[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 25 (Thursday, February 11, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E212]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HINDU NATIONALISTS CONTINUE TO ATTACK CHRISTIANS IN ``SECULAR'' INDIA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 11, 1999

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I was disturbed by recent reports that there 
has been renewed violence against Christians in India. First a 
missionary and his two very young sons were burned to death in their 
jeep, then another nun was raped. Now the bodies of two more Christians 
have been found in the state of Orissa. Hindu nationalism is on an out-
of-control rampage in India!
  The Sunday, February 7 issue of the Washington Times reported that 
the Archbishop of New Delhi, Alan de Lastic, blamed ``mercenaries'' for 
these hate crimes. He called on the government to take strong action to 
stop these things from occurring. These ``mercenaries'' are associated 
with organizations like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a militant 
Hindu organization that comes under the militant, extremist Rashtria 
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the party 
that leads the governing coalition, is also part of the RSS.
  Several Christian churches, prayer halls, and religious missions were 
destroyed in the last couple of months by Hindu extremists affiliated 
with the VHP. How can the Indian government be expected to take strong 
action against the perpetrators of these vicious acts when the 
perpetrators are part of their own political network?
  The violence forced many Christian congregations to cancel New Year's 
celebrations for fear of offending the Hindu militants, which could 
lead to further violence. Is this the secularism that India boasts 
about? Clearly, there is no religious freedom for these Christians in 
India.
  Unfortunately, these are just the latest incidents of violence 
against Christians in India. Four nuns were raped last year by a Hindu 
gang. The VHP described the rapists as ``patriotic youth'' and called 
the nuns ``antinational elements.'' To be Christian in secular India is 
to be an antinational element! At least three priests were killed in 
1997 and 1998, and in 1997 police opened fire on a Christian festival 
that was promoting the theme ``Jesus is the Answer.''
  Apparently, the Hindu Nationalists are afraid that the Dalits, or 
``Untouchables'', the aboriginal people of South Asia who are at the 
bottom of the caste structure, are switching to other religions, 
primarily Christianity, thus improving their status. This undermines 
the caste structure which is the foundation of the Hindu social 
structure.
  The Indian government has killed more than 200,000 Christians since 
1947 and the Christians of Nagaland, in the eastern part of India, are 
involved in one of 17 freedom movements within India's borders. But the 
Christians are not the only ones oppressed for their religion.
  India has murdered more than 250,000 Sikhs since 1984 and over 60,000 
Muslims in Kashmir since 1988, as well as many thousands of other 
people. The holiest shrine in the Sikh religion, the Golden Temple in 
Amritsar, is still under occupation by plainclothes police, some 14 
years after India's brutal military attack on the Golden Temple. The 
previous Jathedar of the Akal Takht, Gurdev Singh Kaunke, was killed in 
police custody by being torn in half. The police disposed of his body. 
He had been tortured before the Indian government decided to kill him.
  The Babri mosque, the most sacred Muslim shrine in the state of Uttar 
Pradesh, was destroyed by the Hindu militants who advocate building a 
Hindu temple on the site. Yet India proudly boasts that it is a 
religiously tolerant, secular democracy.
  This kind of religious oppression does not deserve American support. 
We should take tough measures to ensure that India learns to respect 
basic human rights. All U.S. aid to India should be cut off and we 
should openly declare U.S. support for self-determination for all the 
peoples of the subcontinent. By these measures we can help bring 
religious freedom and basic human rights to Christians, Sikhs, Muslims, 
and everyone else in South Asia.
  Mr. Speaker, I submit an article on the archbishop's statement from 
the February 7 Washington Times into the Record.

             [From the Washington Times, February 7, 1999]

                Mercenaries Blamed for Attacks in India

       New Delhi--A prominent Catholic archbishop yesterday blamed 
     ``mercenaries'' for a spate of attacks on Christians here and 
     blamed the Indian government or tardy action against the 
     perpetrators.
       New Delhi Archbishop Alan de Lastic, in a scathing attack 
     on national and state governments, called for justice for the 
     growing number of Christian victims of murder, rape and 
     battery in India.
       A nun was raped Wednesday night in the eastern state of 
     Orissa where Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two 
     young sons were burnt to death in their car by a Hindu mob on 
     January 22.
       The rape and the Staines' murders followed a spate of anti-
     Christian violence in the western state of Gujarat over 
     Christmas.
       Radical Hindu groups linked to Prime Minister Atal Behari 
     Vajyapee's ruling BJP party have been blamed for inciting the 
     attacks.

     

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