[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 162 (Tuesday, November 16, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2389-E2390]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CHRISTIAN GATHERING ATTACKED BY BJP-INSPIRED MOB--NO RELIGIOUS FREEDOM 
                                IN INDIA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 16, 1999

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I was very distressed to see that the Indian 
rulers are fomenting religious violence again. According to the 
November 14 issue of The Times of India, ``a group of about 40 persons 
attacked a Christian gathering outside an Independent Church (neither 
Catholic nor Protestant) in West Delhi's Khyala area on Saturday 
evening [the 13th.]'' The newspaper reported that the attack, which 
injured 12 people, was ``masterminded'' by `suspected Bharatiya Janata 
Party (BJP) activists,' according to the police.''
  The BJP is the party that advocates ``Hindu, Hindi, Hindutva, Hindu 
Rashtra,'' which translates as ``Hindu religion, Hindi language, Hindu 
culture, Hindu rule.'' A BJP spokesman said that everyone in India 
should either be Hindu or be subservient to Hinduism. Now, these 
statements might be insignificant except for the fact that the BJP 
heads India's governing coalition.
  So far no one has been arrested in connection with this attack. 
According to the article, the Christians were conducting an open-air 
Bible reading in a tent when the tent was stormed by the Hindu 
militants. The attackers shouted anti-Christian slogans while they tore 
and burned Christian pamphlets with religious speakers.
  Mr. Speaker, it is shameful that the party ruling ``the world's 
largest democracy'' condones and indeed organizes these kinds of 
attacks on people who are simply practicing their religion. But it is 
part of a pattern of repression which has been going on for quite some 
time. In 1997, police broke up a Christian festival with gunfire merely 
because they were presenting the theme that ``Jesus is the Answer'' and 
people were allegedly converting.
  Just a little while ago, a nun was picked up, stripped naked, and 
threatened by her captors that they would rape her if she did not drink 
their body wastes. Sister Ruby was frightened by these threats because 
four nuns have been raped in 1998 and four priests were killed.
  A BJP affiliate called the Bajrang Dal, a sister organization in the 
Fascist RSS, organized and carried out the murder by burning of 
missionary Graham Staines and his two sons who were just 8 and 10 years 
old. The killers chanted ``Victory to Lord Ram'' while they carried out 
this grisly murder. They surrounded the jeep where Staines and his sons 
slept and prevented anyone from helping the family.
  There has also been a wave of violence against churches, prayer 
halls, and Christian schools since Christmas. But it is not just the 
Christians who are being persecuted.
  In Kashmir, the BJP and its allies destroyed the most revered mosque 
in the state. In Punjab, Khalistan, the Sikh homeland, the Indian 
government continues to hold thousands of political prisoners and 
continues to carry out rapes, extrajudicial killings, and other 
offenses against their basic human rights.
  Mr. Speaker, America is the beacon of freedom. We must do whatever we 
can to bring freedom to everyone. When President Clinton visits India, 
I urge him to bring up the issues of human rights for the Sikhs, 
Christians, Muslims, and all the other minorities living under Indian 
rule. It is time to tell India that they must respect human rights or 
we will stop their aid from the United States. We should also put the 
U.S. congress on record for self-determination by calling for a free 
and fair plebiscite on independence for Khalistan, Kashmir, Nagaland, 
and all the other countries now under India's artificial rule. It is 
only by taking these measures that we can spread the blessings of 
freedom throughout South Asia.
  Mr. Speaker, I submit the article from The Times of India into the 
Record for the information of my colleagues.


[[Page E2390]]



                [From the Times of India, Nov. 14, 1999]

                    Mob Attacks Christian Gathering

       New Delhi.--In the first incident of its kind in Delhi, a 
     group of about 40 persons attacked a Christian gathering 
     outside an Independent Church (meaning neither Catholic nor 
     Protestant) in west Delhi's Khyala area on Saturday evening. 
     At least 12 persons were injured in the attack, allegedly 
     masterminded by ``suspected Bhartiya Janata Party 
     activists,'' according to the police.
       Though four persons--Radhey Shyam Gupta, Kapila, Charan and 
     Ashok Sharma--have been named in the police FIR, no arrests 
     have been made so far.
       Area sources said the incident took place at about 8:30 pm 
     in the C-block of a JJ colony in Khyala, near Tilak Nagar, 
     where the group (including some women) stormed a tent where a 
     group of Christians were conducting an open air Bible reading 
     session. A small of group of Christians live in the colony.
       Sources said the attackers raised anti-Christians slogans, 
     tore and burnt pamphlets with religious scriptures. A couple 
     of Bibles and a Holy Cross were also reportedly damaged in 
     the attack. The group then had a scuffle with scores of 
     people present in the tent which led to the injuries, the 
     sources said. Senior Delhi Police officers confirmed the 
     attack but denied any Bible was torn or burnt by the mob. 
     They also denied that a Holy Cross was damaged. ``Initial 
     investigations have revealed that the mob, which may have had 
     some BJP activists, disrupted the Bible reading session and 
     then attacked the gathering. But all the injuries sustained 
     in the attack are minor,'' joint police commissioner 
     (southern range) Amod Kanth said.
       He also said the attackers tore and burnt several pamphlets 
     which contained passages in praise of Jesus. ``But I have 
     personally spoken to the pastor who was conducting the 
     proceedings and he has denied any cross being damaged or 
     Bible being burnt by the attackers,'' Mr. Kanth added.
       Local sources said the Bible reading sessions were being 
     conducted at this Independent church for several years, and 
     as a continuation, a pastor, Father S. John had arrived in 
     the area on Friday from Hosangipur in southwest Delhi.
       Mr. Kanth also said the police had established that the 
     attackers did not belong to the Tilak Nagar area and had come 
     from some other areas. ``It was clearly an unprovoked attack 
     and all of them would be arrested,'' Mr. Kanth said.
       He said the police had registered a case of rioting and of 
     disturbing religious assembly in this connection but no 
     arrests had been made so far. Officers said the west district 
     police had rushed in reinforcements in the Khyala area to 
     prevent any ``further untoward'' incidents, even though there 
     was no tension in the area.

     

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