Thursday’s march, held on the 139th birth anniversary of India’s political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi, came after rights investigators confirmed that three more people died in the last two days in new anti-Christian violence in the Indian state of Orissa.
"The last two days have witnessed renewed attacks by supporters of Hindu nationalist organisations… against the Christian minorities and their places of worship in Kandhamal district in Orissa," said international human rights group Amnesty International. The fresh attacks left "three people dead, more than 15 people injured, including some policemen, and hundreds homeless," the group added.
Earlier this weekend, police reportedly found the body of Priyatamma Digal, an auxiliary nurse and midwife, in a river. On Monday, September 29, the body of her husband, Meghanath, was recovered.
The Christian couple was reportedly killed last Thursday, September 25, as suspected Hindu militants attacked the villages of Rudangia, Telingia and Gadaguda in Orissa’s Kandhamal District, the center of most of the violence. In the attacks a woman, identified as Ramani Nayak of Rudangia village, was also killed, Indian news reports said.
DOZENS KILLED
Up to 45 people have been killed in Orissa since violence broke out in August, church groups suggest, although the exact death toll remains unclear. Thousands of Christians have fled and are hiding in refugee camps, but there have been several bomb blasts there, India media said.
The anti-Christian violence began last month following the August 23 killing in Orissa of Hindu religious leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his followers, who are linked to the main opposition Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
Police suspected Maoist rebels, but Hindu militants blamed Christians. Hindu nationalists have accused Christians of "forced conversions" of especially impoverished ‘lower caste’ Hindus, charges churches have strongly denied.
MISSION GROUP
Mission organization Gospel for Asia (GFA) said Thursday, October 2, that members of GFA backed churches are among those killed in recent weeks. "Six people who attended GFA-related churches in Orissa have been killed by the Hindu extremists, who have personally attacked more than 2,000 believers from these churches," the group said. "The extremists have also burned down 630 homes belonging to believers who attend GFA-related churches and destroyed 22 churches were GFA missionaries serve as pastors."
The violence in Orissa also spread to other states in India, GFA and church officials confirmed. In one of the bloodiest incidents outside Orissa, a Catholic priest and his female assistant were found murdered in Dehradun district of the northern state of Uttarakhand, on September 22, BosNewsLife reported earlier. The 60-year old Father Francis Samuel of Meerut diocese, also known as Sadhu Astey, and the volunteer identified as Mercy, 32, were reportedly found strangled to death at their prayer center in Chotta Rampur village.
The All India Christian Council (AICC), a major umbrella group A major umbrella group of churches and mission organizations across India, also reported violence elsewhere. It said that between August 24 and September 29 "a church has been damaged in the Indian state of Bihar [while] nuns [were] assaulted in the state of Chhattisgarh."
CHURCH ATTACKS REPORTED
Attacks were also reported in Jharkhand state where a church was attached and Hindu militants attempted to reconvert Christians, while in the state of Karnataka, 19 churches were damaged or destroyed and 20 nuns "were injured by police," the AICC said in a report summarizing the anti-Christian violence.
In Kerala, four churches were damaged, and in Madhya Pradesh state "four churches were destroyed or damaged and four schools vandalised," the AICC added. Even in India’s capital two churches were damaged, while in the state of Punjab "three Christians were harassed and imprisoned by police on false charges." Elsewhere in Tamil Nadu four churches were damaged in attacks and in Uttar Peasedh three pastors and a pastor’s wife were beaten, the group stressed.
GFA also expressed concerns over attacks against native Christian missionaries in several Indian states. "Gospel for Asia missionaries are also dealing with persecution in [the state] of Uttar Pradesh, where Hindu extremists have attacked a pastor and have set their sites on a GFA-related center for children.
MILITANTS BEAT PASTOR
On October 1, "The extremists attacked a church in [the town of] Magapatti [in] Uttar Pradesh. The pastor of the church, who is a GFA missionary, was badly beaten in the attacks," GFA said.
It added that the center was closed as a precaution after "extremists" threatened the parents of the children. GFA said that in the state of Bihar, Christian aid workers attempting to help survivors of flooding have been forced to leave.
"The incident occurred on September 25 in the state’s Purnia District where aid workers were assessing needs and handing out cards for people to exchange for supplies. The group was planning to help at least 2,500 families," the group said, adding that Christian aid workers have been able to continue operations elsewhere in the troubled state.
Amnesty International said it has urged the Indian government in New Delhi to "conduct a prompt and impartial investigation into the attacks [against Christians]… publish the results and bring those responsible to justice."
