with a knife because he was propagating Christianity."
But the trial of Abdul Rahman is the first trial of its kind since the fall of the Taliban, and will be a test case for Afghanistan and for President Karzai. Fear and Islamic zeal are running high in Afghanistan in the wake of resurgent Taliban terror, the Guantanamo Bay Qur'an desecration controversy (or myth) of May 2005, and the recent Cartoon Intifada violence of February 2006. President Karzai will be under immense internal pressure to prove his Islamic credentials and uphold "the beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam", while he should also be under immense external pressure from his donors and allies to defend Abdul Rahman's fundamental human right to religious freedom.
KABUL APOSTASY TRIAL
Daniel Cooney, writing for the Associated Press (AP), explains that the defendant, "41-year-old Abdul Rahman, was arrested last month after his family accused him of becoming a Christian". (Link 1)
The trigger for the case appears to be a custody dispute.
Judge Ansarullah Mawlavazada told AP that during a one-day hearing last Thursday 16 March, Abdul Rahman confessed to converting from Islam to Christianity some 16 years ago while he was working as a medical Aid worker for an international Christian group helping Afghan refugees in Peshawar, Pakistan.
Associated Press reports that after four years in Pakistan, Rahman moved to Germany, where he lived for nine years. Rahman's father told AP that Rahman returned to Afghanistan in 2002 and tried to gain custody of his two daughters, now aged 13 and 14, who had been living with their grandparents their whole lives. AP reports, "A custody battle ensued and the matter was taken to the police. During questioning, it emerged that Rahman was a Christian and was carrying a Bible. He was immediately arrested and charged."
Judge Mawlavazada says Abdul Rahman could face the death penalty if he refuses to revert to Islam as Sharia law proposes capital punishment for any Muslim who converts to another religion. As Afghanistan's constitution states: "No law can be contrary to the sacred religion of Islam." (Link 2: this Middle East Times article contains a Reuters photograph of Judge Ansarullah Mawlavazada holding up Abdul Rahman's Bible as evidence.)
Daily Times of Pakistan reports (Monday 20 March), "Afghan police have detained a man for converting from Islam to Christianity, a judge said on Sunday, adding the man could face the death penalty if he refused to become a Muslim again.
"Islamic Sharia law proposes the death sentence for Muslims who abandon the religion. Afghanistan's new constitution says 'no law can be contrary to the sacred religion of Islam'.
"Supreme Court judge Ansarullah Mawlavizada said the suspect, Abdur Rahman, was arrested after members of his family informed police of his conversion.
"He would be charged in coming days with abandoning Islam, Mawlavizada said. 'The prosecutor says he should be executed on the basis of the constitution,' Mawlavizada said, who added that Rahman could come back to Islam. 'If he does not ... he will be punished,' he said." (Link 3)
Associated Press spoke to Ahmad Fahim Hakim, deputy chairman of the state-sponsored Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission who also notes that Afghanistan's constitution is based on Sharia law which is interpreted by many Muslims as mandating death for apostates. (Link 1)
Judge Mawlavizada told AP he would rule on the case within two months. AP reports that all attempts to interview Abdul Rahman in detention were barred.
AP reports, "The prosecutor, Abdul Wasi, said he had offered to drop the charges if Rahman converted back to Islam, but he refused. 'He would have been forgiven if he changed back. But he said he was a Christian and would always remain one,' Wasi told AP. 'We are Muslims and becoming a Christian is against our laws. He must get the death penalty.'" (Link 1)
KARZAI'S CHOICE
Benjamin Sand reports for Voice of America, "The court has ordered a delay in the proceedings to give Rahman time to hire an attorney. Under Afghan law, once a verdict is given, the case can be appealed twice to higher courts.
"This is the first case in which the defendant has admitted to converting and is refusing to back down, even while facing the death penalty.
"If convicted, the case could ultimately force President Hamid Karzai's direct intervention.
"The president would have to sign the papers authorizing Rahman's execution, a move that could jeopardize Mr. Karzai's standing with human rights groups and Western governments.
"So far, President Karzai has not commented on the case.
"But political analysts here in Kabul say he will be under significant pressure from the country's hard-line religious groups to make an example of Rahman." (Link 4)
Elizabeth Kendal
Links
1) Afghan Christian Could Get Death Sentence
Daniel Cooney. KABUL, Afghanistan, 19 March 2006 (AP)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5697060,00.html
2) Christian convert faces execution in Afghanistan
Reuters 19 March 2006
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20060319-072838-8361r
3)Afghans detain man suspected of abandoning Islam.
Daily Times. 20 March 2006
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C03%5C20%5Cstory_20-3-2006_pg4_17
4) Afghan Man Faces Execution After Converting to Christianity
By Benjamin Sand. Kabul.18 March 2006
http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-03-18-voa7.cfm
Monday, March 20, 2006
Friday, March 3, 2006
India:Hindutva advances while Communal Violence Bill flounders
Date: Friday 3 March 2006
Subj: India:Hindutva advances while Communal Violence Bill flounders
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal.
The Shabri Kumbh Mela, held 11-13 February in Dangs, Gujarat, was established specifically to "consolidate Hindus", usher tribals into the "Hindu mainstream", and deal a "death blow" to Christian missions in Dangs. The Kumbh was the climax of a massive Hinduisation campaign that combined the Hinduisation of animism, the Hinduisation of tribal culture, with an intense anti-Christian propaganda campaign that included incitement to kill Christians. (see previous WEA RLC India posting and prayer bulletin, plus article: link 1)
That the Kumbh ended peacefully, without any bloodshed, is a testament to the power and mercy of God who intervened for his people in answer to the prayers of many.
Shabri Kumbh Mela 2006 may be over, but the Sangh Parivar's (body of Hindu nationalist organisations) re-energised Hindutva campaign is only beginning. While protesting the negative press which forced Gujarat's State government to provide armed police protection to Dangi Christians, the Sangh is boasting "great gains" in Dangs. And the "success" of the Dangs experiment is motivating the Sangh to replay this strategy in other tribal dominated districts across the nation.
One Hindutva mouthpiece, Organiser, boasts: "Let all the secular Taliban and left creepers wail and beat their chests but the ongoing march of the Vanvasi rights and assertion of their cultural identity shall not be stopped." (Link 2) A translation of the double-speak in this sentence could read like this: All those who support secular politics, real religious liberty, environmentalism, and the rights of India's indigenous peoples can complain and protest all they like, but the Sangh Parivar's Hindutva campaign to convince the Adivasis that they are Vanvasi Hindus whose security and identity is threatened only by Christians shall not be stopped.
As the Sangh's Hindutva forces advance through the tribal districts persecution of Christians is increasing in both frequency and intensity. According to the Sangh, hundreds of tribal Christians are (with the help of RSS paramilitary forces) seeing the error of their ways, realising they have been deceived and exploited by the Christians, and are now "returning home" to Hinduism. Violence against individual believers, pastors and evangelists, whole churches, and church and mission property is being reported constantly, especially in tribal dominated districts and especially in BJP-ruled states such as Gujarat, Rajasthan, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisigarh and Jharkhand.
The central government is working to address the issue of communal conflict. However, the draft Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, 2005, is terribly, dangerously flawed. The Bill increases the power of state governments, but a Bill that increases the power of governments cannot protect minorities from government-sponsored terrorism.
----------------------------------------------------------
SHABRI KUMBH ONLY THE BEGINING
The Sangh Parivar is not out to save souls. Its goals are purely political, rooted in power lust. The primary goal of the Sangh Parivar is simply to consolidate the Adivasis (indigenous peoples, called Vanvasi, forest peoples, by the Sangh) as part of the Hindutva fold before the 2009 federal elections. Religion is simply a tool with which to achieve social engineering for political gain.
The Sangh wants the BJP returned to power in the centre in 2009, with a majority so that it can rule outright, without being compromised by coalition partners. Even if Christians pray for God to protect every Christian in India from Hindutva violence, the Sangh can still achieve its political goal if it converts enough tribals to Hinduism to ensure BJP majority rule from 2009. If that happens, it could safely be predicted that India's secular constitution will be changed, national anti-conversion laws enacted, and a Hindutva dictatorship established.
SEEKING FOUR MORE "SOCIAL" KUMBHS
Abhishek Kapoor reports for Ahmedabad Newsline: "End of the three-day Shabari Kumbh here marked the beginning of a new experiment on mobilising Hindu forces. Led by the RSS, organisations have planned to use this new tool — more such kumbhs across the country in a semi-religious setting — to gather Hindus to counter Christian missionaries and conversions.
"According to plans, these congregations would be different from the regular Kumbh Melas held at Prayag, Hardwar, Ujjain and Nashik and focus on reform and social engineering within Hinduism to consolidate its followers as a single block. The concluding public meeting, led by Shankaracharya Saraswati of Joshimath, announced that all tribals including Nagas, Mizos, Santhals, Orans, Bodos, Mundas and Gonds, belong to Hindu fold.
"The Shankaracharya mooted the idea of more social kumbhs that would bring Hindus together on one platform. He suggested four new kumbhs sites in tribal dominated states of Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttaranchal and the North-East." (Link 3)
Abhishek Kapoor notes that the aims of the Shabri Kumbh are first and foremost political: "The religious significance of kumbh could be termed low as many of the visitors were cadres mobilised by saffron organisations during the past three months.
"Interestingly, Dangs, like all tribal areas in the State, has been a traditional Congress bastion with a difference that it stayed with the party even after the 2002 violence handed all assembly seats to the BJP.
"However, the BJP remains optimistic about the kumbh's returns. Talking to Newsline, a minister in the Modi government said the party would reap dividends out of the kumbh for next 10 years without much hard work. 'Our margins in the Assembly seats of Ahwa Dangs were as low as 50 and seven votes. With the kind of mobilisation that has taken place, we do not see much difficulty. If the kumbh gets institutionalised, it would be an added advantage,' he said." (Link 3)
GOING HOME
According to the most recent edition of the Organiser, Christians are "returning" to Hinduism by the hundreds. This is of course, pure propaganda, presenting the "homecoming" as an act of awakening when in reality it is a forced conversion made under duress. One cannot underestimate the confusion, fear and intimidation felt by tribal Christians when pressured by Hindutva forces to convert or suffer. The fact is, these believers suffer no matter what they do. If they are born again believers, their fearful acquiescence will break their hearts (as Peter's did: Luke 22:62) and they will need to rediscover their Lord's merciful forgiveness and loving acceptance. If they stand firm, they will be persecuted and their loved ones and children will suffer with them.
The Organiser reports, "About 335 Christians belonging to 55 families returned to their original roots at a function held at Soharpat village of Gumla district in Bihar." The speaker at the conversion ceremony, Shri Sudarshan Bhagat demanded (ironically) that the state government put a complete ban on conversion. According to the Organiser: "He said the Christian missionaries had been trapping local gullible Vanvasis and converting them to Christianity... He appealed to all people of the community who have somehow adopted Christianity to come back to their original roots, [that is, not animism, but Hinduism]."
The Organiser also reports, "In another function held at Bhojpur village of Etah district in Uttar Pradesh, over 300 Christians returned to Hindu fold. They also converted the local church into a temple. The father of the church himself installed the pictures of goddess Durga, Vaishno Devi and Hanuman in the new temple. After returning to Hindu fold, he also said the missionaries took unfair advantage of his poverty and used him for conversion in the area." (Link 4)
Speaking at the Shabri Kumbh Mela on 11 February, Hindu teacher Morari Bapu railed against conversions (to Christianity), and made a special public appeal to Christian missionaries to follow Christ and obey the Bible by not converting people to Christianity!
Ahmedabad Newsline reports: "Quoting from a chapter on Luke in the Bible, Bapu said even Christ's word forbade conversions... 'When the Bible says do not convert, please don't. It is great that you are good medicos, and have the money to help poor and ailing. But once they have been healed, let them go back home (their parent religion) as good doctors do. Ghar jana koi gunah nahin hai,' he said, quoting from a Gujarat Sahitya Prakashan translation of the book." (Link 5)
Morari Bapu also invited Dangi Christians to convert, or "return" to Hinduism, saying, "Anybody can make a comeback to his home. Just have a dip in the holy Pampa Sarovar and worship Shabari Mata, you will be back home." (Link 6)
Bapu deliberately manipulates the term "home", deceitfully interpreting it as "former religion" rather than home where you live. According to Bapu's interpretation, when Jesus healed the paralysed man and then said, "...take your mat and go home" (Luke 5:24); or when Jesus told the healed demoniac to "Return home..." (Luke 8:39); he was really telling them to return to their former religion. Bapu did not address all the other healings where people were not exhorted to "return home"; he did not address "follow me". What he did do though, was sow seeds of doubt, confusion and anger in the hearts and minds of many down-trodden, illiterate tribals (including Christians), who may now be tempted to see Christians as essentially hypocritical and unfaithful to their own religion.
------------------------------------------------------------------
DRAFT COMMUNAL VIOLENCE BILL FLAWED
------------------------------------------------------------------
Due to the Sangh's mobilisation of Hindutva forces and programs, violence against Christians, particularly in tribal dominated areas, is escalating in both frequency and intensity. While the Indian government is making an effort to address this issue, the draft Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, 2005, is terribly flawed. The Bill is presently making its way through public discussion and parliamentary debate.
The fundamental flaw in the bill is that it actually increases the powers of state governments. Clearly this is totally useless when sectarian state governments are in collusion with sectarian, communal organistations. In Gujarat, both the massacre of Muslims in 2002, and the Shabri Kumbh Mela of February 2006, were actively supported by Gujarat's BJP state government.
Two critiques of this Bill can be found at Link 7.
They include "A People's Critique" of the Bill, by ANHAD (Act Now For Harmony and Democracy), HRLN (Human Rights Law Network) and Jan Vikas, and published in the Milli Gazette; as well as a report written by the Executive Director of the Human Rights Law Network and published in Tehelka.
According to these critiques the core sections of the Bill from Chapter II to Chapter VI, relating to the prevention of communal violence, the investigation of communal crimes and the establishment of special courts will only come into effect if the state government issues a notification. What's more, it is not mandatory that the state government act at all, even if notified by the central government. Meanwhile, civil society remains powerless to initiate or control prosecutions when communal crimes occur.
The Bill contains a clause for punishment of public officials who fail to perform their duties. Yet even here there is both a failing and a loophole. The Bill fails to hold accountable those in positions of command and authority such as the Chief Minister. What's worse, police who fail to perform their duties, being either passive or partisan in the face of communal violence, cannot be charged with an offence unless the state government sanctions the proceedings. As "A People's Critique" notes, "In the context of state governments with communally driven malafide intent, the chances of even police officials being punished under this clause are very remote."
Another flaw in the Bill is the definition of "communal violence", which is limited to a list of already criminalised offences, and does not cover many communal crimes such as mobilisation with incitement through hate speech, literature, media and teaching. The Bill also has a very narrow definition of sexual violence which fails to address issues beyond rape, such as stripping, sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence.
As the critics of the Bill note, what is needed is a law which makes it mandatory for the government to act in clearly codified ways before, during and after communal violence. And the law needs also to remove impunity, so that state governments, authority figures, and police that fail to act to prevent violence may be charged, tried and punished.
Regarding the power of the central government to intervene (which obviously is only beneficial if the central government is non-sectarian), "A People's Critique" comments: "Section 55 requires the Central Government, in cases where it is of the opinion that 'there is an imminent threat to the secular fabric, unity, integrity or internal security of India which requires that immediate steps' to 'draw the attention of the State Government to the prevailing situation'; and to direct it 'to take all immediate measures to suppress' the violence. If the state government fails to act, the Bill provides first for the central government to declare any area within a State as 'communally disturbed area' under this Bill; but this is not significant because, as we observed, such declaration does not require mandatory actions by the state government to control the violence. The Bill also provides for central 'deployment of armed forces, to prevent and control communal violence', which would have been very significant, but the provision is neutralised by the requirement that this central deployment is legally permissible only in the event of 'a request having been received from the State Government to do so'. In other words, only the state government still retains the power to decide about the deployment of armed forces to control communal violence."
As noted in the report in Tehelka, this proviso, that the central government must wait for a request from the state government before it can intervene is "a ridiculously retrogressive provision given the fact that even today the Centre is under no obligation to wait for consent when the situation goes out of control".
Elizabeth Kendal
Links
1) India: The dictators of Hindutva aim for 'death blow' in Dangs
WEA RLC News & Analysis. by Elizabeth Kendal, 26 Jan 2006
India: Shabri Kumbh Mela Threatens 8000 Christians in Dangs
WEA Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin - No. 364 - Wed 08 Feb 2006
Eliazabeth Kendal
Apex court acts on anti-Christian video
3 February 2006
http://www.newkerala.com/news2.php?action=fullnews&id=1835
2) The grand mingling in the Shabri Kumbh
By Tarun Vijay 26 February 2006
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=119&page=14
3) RSS wants more such kumbhs
Abhishek Kapoor. 13 February 2006
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=169683
4) 600 Christians return to Hindu fold
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=120&page=30#2
5) From kumbh, Modi sends out a warning to missionaries
Abhishek Kapoor, Sunday , February 12, 2006
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=169474
6) At RSS meet, Modi, saints oppose Christian missionaries
Ahwa (Gujarat) | February 12, 2006
http://news.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=247133&cat=India
7) Betrayals and Missed Opportunities: The Communal Violence Bill, 2005. A People's Critique of the Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, 2005. By ANHAD, HRLN & Jan Vikas The Milli Gazette Online. 8 February 2006
http://www.milligazette.com/dailyupdate/2006/20060208-communal-bill.htm
All that hot air
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main16.asp?filename=Cr021806all_that.asp
Subj: India:Hindutva advances while Communal Violence Bill flounders
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal.
The Shabri Kumbh Mela, held 11-13 February in Dangs, Gujarat, was established specifically to "consolidate Hindus", usher tribals into the "Hindu mainstream", and deal a "death blow" to Christian missions in Dangs. The Kumbh was the climax of a massive Hinduisation campaign that combined the Hinduisation of animism, the Hinduisation of tribal culture, with an intense anti-Christian propaganda campaign that included incitement to kill Christians. (see previous WEA RLC India posting and prayer bulletin, plus article: link 1)
That the Kumbh ended peacefully, without any bloodshed, is a testament to the power and mercy of God who intervened for his people in answer to the prayers of many.
Shabri Kumbh Mela 2006 may be over, but the Sangh Parivar's (body of Hindu nationalist organisations) re-energised Hindutva campaign is only beginning. While protesting the negative press which forced Gujarat's State government to provide armed police protection to Dangi Christians, the Sangh is boasting "great gains" in Dangs. And the "success" of the Dangs experiment is motivating the Sangh to replay this strategy in other tribal dominated districts across the nation.
One Hindutva mouthpiece, Organiser, boasts: "Let all the secular Taliban and left creepers wail and beat their chests but the ongoing march of the Vanvasi rights and assertion of their cultural identity shall not be stopped." (Link 2) A translation of the double-speak in this sentence could read like this: All those who support secular politics, real religious liberty, environmentalism, and the rights of India's indigenous peoples can complain and protest all they like, but the Sangh Parivar's Hindutva campaign to convince the Adivasis that they are Vanvasi Hindus whose security and identity is threatened only by Christians shall not be stopped.
As the Sangh's Hindutva forces advance through the tribal districts persecution of Christians is increasing in both frequency and intensity. According to the Sangh, hundreds of tribal Christians are (with the help of RSS paramilitary forces) seeing the error of their ways, realising they have been deceived and exploited by the Christians, and are now "returning home" to Hinduism. Violence against individual believers, pastors and evangelists, whole churches, and church and mission property is being reported constantly, especially in tribal dominated districts and especially in BJP-ruled states such as Gujarat, Rajasthan, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisigarh and Jharkhand.
The central government is working to address the issue of communal conflict. However, the draft Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, 2005, is terribly, dangerously flawed. The Bill increases the power of state governments, but a Bill that increases the power of governments cannot protect minorities from government-sponsored terrorism.
----------------------------------------------------------
SHABRI KUMBH ONLY THE BEGINING
The Sangh Parivar is not out to save souls. Its goals are purely political, rooted in power lust. The primary goal of the Sangh Parivar is simply to consolidate the Adivasis (indigenous peoples, called Vanvasi, forest peoples, by the Sangh) as part of the Hindutva fold before the 2009 federal elections. Religion is simply a tool with which to achieve social engineering for political gain.
The Sangh wants the BJP returned to power in the centre in 2009, with a majority so that it can rule outright, without being compromised by coalition partners. Even if Christians pray for God to protect every Christian in India from Hindutva violence, the Sangh can still achieve its political goal if it converts enough tribals to Hinduism to ensure BJP majority rule from 2009. If that happens, it could safely be predicted that India's secular constitution will be changed, national anti-conversion laws enacted, and a Hindutva dictatorship established.
SEEKING FOUR MORE "SOCIAL" KUMBHS
Abhishek Kapoor reports for Ahmedabad Newsline: "End of the three-day Shabari Kumbh here marked the beginning of a new experiment on mobilising Hindu forces. Led by the RSS, organisations have planned to use this new tool — more such kumbhs across the country in a semi-religious setting — to gather Hindus to counter Christian missionaries and conversions.
"According to plans, these congregations would be different from the regular Kumbh Melas held at Prayag, Hardwar, Ujjain and Nashik and focus on reform and social engineering within Hinduism to consolidate its followers as a single block. The concluding public meeting, led by Shankaracharya Saraswati of Joshimath, announced that all tribals including Nagas, Mizos, Santhals, Orans, Bodos, Mundas and Gonds, belong to Hindu fold.
"The Shankaracharya mooted the idea of more social kumbhs that would bring Hindus together on one platform. He suggested four new kumbhs sites in tribal dominated states of Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttaranchal and the North-East." (Link 3)
Abhishek Kapoor notes that the aims of the Shabri Kumbh are first and foremost political: "The religious significance of kumbh could be termed low as many of the visitors were cadres mobilised by saffron organisations during the past three months.
"Interestingly, Dangs, like all tribal areas in the State, has been a traditional Congress bastion with a difference that it stayed with the party even after the 2002 violence handed all assembly seats to the BJP.
"However, the BJP remains optimistic about the kumbh's returns. Talking to Newsline, a minister in the Modi government said the party would reap dividends out of the kumbh for next 10 years without much hard work. 'Our margins in the Assembly seats of Ahwa Dangs were as low as 50 and seven votes. With the kind of mobilisation that has taken place, we do not see much difficulty. If the kumbh gets institutionalised, it would be an added advantage,' he said." (Link 3)
GOING HOME
According to the most recent edition of the Organiser, Christians are "returning" to Hinduism by the hundreds. This is of course, pure propaganda, presenting the "homecoming" as an act of awakening when in reality it is a forced conversion made under duress. One cannot underestimate the confusion, fear and intimidation felt by tribal Christians when pressured by Hindutva forces to convert or suffer. The fact is, these believers suffer no matter what they do. If they are born again believers, their fearful acquiescence will break their hearts (as Peter's did: Luke 22:62) and they will need to rediscover their Lord's merciful forgiveness and loving acceptance. If they stand firm, they will be persecuted and their loved ones and children will suffer with them.
The Organiser reports, "About 335 Christians belonging to 55 families returned to their original roots at a function held at Soharpat village of Gumla district in Bihar." The speaker at the conversion ceremony, Shri Sudarshan Bhagat demanded (ironically) that the state government put a complete ban on conversion. According to the Organiser: "He said the Christian missionaries had been trapping local gullible Vanvasis and converting them to Christianity... He appealed to all people of the community who have somehow adopted Christianity to come back to their original roots, [that is, not animism, but Hinduism]."
The Organiser also reports, "In another function held at Bhojpur village of Etah district in Uttar Pradesh, over 300 Christians returned to Hindu fold. They also converted the local church into a temple. The father of the church himself installed the pictures of goddess Durga, Vaishno Devi and Hanuman in the new temple. After returning to Hindu fold, he also said the missionaries took unfair advantage of his poverty and used him for conversion in the area." (Link 4)
Speaking at the Shabri Kumbh Mela on 11 February, Hindu teacher Morari Bapu railed against conversions (to Christianity), and made a special public appeal to Christian missionaries to follow Christ and obey the Bible by not converting people to Christianity!
Ahmedabad Newsline reports: "Quoting from a chapter on Luke in the Bible, Bapu said even Christ's word forbade conversions... 'When the Bible says do not convert, please don't. It is great that you are good medicos, and have the money to help poor and ailing. But once they have been healed, let them go back home (their parent religion) as good doctors do. Ghar jana koi gunah nahin hai,' he said, quoting from a Gujarat Sahitya Prakashan translation of the book." (Link 5)
Morari Bapu also invited Dangi Christians to convert, or "return" to Hinduism, saying, "Anybody can make a comeback to his home. Just have a dip in the holy Pampa Sarovar and worship Shabari Mata, you will be back home." (Link 6)
Bapu deliberately manipulates the term "home", deceitfully interpreting it as "former religion" rather than home where you live. According to Bapu's interpretation, when Jesus healed the paralysed man and then said, "...take your mat and go home" (Luke 5:24); or when Jesus told the healed demoniac to "Return home..." (Luke 8:39); he was really telling them to return to their former religion. Bapu did not address all the other healings where people were not exhorted to "return home"; he did not address "follow me". What he did do though, was sow seeds of doubt, confusion and anger in the hearts and minds of many down-trodden, illiterate tribals (including Christians), who may now be tempted to see Christians as essentially hypocritical and unfaithful to their own religion.
------------------------------------------------------------------
DRAFT COMMUNAL VIOLENCE BILL FLAWED
------------------------------------------------------------------
Due to the Sangh's mobilisation of Hindutva forces and programs, violence against Christians, particularly in tribal dominated areas, is escalating in both frequency and intensity. While the Indian government is making an effort to address this issue, the draft Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, 2005, is terribly flawed. The Bill is presently making its way through public discussion and parliamentary debate.
The fundamental flaw in the bill is that it actually increases the powers of state governments. Clearly this is totally useless when sectarian state governments are in collusion with sectarian, communal organistations. In Gujarat, both the massacre of Muslims in 2002, and the Shabri Kumbh Mela of February 2006, were actively supported by Gujarat's BJP state government.
Two critiques of this Bill can be found at Link 7.
They include "A People's Critique" of the Bill, by ANHAD (Act Now For Harmony and Democracy), HRLN (Human Rights Law Network) and Jan Vikas, and published in the Milli Gazette; as well as a report written by the Executive Director of the Human Rights Law Network and published in Tehelka.
According to these critiques the core sections of the Bill from Chapter II to Chapter VI, relating to the prevention of communal violence, the investigation of communal crimes and the establishment of special courts will only come into effect if the state government issues a notification. What's more, it is not mandatory that the state government act at all, even if notified by the central government. Meanwhile, civil society remains powerless to initiate or control prosecutions when communal crimes occur.
The Bill contains a clause for punishment of public officials who fail to perform their duties. Yet even here there is both a failing and a loophole. The Bill fails to hold accountable those in positions of command and authority such as the Chief Minister. What's worse, police who fail to perform their duties, being either passive or partisan in the face of communal violence, cannot be charged with an offence unless the state government sanctions the proceedings. As "A People's Critique" notes, "In the context of state governments with communally driven malafide intent, the chances of even police officials being punished under this clause are very remote."
Another flaw in the Bill is the definition of "communal violence", which is limited to a list of already criminalised offences, and does not cover many communal crimes such as mobilisation with incitement through hate speech, literature, media and teaching. The Bill also has a very narrow definition of sexual violence which fails to address issues beyond rape, such as stripping, sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence.
As the critics of the Bill note, what is needed is a law which makes it mandatory for the government to act in clearly codified ways before, during and after communal violence. And the law needs also to remove impunity, so that state governments, authority figures, and police that fail to act to prevent violence may be charged, tried and punished.
Regarding the power of the central government to intervene (which obviously is only beneficial if the central government is non-sectarian), "A People's Critique" comments: "Section 55 requires the Central Government, in cases where it is of the opinion that 'there is an imminent threat to the secular fabric, unity, integrity or internal security of India which requires that immediate steps' to 'draw the attention of the State Government to the prevailing situation'; and to direct it 'to take all immediate measures to suppress' the violence. If the state government fails to act, the Bill provides first for the central government to declare any area within a State as 'communally disturbed area' under this Bill; but this is not significant because, as we observed, such declaration does not require mandatory actions by the state government to control the violence. The Bill also provides for central 'deployment of armed forces, to prevent and control communal violence', which would have been very significant, but the provision is neutralised by the requirement that this central deployment is legally permissible only in the event of 'a request having been received from the State Government to do so'. In other words, only the state government still retains the power to decide about the deployment of armed forces to control communal violence."
As noted in the report in Tehelka, this proviso, that the central government must wait for a request from the state government before it can intervene is "a ridiculously retrogressive provision given the fact that even today the Centre is under no obligation to wait for consent when the situation goes out of control".
Elizabeth Kendal
Links
1) India: The dictators of Hindutva aim for 'death blow' in Dangs
WEA RLC News & Analysis. by Elizabeth Kendal, 26 Jan 2006
India: Shabri Kumbh Mela Threatens 8000 Christians in Dangs
WEA Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin - No. 364 - Wed 08 Feb 2006
Eliazabeth Kendal
Apex court acts on anti-Christian video
3 February 2006
http://www.newkerala.com/news2.php?action=fullnews&id=1835
2) The grand mingling in the Shabri Kumbh
By Tarun Vijay 26 February 2006
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=119&page=14
3) RSS wants more such kumbhs
Abhishek Kapoor. 13 February 2006
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=169683
4) 600 Christians return to Hindu fold
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=120&page=30#2
5) From kumbh, Modi sends out a warning to missionaries
Abhishek Kapoor, Sunday , February 12, 2006
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=169474
6) At RSS meet, Modi, saints oppose Christian missionaries
Ahwa (Gujarat) | February 12, 2006
http://news.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=247133&cat=India
7) Betrayals and Missed Opportunities: The Communal Violence Bill, 2005. A People's Critique of the Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, 2005. By ANHAD, HRLN & Jan Vikas The Milli Gazette Online. 8 February 2006
http://www.milligazette.com/dailyupdate/2006/20060208-communal-bill.htm
All that hot air
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main16.asp?filename=Cr021806all_that.asp
Wednesday, February 8, 2006
PRAYER: India -- Sharbri Kumbh Mela threatens 8000 Christians in Dangs
Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin - No. 364 - Wed 08 Feb 2006
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INDIA: SHABRI KUMBH MELA THREATENS 8000 CHRISTIANS IN DANGS
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Over the weekend 11-13 February 06, Hindu nationalist groups and their militant factions will hold a major Kumbh (Hindu festival) in Dangs district, Gujarat, northwest India. Called 'Shabri Kumbh Mela', in future it is to be held every four years. Its official website openly declares the aim is to '...deal a death blow to such anti-dharmic and anti-national activities' as Christian missions. The central slogan for the Kumbh is 'Hindu Jago, Christi Bhagao' (Hindus arise, throw out the Christians). The two main aims of the Kumbh are to convert the tribals to militant Hindu nationalism, and to get rid of Christianity because it challenges the status quo and threatens to liberate the enslaved tribals. Dangs is being targeted because Gujarat is 0.05 percent Christian whilst Dangs is 5 percent Christian. Moreover, the Hindu elites have political and economic interests in either co-opting or ridding themselves of the despised, sub-caste tribals. So they will co-opt as many as possible into militant Hindu nationalism, and then set them against the Christians.
The strategy the Hindu nationalists use is to convince the tribals that, though they think they are indigenous animists or Christians, historically they are Hindu forest dwellers who will be better off returning to the Hindu fold. Hindu nationalists have been busy Hinduising tribal rituals by giving them Hindu names, saying they are just corrupted Hindu practices and then adjusting them to suit Hindu sensitivities. They have also invented a whole new mythology to justify creating a Hindu pilgrimage site and festival to the Hindu goddess Shabri in Dangs.
The Hindu nationalists have produced high quality CDs that exhort the tribals to kill Christians as the Hindu god Ram killed the demon Ravana. The NGO 'ANHAD' (Act Now for Harmony and Democracy) filed a petition concerning the CD, which suggests Christians should be attacked and beheaded.
On Friday 3 February, the Supreme Court viewed the CD and sought responses from the central government, the state governments of Maharashtra and Gujarat, and the Shabri Kumbh Mela organising committee. According to ANHAD, the disc has been widely distributed and openly sold in Gujarat, Maharashtra and in northeastern states. ANHAD states the CD 'makes constant references to the evil forces and foreign powers that are out to destroy the Hindu religion, while simultaneously flashing pictures of churches and the cross on the screen as if to insinuate that the Christian community is the evil force and the foreign power that the Hindu community has to reckon with'. They say it also encourages viewers to adopt aggressive attitudes and militant methods. The CD also has 'a caricature of a headless Christian priest wearing a cassock and holding a cross. In place of the head is a question mark symbol. The caption on the top of this picture literally translates into church: in the name of service'.
Swami Aseemanand, one of the key instigators of the Kumbh, believes the Shabri Kumbh Mela will '...end missionary activity in Dangs'. In 1999 Aseemanand told the Times of India, 'Dangs cannot know peace so long as even a single tribal remains Christian.'
The Hindu nationalist state government in Gujarat is actively supporting this initiative. They have given Hindus saffron coloured flags to fly outside their homes, making Christian homes easy to identify. While the government has refused to cancel the event, advocacy from Indian and foreign groups has forced them to increase security. However, when Hindus massacred Muslims in Gujarat in 2002, police with Hindu nationalist sentiments joined in the pogrom. The
Dangs population of 186,000 includes 8000 Christians. The Hindu nationalists plan to bring in some half million Hindus for the festival. Please fast and pray for the safety of the Dangi Christian community this weekend.
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY FOR:
- the Spirit of God to breathe great peace into the Dangi Christians and great spiritual wisdom into their Christian leaders; may he draw them into prayer and increase their faith.
- God to spread his protection over each Christian family and individual, surrounding them with his favour as with a shield.
- God to intervene profoundly so that wicked, exploitative, violent schemes will be frustrated and scuttled. Psalm 146:9
- God to bless the advocacy of Indian and Christians worldwide, working through the Supreme Court and central government, and putting an end to the crimes of the Hindu nationalists: their incitement to violence; their forced conversion campaigns; and their intimidation and violent persecution of religious minorities.