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The forcible expulsion and forced conversion of Christians in India is being carefully engineered by extremist Hindu organisations and is endangering not only the freedom of religion, but democracy too on the subcontinent. This disturbing conclusion has been reached by an investigation team of the Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV), which at the end of October examined the situation of Christians in Orissa and which has now published its findings in a 20-page report. If those driven out return to their home villages they are threatened with death. Several people who have returned and refused to become Hindus have already been murdered. Moslems too are victims of the forced conversion. The human rights organisation called on Tuesday for the extremist Hindu organisations to be banned.
Approximately 50,000 Christian native people and Dalits („untouchables”) have systematically since 24th August been driven out of their villages with the object of destroying the foundation of their existence, reported the GfbV. More than 4,400 of their houses have been plundered and destroyed. The Hindu activists have torn off the roofs from the houses made of stone and clay so that the rain would make these uninhabitable.
The Adivasi native people, who live as small farmers and gatherers of the fruits of the forest, have no perspective in the hastily erected refugee camps. They can only return home if they allow themselves to be forced to „convert” to Hinduism. The GfbV investigation team interviewed many victims of forced conversion. These people had to confirm in writing that they were converting voluntarily and that they had set fire to their houses
themselves.
The GfbV also raised serious accusations against the security forces of the federal state of Orissa. Christians have been arbitrarily arrested and sometimes held in custody for weeks on end on dubious charges. For no reason at all they have been accused of involvement in the murder of a Hindu leader and the assertion of Hindu extremists has been supported that Christians, not Maoist rebels, were responsible for the murder.
Likewise in the attacks on the houses of the Christians the violent criminals could be sure of the tacit support of the local police, who had for weeks refused the members of the minority any protection. It was only with the arrival of the federal police CRPF that there was any noticeable improvement in the security situation. However, both the federal and the provincial authorities acted much too late and quite inadequately. The provincial government had indeed provided access for the radical Hindus to the closed-off crisis region so that they could continue to stir up violence. So a „funeral procession” of extremist Hindus was approved, which left a trail of destruction and terror in a hundred villages.
Please let us know if you would like our report on the situation of the
Christians in India (tel. ++49 (0)551 499 06 25).
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