Europe must take energetic measures to help persecuted Christians in India – Pogrom-like attacks continue

The European Union (EU) must protest at the summit meeting with India today Monday in Marseilles against the pogrom-like attacks on Christians and demand effective protection for the minority. This was the demand made by the Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) in a letter to the present chairperson of the EU Council, Nicolas Sarkozy. In it the human rights organisation warned of new acts of violence in the coming weeks. Radical Hindus carried out during Advent 2007 very many attacks on the minority. This year an even greater escalation of the violence is to be feared since in the past five weeks more churches have been burned down in India than ever before. These pogrom-like attacks are continuing. Last Thursday several churches and more than 100 houses belonging to Christians were burned down.

These extreme infringements of the practice of the freedom of religion must not be taken lightly by the EU, argued the human rights organisation in its letter to Sarkozy, for since 2004 India has been a „strategic partner of the EU”. In the „Joint Action Plan” passed by both partners in 2005 the pluralism in matters of faith and the good relations of the religions with each other in India was praised. „115 burning churches and 4,300 destroyed dwellings speak however another language”, criticised the GfbV Asia consultant, Ulrich Delius. More than 40,000 Christians have had to flee since the end of August in the face of violent attacks by extremist Hindus. The violence broke out following the murder of a radical Hindu leader on 23rd August 2008.

„Christians are being persecuted in India today not only on account of their faith, but on account of their ethnic background”, said Delius. For most of the Christians driven out of more than 300 villages in the federal states of Orissa and Karnataka have been for decades the discriminated Adivasi native inhabitants or Dalits („Untouchables”). The Christian churches offer both groups recognition, respect, education and the chance of a better life. For this reason many Adivasi have turned towards Christianity in recent years. The native peoples number in India 84 million, which is more than in any other country of the globe.

Radical members of the higher Hindu castes have been watching the increasing self-confidence of the Adivasi with concern and have been trying to prevent Adivasi and Dalits from claiming rights in democratic India. So radical Hindu groups have been systematically stirring up violence against Christians and trying to secure votes before the parliamentary elections next year.