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MARCH 2016
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India Infiltrated ICC Explores India’s Bastar District where Christianity is Banned
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Feature Article
Outlawed Jesus
Christians in India’s Chhattisgarh state continue to face persecution since a resolution was passed in 50 villages effectively outlawing the practice of Christianity.
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By William Stark
magine if your local government passed a law that made the practice of religion illegal. Continue to imagine that the local population then begins to openly discriminate against religious citizens by assaulting them and attackding their churches, blocking them from shopping at local stores, refusing to hire them for work and turning off the electricity and water to their houses until they agreed to convert to a more “acceptable” faith. Sounds pretty unbelievable, right? Unfortunately, that’s the scenario that hundreds of Christian families living in the Bastar district of India’s Chhattisgarh state have faced since June 2014.
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Sirciguda: Ground Zero
The banning of Christianity in Bastar started in the village of Sirciguda, located about 20 miles from the district capital, Jagdalpur. In April 2014, Christians in Sirciguda were suddenly denied their regular food ration by their local village leaders. In tribal and rural areas, India provides food subsidies to the poor. When the Christians asked why they were being denied their food ration, they discovered it was because they had refused to participate in Hindu ceremonies worshiping the village god. After two months, the Christians filed a complaint with the district food officer in Jagdalpur. In response, the food officer scheduled a meeting with the village leaders and the Christians to resolve the
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Bastar District, Chhattisgarh
A resolution passed in more than 50 villages in Bastar has outlawed the practice of Christianity in an entire district and resulted in increased levels of persecution.
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Madota Village
Christians in the village of Madota were attacked by a mob of 400 Hindu radicals. The believers were beaten with iron rods and clubs, leaving seven hospitalized.
dispute over the food ration on June 16, 2014. On the day of the meeting, the Christians who attended were confronted by a mob of Hindu radicals who arrived at the meeting with the village leaders. When the food officer attempted to explain that everyone in the village should receive the food ration, regardless of religion, the mob of radicals became enraged. Fearing attack, the food officer abruptly ended the meeting and fled the village. After the food officer left, the mob of radicals attacked the Christians. “I thought it was my last day of life, as we were beaten mercilessly,” Bodka Kunjan told ICC. “They hit us with sticks and clubs. I saw fellow Christians also being beaten with blood all over their bodies.” The Christians fled into the nearby forest in an attempt to save their lives from the hands of the Hindu radicals. According to victims, more than half a dozen Christians were seriously injured. The next day, another meeting was convened in Sirciguda, but this time it was led by a local branch of the Hindu radical group Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). At this meeting, leaders from many villages across Bastar assembled to discuss what to do with the
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local Christian population. As a result of this meeting, a resolution banning “all non-Hindu religious propaganda, prayers and speeches in the village” was passed in over 50 villages, effectively criminalizing Christianity.
Living in a Land Where Christianity is Illegal The resolutions banning Christianity truly are just the tip of the iceberg regarding the persecution of Christians in Bastar. Although the banning of Christianity is both outrageous and unconstitutional, it hardly compares to the suffering of Christians forced to live in villages where these resolutions have been passed. Assaults, discrimination and threats have become the daily norm for Christians in Bastar. “We knew that trouble was waiting for us,” Mangal Mandavi told ICC when describing the conditions for Christians. “But the reality is beyond our imagination.” As the bans on Christianity spread to new villages, physical assaults on Christians and their places of worship followed. In October 2014, in Madota, a village located near Sirciguda, Christians were severely beaten by a mob of Hindu radicals who cited the passage
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of a resolution banning Christianity as justification for the attack. “We were attacked by more than 400 people,” Mandavi said. “They did this when we refused to deny our faith in Jesus and convert to Hinduism.” The mob beat the Christians with iron rods and clubs, leaving seven hospitalized with broken limbs, lacerations and concussions. Another Christian community was assaulted in Kamari village in June 2015 after their village council also passed a resolution banning Christianity. According to local Christians, a mob of over 50 Hindu radicals attacked the village’s only church. Before the Christians could confront the radicals, they were beaten with wooden clubs and sticks. Two Christian women who were cleaning the church, Pulo Bhai and Ludri, were seriously injured in the assault and required hospitalization. Following the attacks, radicals in these villages began enforcing social boycotts against Christians. This meant that Christians in many villages were no longer allowed to access water wells, shop at local stores, work and receive pay, cultivate their fields, graze their livestock or even talk to Hindu members of MARCH 2016
their village without being assaulted or fined. The social boycott against Christians in Jamguda village started shortly after the passing of a resolution banning Christianity. Hindu radicals announced, “You (Christians) defile yourself and you defile this village by accepting a foreign religion. You are now untouchable! You are not allowed to take water from the well.” The well, of coursre, is the only source of clean water in the village. One Christian woman told ICC, “We had to drink dirty water from the gutter for almost eight days, as we were barred from taking water from the village well. Even today we are being harassed when we go to fetch the water. The whole village sees us as inferior and outcast.” When the Christians lodged a complaint, police protection was provided for the Christians and they were allowed to gather water under police supervision. Despite this, the water issue remains a problem in Jamguda. “When the police are present, we get water. If they are not, we are sent back with an empty pot,” a Christian woman from Jamguda said. The social boycott in Jamguda even prevented one Christian from burying his father’s body in the village graveyard. Pathiram Keshyap’s father died in July 2015. When he went to bury the body, the village secretary told him that he would not be allowed to bury his father’s body in the graveyard because they were Christians. “We were grieving the loss of our father,” Keshyap told ICC. “It only increased our pain when we were told we could not bury my father in the graveyard. It was like we were foreigners in our own land.” Keshyap visited government offices to try to enforce his right to bury his father in the vil-
‘We had to drink dirty water from the gutter for almost eight days, as we were barred from taking water from the village well.’ lage graveyard, but that did not improve the situation. “Police came to the village, but they were helpless,” Keshyap said. “The Hindu radicals did not allow us to carry out the burial.” In the end, Keshyap was forced to bury his father’s body in the field he is no longer allowed to farm. Similar social boycotts against Christians have been initiated in many of the villages that have passed bans on Christianity and are being used as a way to force Christians into converting to Hinduism. In Karmari, the social boycott has become a life or death issue. “Slowly some Christians are converting to Hinduism, fearing more trouble or for mere survival,” explained Bhingu Bhagel, a Christian farmer who has been denied access to the fields his family depends on. “Four families have converted since the boycott started. Peela Baghel, who has a large family, converted, allowing him to provide for his large family. With all the restrictions, it would have been impossible for him to even feed his family.”
A church destroyed by Hindu radicals in the Bastar district.
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Fighting Back Despite this intense suffering, Christians in Bastar are fighting back. The Chhattisgarh Christian Forum has filed a petition in the Chhattisgarh High Court challenging the constitutionality of the bans on Christianity. In October 2015, the court issued an order stating that the resolutions banning Christianity should not “come in the way of exercising [the] fundamental right to preach and propagate religion.” This marked the first time the Chhattisgarh government took steps to combat the resolutions. Unfortunately, many Christians are still concerned that the actual enforcement of their rights may be where the court will fall short. So much has already happened under the watch of local authorities, who will likely be tasked with enforcing the court’s final decision. It is difficult to imagine that the court will end the suffering faced by Christians in Bastar, and change the attitudes of other villagers, with the simple stroke of a pen.
Beyond Bastar In spite of the high court’s recent action, the bans on Christianity continue to spread to new villages and affect more Christian families. Recently, Kerlapal village located in Narayanapur district, which borders Bastar, passed a similar ban on Christianity. They represent the first village outside of Bastar to do so. The prayers of the saints are desperately needed for our brothers and sisters in this region. As these bans spread, assaults and social boycotts are sure to follow. Will the next year bring change, or will this egregious persecution of Christians continue to spread?
Hindus in Jamguda prevent Christians from using the village well.
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Feature Article
From Bulldozed Churches to the Halls of Power
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ICC’s advocacy team brings the plight of Indian Christians to the seat of the U.S. government.
o food, no clean water, no daily work and no income, yet Indian Christians have their faith. This practice of social boycott is reality for those Christians living in the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh, India. In addition, they face violence for their decision to follow Christ and enormous pressure to convert to Hinduism. The violence and social boycott would end if they converted, but they know Christ is their protector and their sustenance. In June 2014, Hindu radicals in more than 50 villages throughout the Bastar district convinced local village leaders to ban the practice of any non-Hindu religions, affecting roughly 300 Christian families. With roughly 44,000 Christians living in this area, this ban has potential to bring increasingly widespread persecution to the area’s Christian residents. Despite these heartbreaking instances of persecution and India’s constitution, which guarantees freedom of worship, authorities have been deaf to calls for help. Upon receiving reports of this persecution, ICC’s advocacy staff, along with a special guest, traveled to India last November to meet with victims and the U.S. Embassy in India. From their experience on the ground, it was clear that an advocacy campaign was necessary to encourage intervention by the U.S. government and to put pressure on Prime Minister Modi to ensure the freedom of worship in India. Upon returning to the United States, it was determined that ICC would author a petition and congressional letter encouraging Prime Minister Modi to use the power of the Indian government to restore the rule of law and freedom of religion to the Bastar district. To garner support from congressional offices, ICC’s advocacy department conducted 17
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meetings over a four-day period with congressional staff, Senate staff, Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff and with the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. These meetings gave ICC an opportunity to inform congressional staff of the persecution in India and ask them to show their support for religous freedom by agreeing to sign our letter to Prime Minister Modi. The reception of ICC’s report was received with concern and a willingness to help address the situation. Congressman Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania agreed to co-lead the congressional letter along with Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota. Work to increase the number of signatures among senators and members of Congress is ongoing. Our hope and prayer is that this congressional letter will send a message to Prime Minister Modi and inform him that the United States is knowledgeable and concerned about the human rights abuses taking place in India. As a key ally for India’s economic development, this negative attention from the U.S. government may be enough to push Modi into ending persecution
of Christians in Bastar. Other outcomes from the tour included Senate staff agreeing to raise this issue with the State Department. Nearly every congressional and Senate office agreed to approach their legislator about signing on to the letter. The petition, which asks for the end of persecution and banning of Christianity in Bastar, is ongoing, as well. Currently, 1,778 supporters from 80 countries have signed the petition. Without attention from the international community, one cannot expect to see positive changes for our brothers and sisters in Christ living in the Bastar district. Prime Minister Modi and the Indian government need to be held accountable for not protecting religious minorities nor prosecuting those responsible for persecution. ICC’s advocacy tours seek to raise awareness of this persecution at the highest levels of our government and take active steps to hold Modi accountable. As this campaign continues, we ask for your prayers — prayers for the people of Bastar who are suffering this injustice, those in power in India, our country’s leaders and the ICC staff.
ICC’s advocacy department conducted 17 meetings in four days with congressional staff to encourage them to sign a petition calling Indian Prime Minister Modi to end the persecution of Christians in the Bastar district.
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Standing Up to India’s Lobby
‘Since 2010, the Indian government has spent nearly $4 million to influence the American government.’
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The power of India’s lobby may be the biggest known secret on Capitol Hill. Lobbying has come to have a negative connotation as lobbying firms, at times, become guns for hire in utilizing their contacts and expertise to influence policymakers and elected leaders in Washington on behalf of their clients. Most Americans are familiar with lobbying firms and their positive and negative implications for the political process. However, it is lesser known that countries abroad also utilize these firms to forward their own agendas in the U.S. government. Since 2010, the Indian government has spent nearly $4 million to influence the American government. India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has a strong desire to increase foreign investment in his country. Economic growth and investment were two planks of his campaign upon which he was elected, and areas in which he is eager to make progress. One possible hurdle to foreign investment is human rights abuses. One needs no other proof of human rights abuses’ detrimental effect on foreign investment than Moody’s Analytics, which recently cautioned India to address abuses in their country or possibly have their credit rating downgraded. With this warning, India has hired lobbying firms to improve their image. There are many organizations, including governmental, quasi-governmental and nongovernmental organizations, which track and report on human rights abuses. These organizations face lobbying firms who wish to influence the content of their reports and official statements upon hearing any hint of negative reporting. In fact, ICC knows of one government organization which prior to the release of a human rights report, was contacted by four lobbying firms in an effort to view or edit what was being written regarding the Indian government. Instances such as these highlight another key role of ICC’s advocacy department. In addition to working with our allies on Capitol Hill and in the State Department to pressure foreign governments to end the persecution of Christians and religious minorities, ICC also takes real-time information to policymakers and elected leaders that are free from the influence of lobbyists. This is a vital role in which ICC’s advocacy team works to hold foreign governments accountable for their action, or inaction, in protecting religious minorities in their country.
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