[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 11580]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 11580]]

              CHRISTIANS IN INDIA SEEK INTERNATIONAL HELP

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN T. DOOLITTLE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 20, 2000

  Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, Newsroom.org, a website devoted to 
religious news from around the world, reported on June 15 that 
Christian leaders in India have appealed for help from abroad.
  The Christian leaders of India, including the United Forum of 
Catholics and Protestants of West Begal, wrote to the Secretary General 
of the United Nations complaining that the Indian government and police 
have ignored the wave of terror against Christians since Christmas 
1998. They have also requested help from Amnesty International in 
stopping these atrocities.
  ``We are scared,'' said Herod Malik, the leader of the United Forum. 
``We have to go to international organizations because we have no faith 
in the Indian government.'' Just a few days ago Hindu nationalist 
militants murdered a priest and placed five bombs in four churches. 
Some Christians who were peacefully distributing Bibles and Christian 
religious literature were savagely beaten, one so badly that he may 
lose his arms and legs. These are just the most recent incidents.
  Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, it is not just Christians who are 
suffering atrocities and persecution. Sikhs, Muslims, Dalits, and 
others are oppressed in a similar fashion, although Christians seem to 
be the primary targets at the moment.
  We can help these people to live in freedom and in the assurance that 
their rights will finally be respected. If Indian promotes terror 
against its religious and ethnic minorities, it is not a country that 
the United States should be supporting. Cutting off its aid is one 
message it would understand loudly and clearly. We should also declare 
our support for self-determination through an internationally-
supervised plebiscite on the future of political status of Christian 
Nagaland, of the Sikh homeland, Khalistan, Kashmir, and other nations 
of Indian. Remember that the people of Kashmir were promised a 
plebiscite in 1948 and it has never been held. It is time for the 
United States and the international community to hold India's feet to 
the fire.
  Mr. Speaker, I submit the Newsroom.com article of June 15 into the 
Record for the information of my colleagues.

                   [From Newsroom.com, June 15, 2000]

               Christians in India seek help from abroad

       A wave of church bombings and murders of clergy has 
     prompted Christian leaders in India to appeal for 
     international help, according to Catholic World News. The 
     United Forum of Catholics and Protestants of West Bengal 
     claimed Tuesday that the Indian government and police have 
     ignored their pleas and have insisted the attacks are random 
     crimes.
       The Christian leaders said they have written to the 
     secretary general of the United Nations and also are 
     appealing to the human rights group Amnesty International. 
     ``We are scared. We have to go to international organizations 
     because we have no faith in the Indian government,'' said 
     Herod Malik, the head of the United Forum.
       The leaders said that unless international groups pressure 
     the Indian government to protect Christians from Hindu 
     fundamentalists, the ``atrocities will increase.''
       Bombs exploded in four churches in the southern Indian 
     states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Goa on June 8, 
     injuring at least one person. The blasts occurred the day 
     after a Roman Catholic priest was murdered in the Mathura 
     district of Uttar Pradesh in northern India.
       The nation's governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) blamed 
     the four church bombings on Pakistani intelligence ``out to 
     give Hindu organizations a bad name.'' Opposition parties, 
     however, assert that the bombings are the work of the Sangh 
     Parivar, the extended family of Hindu organizations.
       Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee promised a delegation 
     of Christian leaders on Monday that his government would 
     investigate the incidents fully.
       Christians charge that the Hindu nationlist Rashtriya 
     Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), considered the ideological parent of 
     the BJP, have engaged in a campaign against Christians since 
     the BJP came to power two years ago. The New Delhi-based 
     United Christian Forum for Human Rights says that in the past 
     year it has documented 120 attacks by Hindu fundamentalists 
     against Christian individuals, churches, and schools.
       Indian government officials deny having any influence on 
     the aggression. CWN said a senior interior ministry official, 
     speaking on condition of anonymity, insisted the Christian 
     community had nothing to fear and the government was taking 
     steps to prevent such attacks.

     

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