state of Punjab have united to combat the spread of Christianity and fight against missionaries, BosNewsLife monitored Tuesday, April 26. In a statement released to Indian media the influential Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) or ‘World Hindu Council’, the Bajrang Dal and other groups also urged the religious Sikh community to support their struggle against Christian conversions.
They have "called the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) or ‘Committee for the Management of Sikh temples to join their campaign against Christian conversions," reported Indian newspaper The Telegraph.
The action comes amid reports that last weekend, April 16, 56 Dalit Sikhs became Christians in
the Goindwal Sahib region, about 45 kilometers (28 miles) from Punjab’s Amritsar city.
CONVERSION WARNINGS
"We have been warning of growing cases of conversion in the state but to no avail. Now that Sikhs have been targeted, the SGPC has woken up to the threat," The Telegraph quoted Vijay Singh, a state VHP leader, as saying. "We will create awareness against the conversions and protest vehemently. We warn Christian missionaries to lay their hands off Punjab," he added.
SGPC Secretary Dalmegh Singh described the April 16 conversions of Sikhs to Christianity as the "most shocking and unfortunate" and stressed his organization was putting in place checks to ensure that "lower-caste Sikhs remain in the Sikh fold." Singh claimed that foreign missionaries were behind the recent conversions.
"Those who can give up their faith in the [Sikh] gurus for material gain can jump from
one fold to another any time. But we have taken the conversions seriously [and] we will work to put an end to the nefarious designs of foreign powers," he said.
CONVERT DENIES CHARGES
However a recent convert to Christianity, identified as Mr. Balwinder, accused the SGPC of being "an organization of high-caste Sikhs" and told The Telegraph that "it does not care for people like us. There is nobody to help us when we starve."
Of the state’s 24.3 million-strong population, close to 14.6 million people are Sikh, while
Christians comprise about 292,800 people, according to a 2002 Census.
Sikhism, founded by Guru Nanak in the mid-15th Century, was meant to form a "casteless society." However, discrimination on the basis of caste is a major issue in the Sikh-dominant state, analysts say. In India, Punjab has the highest proportion of Dalits, who are seen as the lowest caste by Sikh fundamentalists. An increasing number of Dalits have become Christians, churches claim.
RECONVERSION CEREMONIES
The VHP warned it would "re-convert" those who had embraced Christianity. The organization already held such ceremonies in other states, including West Bengal, where activists allegedly "re-converted" 102 Tribal Christians from 45 families on April 17.
"We will put an end to the nefarious designs of Christian missionaries. They are now targeting the heart of Punjab by luring people from [the regions of] Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur," VHP official Singh reportedly said.
Sikh officials have also urged the government to check how Christian organizations are financed and announced an investigation into the number of churches and what they see as "forced" conversions. However in a letter to the government, the Bishop of Diocese of Amritsar, Church of North India, P. K. Samantharoy described reports of forced conversions as "false and politically motivated."
VIOLENCE SPREADS
A spate of alleged conversions to Christianity in the state, particularly in the border belt adjoining Pakistan, earlier angered members of the Sikh community in March 2003. Human rights groups have expressed concern about what they see as growing intimidation of Christians and violence directed against them.
In the latest reported incident, Christian leaders held an emergency meeting in Manipur, India, last Friday April 22 to plan a response to an attack on a church in Thoubal district. The Rev. S. Prim Vaiphei said a mob of 200 Hindus overpowered a police patrol and set fire to the Believer’s Church on April 19, Christian news agency Compass Direct reported.
Damage to the building, still under construction after previous attacks, was estimated at around 445,000 rupees ($10,350). Following a similar attack in November 2004, authorities ordered police protection for the church during the construction phase, Compass Direct said. Villagers have reportedly asked church members to abandon the premises or "face the consequences." (Based in New Delhi, Journalist Vishal Arora has covered persecution and other hard hitting news stories for a variety of international and national publications. He has traveled around the country on invitation by NGOs for seminars and talks on human rights, communalism, and religious persecution. Vishal Arora can be contacted at e-mail address vishalarora_in@hotmail.com or visit his website http://www40.brinkster.com/vishalarora/ )
