Photo courtesy of Kauai’s Hindu Monastery

11/19/2007 13:25
INDIA
In under a year over 190 cases of Hindu persecution of Christians

by Nirmala Carvalho
A report by All India Catholic Union, into anti Christian persecution gathered data with the aid of leading National groups. The report underlines widespread marginalisation of non Hindus, and government apathy which protects aggressors. New Delhi (AsiaNews) – In less than one year over 190 violent attacks against Christians took place in India. These assaults include homicide, armed assault, sexual molestation and lynching, All India Catholic Union (Aicu), an association grouping together lay Catholics warned in a document published November 17th last.

Aicu President, John Dayal, underlines that data was collected tank to the collaboration of various Christian groups throughout the country, and that cases were Christians were attacked for reasons other than their faith were not taken into account. Therefore says Dayal, “the cases that were presented and certified fall into the category of persecution. We have not taken into consideration the situation of social marginalisation of our many brethren in the faith in many Indian States, because it would be impossible to count them”.

Sajan K. George, national president of the Bangalore based Global Council of Indian Christians told AsiaNews: “GCIC has recorded 464 cases of atrocities against Christians throughout India over 20 months and Karnataka has the worst record in this period with 87 cases, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 30 cases”. In the light of this data he adds “submitted a memorandum to memorandum to the National Human Rights Council and also to the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC), seeking an independent inquiry into the incidents. After the BJP came into the coalition- and they are now in power, there has been a climate of impunity for any acts of violence that are committed against non Hindus. Many of these attacks have occurred inside homes in the places of worship of Christians, as people were worshipping within the privacy of their homes and churches”. Often he concludes, “Often the Administration and Police have refused to either file or pursue the matter with seriousness. Unfortunately in our 60th year of Indian Independence, the government as yet has done little to bring these hate crimes under control” Source.

India Police And Hindu Militants Besiege Christian Convention

Added: Oct 22nd, 2007 4:32 AM

By BosNewsLife News Center with BosNewsLife’ Stefan J. Bos

NEW DELHI, INDIA (BosNewsLife) — Police forces and Hindu militants interrupted a major Christian convention in India’s state of Chhattisgarh and forced a pastor to hand over names of people who “accepted Christ”, a Christian official told BosNewsLife Sunday, October 21.

Police and Hindu militants attempted to storm the “59th General Convention [of the] Church of God held in the church” in [the area of] Rajatalab Raipur in the vicinity of state’s capital Raipur, said Sajan George, National President of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), a major advocacy group.

Hindu persecution campaign targets pastor

The recent attack involved an estimated 35 Hindu radicals and happened while he was returning from the home of a convert he’d been ministering to, according to VOM contacts in India.

“He was beaten with thick sticks, kicked on his jaw and face and dragged on the road,” according to statements obtained by VOM from witnesses. “He was screaming because of the pain and praying out loud, asking God to forgive the attackers.

“He was bleeding profusely from his jaw and ear, and was unable to see. In spite of his painful cries, the attackers continued striking him until the police arrived and stopped the beating,” the sources reported.

He remains alive only because of that reluctant intervention, because VOM sources reported that after the attack it was discovered the extremists planned to murder him, then make a false report claiming he had died in an automobile accident.

The pastor, who had come to Christ in 1999 from a background of Hindu extremism, has brought a number of people in his region to Christ since that time, VOM sources reported. At the same time, he was being threatened with “dire consequences” for being a Christian, the news from VOM confirmed. Continue.

Religious Comparisons

A useful way to understand religions is to place them side by side. With Hinduism on the left and Christianity on the right, we explore their scriptures (Vedas and Bible), founders (Siva and Jesus), places and ways of worship (temple and church) and paths to salvation (yoga and faith)

Eastern and Western Views

In the following analysis, using one of several common religious categorizations, we compare the Eastern religions with the Western ones on many points of belief. The Eastern religions are Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. The Western religions are Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Islam. We can see immediately that there is a vast difference between Eastern and Western religions, with the Eastern goals being unitive and introspective and the Western goals being dualistic, extroverted. The Eastern mind tends to see God everywhere, in all things, and to see everything as sacred. The Western mind considers it heresy to believe that God pervades all things, and makes a strong difference between what is sacred and what is profane. In general we notice the Eastern holding to karma, reincarnation and liberation, the Western postulating a single life for the soul, followed by reward or punishment. Keep in mind that this is not a comprehensive comparison, as it does not take into account the East Asia religions — Taoism, Confucianism and Shinto. To discover your own belief patterns, take a pencil and put a check mark next to the view — Eastern or Western — which is closest to your own belief on each of the subjects. We might note here that the Eastern religions described here all originated in India, and that Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism were offshoots of Hinduism. Among the Western faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam all share a common root in Abraham, and in recent times the term Abrahamic has been coined to denote these three world religions. Naturally there are important exceptions to the views expressed (for example, Buddhism does not believe in a Personal God). Nevertheless these broad generalities are useful, as they give a scholarly window into the East and the West.

Hinduism and Christianity

Our HINDUISM TODAY editors were contacted in 1993 by Christianity Today magazine to be interviewed for a major story called “Hindus in America.” Thus began a series of dialogs that added to their article crucial and often corrective insights to dispel common myths and misinformation about the world’s oldest religion. Perhaps most significantly, they agreed to publish our own nine fundamental Hindu beliefs. The editors of Christianity Today composed nine parallel Christian convictions, written in a series of intense sessions by the best theologians they could assemble. The resulting point-counterpoint — whose brevity is both its strength and its weakness — summarizes the cosmic perspective of two of the world’s largest faiths.

Continue reading.