[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 29 (Wednesday, March 7, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E298-E299]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             CHRISTIAN PRIESTS ABDUCTED AND BEATEN IN INDIA

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 7, 2001

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I was distressed to recently hear 
that two priests were abducted and beaten in India. On January 4, 
according to a report in India-West, the priests, known as Simon and 
David, were abducted from the village of Zer in Rajasthan and taken to 
the neighboring state of Gujarat, where they were beaten.
  Unfortunately, this is just the latest in a series of attacks on 
Christians in the so-called ``world's largest democracy'' which has 
been going on since Christmas of 1998. It follows the murders of other 
priests, the rape of nuns, church burnings, attacks on Christian 
schools and prayer halls, the burning deaths of missionary Graham 
Staines and his two sons while they slept in their jeep by Hindu 
militants chanting ``Victory to Hannuman (a Hindu god),'' and other 
incidents.
  After one incident that involved the rape of nuns, the VHP, which is 
part of the pro-Fascist RSS (the parent organization of the ruling BJP, 
hailed the rapists as ``patriotic youth'' and denounced the nuns as 
``anti-national elements.'' BJP leaders have said openly that everyone 
who lives in India must either be Hindu or be subservient to Hinduism. 
It has even been reported that the RSS has published a booklet on how 
to implicate Christians and other religious minorities, such as Sikhs 
and Muslims, in false criminal cases. The Indian government has killed 
more than 200,000 Christians in Nagaland. This pattern of religious 
tyranny and terrorism is apparently what India considers religious 
freedom.
  It is not just Christians who have suffered from this kind of 
persecution, of course, but it seems to be their turn to be the 
featured victims. Sikhs, Muslims, and others have also been persecuted 
at the hands of the Indian government. Over 250,000 Sikhs have been 
murdered by the Indian government. Two independent investigations have 
shown that the massacre of 35 Sikhs in the village of Chithi Singhpora 
was carried out by the Indian government. The evidence also seems to 
show that the Indian government is responsible for the recent massacre 
of Sikhs in Kashmir. In November, 3,200 Sikhs, who were trying to get 
to Nankana Sahib in Pakistan on a religious pilgrimage, were attacked 
by 6,000 police with heavy sticks called lathis and tear gas. only 800 
of these Sikhs made it to the celebration of the birthday of Guru 
Nanak.
  It is the BJP that destroyed the Babri mosque and still seek to build 
a Hindu temple on the site. Now BJP officials have been quoted as 
calling for the ``Indianization'' of Islam, according to Newsroom 
Online. The Indian government has killed over 70,000 Muslims in Kashmir 
since 1988. In addition, Dalits (the ``black untouchables''), Tamils, 
Manipuris, Assamese, and others have seen tens of thousands of their 
people killed at the hands of the Indian government.
  Mr. Speaker, in light of this ongoing pattern of state terrorism 
against the peoples living

[[Page E299]]

within its borders, it is appropriate for America, as the leader of the 
world, to do what we can to protect these people and expand freedom to 
every corner of the subcontinent. The best way to do this is to stop 
American aid to India and to support self-determination for all the 
peoples and nations of the subcontinent.
  Mr. Speaker, I insert into the Record an India-West report regarding 
the beating of these two priests. I commend it to all my congressional 
colleagues who care about human rights.

                    [From India-West, Jan. 12, 2001]

               Two Christian Priests Abducted and Beaten

       JAIPUR (Reuters)--Two Christian priests were recovering in 
     hospital Jan. 5 after being abducted and beaten in a tribal 
     village in western India, police said.
       They said the priests, identified only as Simon and David, 
     were abducted from Zer, a village in Rajasthan's Udaipur 
     district, Jan. 4 and forcibly taken to the neighboring state 
     of Gujarat where they were beaten.
       Anand Shukla, an Udaipur police chief, told Reuters the two 
     abductors had been identified. One was a Zer villager and the 
     other a resident of Gujarat.
       The priests suffered minor injuries and were admitted to a 
     hospital in Bijaynagar in Gujarat, Shukla said.
       No motive was given for the attack, but Gujarat has in the 
     past been the scene of violent attacks on Christians, who 
     make up about two percent of India's billion-strong 
     population. Right-wing Hindu organizations have been blamed 
     for the attacks.
       Hindu leaders deny the charge. They say forced religious 
     conversions by Christian missionaries are responsible for 
     unrest in tribal areas.

     

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