Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh: Christians still targeted
An evangelical community that prayed in a private home battered and detained after Hindu extremists accused them of 'forced conversions'. In the district of Jabalpur, an investigation into book prices inflated by a publisher sent to prison only the leaders of the most renowned Christian schools, including a Protestant bishop and a Catholic priest.
Jaipur (AsiaNews) - More Christian communities and schools targeted by prosecutions instigated by Hindu fundamentalists. On 5 July in Bharatpur, in the State of Rajasthan, more than 20 people who were attending a prayer meeting promoted by an evangelical community in a private home were arrested on charges of forced conversions.
Members of the community, including some women, were also attacked by a mob of Hindutva (the ideology of Hindu nationalists) supporters led by Rajesh Singhal, a local leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). The fanatics accused the group of practising forced conversions.
After receiving information about the riots and religious conversions, a Mathuragate police team reached the site and arrested 28 people, including 20 women. The deputy superintendent of the local police said that investigations were ongoing and that the people were 'detained for questioning'.
Meanwhile, in the federal parliament in Delhi, a Christian MP - Jose K Mani - raised before the Minister for the Protection of Minorities the case of a Protestant bishop and the headmasters and managers of five Christian schools, including a Catholic priest, who have been in jail in the state of Madhya Pradesh since 27 May because they are accused of charging 'exorbitant fees' for the students of their schools.
The area is again Jabalpur where last year Bishop Gerald Almeida were also the target of a very harsh campaign launched against Christian-promoted schools by the Commission for the Protection of Children's Rights (controlled by Hindu nationalists).
The Protestant bishop arrested is Rev. Ajay Umesh Kumar James of the Church of Northern India (CNI), while the priest is Fr. Abraham Thazhathedathu, from the diocese of Jabalpur. Among the 22 people in prison are also a headmistress and other staff of two local Catholic schools.
They are accused of conniving with a publisher who allegedly charged exorbitant prices for books. The police action was limited, however, to only 11 schools, seven of which are well-known and run by Christians. There are 1,037 registered public schools in the district.
"Our people were arrested and imprisoned like hardened criminals," lamented Fr Davis George, vicar general of Jabalpur, when asked by the Catholic website MattersIndia. "Even if there were differences in the rates or errors in the account book, the official concerned should have served us a notice and asked for an explanation instead of putting them in jail. This kind of action is a mockery of democracy. We have already applied for bail for our collaborators in the High Court, but the hearing is being delayed'. Christians are less than one per cent of the 72 million inhabitants of Madhya Pradesh, an overwhelmingly Hindu state.
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