Madhya Pradesh, India - Christians from a small Indian village will have their day in court on May 9, following a violent attack on a prayer meeting in Seoni district, Madhya Pradesh, on February 23.
Four Hindu men who identified themselves as members of the extremist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bajrang Dal attacked the prayer meeting in Dhanora village. The attackers beat two Christians with planks of wood and roughed up several others in the group of 25.
Christians at the gathering say the police failed to intervene or protect them.
The prayer meeting, organized by an authorized Christian society, Nav Jyoti Ashram, was held on the porch of a house belonging to Achche Lal Jharia, the only Christian in the village.
“The Jeevan Jyoti Church had taken permission from the village authorities as well as the local police station to hold the prayer meeting,” Mr. K. L. Sondhiya, an elder of the church, told Compass. “The attack took place in the presence of two police officials.
“Jharia, a local Christian convert who is over 65 years old, received injuries to his nose and above his left eye. Ratan Arjune, a Christian from nearby Jabalpur, was hurt in his legs and arms. A Christian lady from Jabalpur was hit in the chest ... and Pastor Amos Singh, the founder and president of Nav Jyoti Ashram, and others were manhandled.
“The attackers were shouting, ‘Jai Shri Ram’ [Long live Lord Rama],” Sondhiya added.
“Initially only four people came to disrupt the meeting, but an hour later, about 60 more came.
“Who Can You Complain To?”
“They told the Christians, ‘When we can attack you in the presence of police, who can you complain to?’ Surprisingly, the police officials kept quiet with their heads hanging.”
Police initially refused to accept a First Information Report (FIR). “It was only after we complained to the superintendent that our FIR was lodged,” Sondhiya said. “And the police would not give us a copy of the FIR despite numerous requests. We finally received it on February 28.”
Since then, local Hindus have warned the Christians to drop their complaint, threatening to kill Jharia and his associates and to burn down their houses.
On February 25, police arrested two of the accused, Gyan Chand Jain and Ram Naresh Rai. A public prosecutor has since accepted the case; the first hearing is set for May 9.
Police Deny Negligence Charge
However, local police have denied the charge of negligence. Police Superintendent Deen Niwas Rao told Compass, “If police were there, they would have prevented the violence.”
R. G. Srivastava, the station house officer of Dhanura police station, told Compass, “We were informed by the Christians that they were holding a prayer meeting and we had deployed a constable at the venue. The attack took place while the constable had gone to have his lunch at about 4 p.m., as the Christians said they would have their main program at 8 p.m.
“When we came to know about the attack, we sent the injured Christians for medical examination and booked the culprits under Sections 323, 34 and 294 of the Indian Penal Code.
“There was a rumor that the agenda of the Christian meeting in Dhanura, where Hindus are in a majority, was to convert Hindus,” Srivastava added. “As a result, several people went to the meeting to see what was happening, and both parties had heated arguments followed by violence.”
Christians comprise less than one percent of the population in Madhya Pradesh, while Hindus comprise 92 percent. The state, whose local government is still ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, is known for persecution of its Christian minority.
“White Paper” Presented to Prime Minister
Meanwhile, representatives from India’s United Christian Forum, the All India Christian Council and the All India Catholic Union presented an unofficial “white paper” to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on March 11.
The document listed more than 200 violent actions carried out against Christians in the first 10 weeks of 2005. The attacks were most prevalent in the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Orissa, Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh, although sporadic violence also occurred in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharasthra and Kerala.
An accompanying memorandum pointed out that although the present government had promised to protect minority communities, violence against the 2.3 percent Christian minority appeared to be increasing, rather than decreasing.
For example in Rajasthan, “the Sangh Parivar threatened to make the Banswara district free of all Christians,” the memo stated. “This threat was followed up by large-scale coercion and violence. ... The state government, instead of checking the violence, is now itself threatening the community and has announced it is bringing forward an anti-conversion Bill.
“The Union government must urgently call upon state governments -- which control law and order and education -- to ensure the safety of the minorities, protection of churches and arrest of the culprits,” the memo concluded.