Christian leaders offer to talk to VHP, BJP
Major Christian organisations have said that
they are ready to enter into a dialogue with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad
and the Bharatiya Janata Party on the issue of "forced conversions", and
are ready to rectify such conversions if any such real incidents are brought
to their notice.
These remarks were made at a press conference
in New Delhi addressed by representatives of the National Council of Churches
in India, the Churches of North India, the Churches of South India, and
the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India.
They said a 10-member team had visited the
areas where attacks on Christians took
place and brought out a report.
The team comprised Dr K K A Rajaratnam,
Rev Vinod A R Peter, Dr J A Oliver, John Hanchimani, Rev Ipe Joseph, Rev
Dr Prasanna Kumari, Rev Dr Samuel Meshak, the Rt Rev Vinod Kumar, John
Dayal, and Shailesh.
The team quoted Deputy Inspector General
of Police O P Mathur and Collector B N Joshi of Dangs district as having
said that "there have been no formal complaints of forced conversions
or any attempts [to do so] from the Christian communities in the area".
They said the allegation of forced conversions
is part of the 'premeditated agenda' of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
to malign Christian missionaries who are providing basic education, health
care and an awareness of people's rights in the remote tribal areas.
Besides, they said, the term 'missionaries'
is being used by the VHP and the Bajrang Dal to mislead the public into
believing that foreign agents are forcibly converting local people. They
pointed out that no foreigner is allowed a visa for missionary work in
India.
"Forced conversion is a sin," they said,
but wanted to know why all these issues had cropped up after the BJP came
to power in Gujarat and the Centre.
The team's report indicted the Gujarat government
for its "support" to Hindu fundamentalists and urged Governor Anshuman
Singh to exercise his constitutional responsibility of ensuring proper
functioning of the state machinery.
They took strong exception to the VHP and
Bajrang Dal explaining away the attacks on Christians as a "patriotic
reaction" of the youth and asked if the community is considered anti-national
or unpatriotic.
The team members' separate memoranda to
the President and the prime minister sought their personal intervention
to stop the violence. They also demanded that the state government pay
compensation for the damage to places of worship and institutions and
promote measures to set in motion the peace process.
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