a reported government delay in determining equal rights for Dalit Christians and news of new violence against believers. The prayers for Dalits, treated as ‘untouchables’ in India’s predominantly Hindu society, came just days after a mob of Hindu militants violently attacked a prayer meeting in the town of Indore in the north-central state of Madhya Pradesh on August 21, said Christian news agency Compass Direct, which has close contacts with Christians in the region.
At least 10 people, including women and a 2-year-old child, were injured, the news agency said. The attack reportedly targeted Jagdish and Grace Nayak, independent Christian workers who are awaiting trial on charges of forced conversion. Grace Nayak is a convert from Hinduism.
"About 50 people allegedly belonging to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh [RSS] threw stones at the prayer room, where about 15 people were praying, and beat them up," Indira Iyengar, a member of the Madhya Pradesh State Minorities Commission, told Compass Direct.
PRAYER ROOM
"The prayer room was completely ransacked and stones were lying all around the place,” she added. "The attackers had vandalized all the equipment inside, including the public address system. They also tore Bibles into pieces."
The Nayaks and their baby were brutally beaten, she added. "When I went to the hospital to see them, I was horrified. They were beaten up as if they were not human beings, but animals. It was difficult for me to even look at them, as her husband was still bleeding profusely."
Indian police have denied that the RSS, a Hindu extremist group, was behind the attack and said locals opposed to conversions were responsible. The violence added to concern among Christians praying for India’s most unprivileged group, Dalits, who are the lowest of India’s caste groupings under the Hindu caste system.
GOVERNMENT PLAN
Dalits belonging to the Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh faiths qualify for a government plan that reserves 26 percent of jobs and educational places for them. But under current laws, Dalits who convert to Christianity or Islam lose their reservation privileges.
"A nationwide week of fasting and prayer is being observed in churches and Christian institutions all over the country from August 25 in support of the Dalit cause,” John Dayal, the president of the All India Christian Council, told Compass.
The campaign to secure equal rights for Dalit Christians was launched over a year ago in the Supreme Court and at grass-roots levels. It followed successful lobbying by Dalit Sikh and Buddhist communities that forced the government to include them in the rights plan.
HEARING POSTPONED
The Supreme Court was to hear the matter on August 25, but on August 23, the government, represented by Attorney General Milon Banerji, demanded a four-month adjournment. The delay would allow an advisory panel, the Justice Rangnath Mishra National Commission for Linguistic and Religious Minorities, to review the case, Compass Direct said.
Dayal and several other Christian leaders presented a memorandum to the commission on August 26, demanding an early decision in favor of Dalit Christians. The Supreme Court will now hear the case on October 18, Compass Direct reported.
