[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 30 (Thursday, March 16, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E334]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NUNS ATTACKED IN INDIA, SAVED BY SIKH FAMILY
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HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS
of new york
in the house of representatives
Thursday, March 16, 2000
Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, the wave of violence against Christians by
Hindu fundamentalists continues. Since Christmas 1998, churches have
been burned, priests have been murdered, nuns have been raped, and
Christian schools and prayer halls have been destroyed. The government
of Orissa now requires anyone who wishes to change religions to get a
permit from the government. Sikhs and Muslims have previously been
subjected to similar tyranny.
These attacks have been carried out by Hindu fundamentalists who
belong to a branch of the RSS, an openly Fascist umbrella organization
that includes the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party under its umbrella.
In the most recent incident, a gang of RSS militants attacked the
Convent of Our Lady of Grace in Panipat. Previously, a priest from the
same complex had been murdered. This is the fourth attack on the church
in Panipat, according to The Deccan Herald.
Fortunately, when the militant Hindus attacked the convent, the nuns
screamed and the alarm went off, attracting the attention of the Sikh
family next door. They got their gun and came over to the complex,
where the RSS mob attacked the rescuers using steel rods and guns. One
of the attackers was captured.
Unfortunately, this incident shows us again that there is no
religious freedom in India. Hindu nationalist mobs associated with the
ruling party have free rein to commit these acts of violence against
the religious minorities and they rarely get any punishment from the
government. Instead, the government uses these incidents to try to set
one religious group against the other so that they can continue their
brutal, intolerant, tyrannical rule. In the murder of missionary Graham
Staines, which was carried out by Hindu militants chanting ``Victory to
Hannuman,'' a Hindu god, the government arrested a man who uses the
alias Dara Singh in order to blame the Sikhs.
This kind of intolerance is unacceptable. As the lone superpower and
the beacon of freedom in the world, the United States must act to bring
freedom to all the people of South Asia. While President Clinton visits
India, it is crucial that he bring up the issues of political
prisoners, religious freedom, and self-determination.
There are also things we can do here in Congress. We should stop all
American aid to India until these basic human rights are respected and
we should declare our support for an internationally-supervised
plebiscite on independence for Punjab, Khalistan, for Kashmir, for
Nagaland, and for the other nations seeking to free themselves from
India's brutal, corrupt rule. We must be prepared to take responsible
measures to extend freedom to all the people of the world.
[From the Deccan Chronicle, Mar. 14, 2000]
Sikh Family Saves Nuns From Bawaria Attack
New Delhi: A Sikh family saved the lives of five nuns who
were attacked by a group of over ten armed men in the wee
hours of the morning on 11 March, in Panipat. Putting their
own safety at risk the male members of the family attacked
the intruders armed with guns and steel rods who had entered
the church where the Franciscan nuns were staying.
Answering to the alarm call of the nuns, the Sikh men
immediately came to their rescue. The incident happened in
Panipat in the convent of Our Lady of Grace. The Sikh family
who have been staying in the Joti Nagar area next to the
convent for over a decade, hearing the cries of the nuns and
the alarm calls of the chowkidar, rushed to their help.
Armed with their licensed country made gun attacked the
men. In the ensuing chaos the assailants attacked the Sikhs
with steel rods and fired two rounds of gun shots. One of the
Sikhs managed to nab one of the men, who in his desperation
to escape bit him. Meanwhile the other gang members started
firing from behind the church forcing the Sikhs to shoot back
and attack them.
The nabbed man has been identified as Kala and belongs to
the Bawaria caste. The gang is believed to be involved in the
earlier attacks on the church. This is the fourth such attack
in the past three months on the church in the Sonepath-
Panipat Samalkha region.
The superior of the convent, Sr Vandana said, ``We are very
grateful to them for helping us, even though they could have
been killed in the process. We will always remember them in
our prayers.''
Earlier a priest living in the same compound was attacked
by unknown men a few weeks ago. As a result, two police
guards were posted outside the church compound which houses a
church, and quarters for the priest and nuns.
The police removed the guards from duty and within two days
of this the church was attacked again. Recalling the incident
Sr Vandana said, ``Though convent houses six nuns, one of
them was not present at the time of the incident. The men
scaled the compound wall, broke opened the main wooden
entrance of the convent and then tried to break in the door
of the dormitories where the five nuns were sleeping. The
shocked and panic struck nun rushed into the smaller rooms
and bathroom, where they locked themselves. The men later
broke open an almirah.'' The Sonepat-Panipat Samalkha region
had reported spate of violence which included attack on a
priest who narrowly escaped and threatened several nuns. The
area also witnessed four cases of dacoity.
Earlier two cases of dacoity had taken place in Samalkha
and Panipat within three days of each other. In Samalkha in
the early hours of March 9, 2000, gang of ten men raided and
looted the Ish Mata Church and made off with Rs 60,000 kept
for refurbishing the church. Fr Azeem Raj of the church
escaped by locking himself in the bathroom. On 1 January Fr
Vikas of Panipat Church was serious injured and his skull and
limbs fractured when he was attacked by a gang of armed men.
This incident took place in the same compound where the nuns
were attacked.
The district collector of the Panipat, Sandeep Garag said,
thanked the Sikhs for the help and has advised that the
guards be posted back to the church and more arms be
sanctioned.
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