இந்தியாவில் செயின்ட் தாமஸ் கட்டுக்கதை

தொகுத்தவர்: வேதபிரகாஷ்
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தொகுத்தவர் வேதபிரகாஷ்
வெளியீட்டுத்தேதி ஆகஸ்டு, 1989
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சரித்திர ஆசிரியர்களுக்கு வேண்டுகோள்
இச்சிறுநூலை நாங்கள் உங்கள் முன்பு வைக்கின்றோம். படித்தப்பிறகு உங்களுடைய கருத்து எதுவானாலும் எழுதி அனுப்பவும். உங்களுடைய விமர்சனங்கள், யோசனைகளை வரவேற்க்கிறோம்.
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பொருளடக்கம்
மாணவர்களுக்குப் புரட்டு வரலாறு
அப்போஸ்தலர்கள் யார்? பன்னிருவர் யார்?
பைபிள்களிலுள்ள தாமஸ்
ஒதுக்கப்பட்ட அல்லது மறைக்கப்பட்டுள்ள புதிய ஆகம பைபிள்கள்
தாமஸின் நூல்கள்
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19729ல் இந்த கல்லறை சந்தேகிக்கப்பட்டது
உயிர்த்தியாகி தாமஸ் ஆனது எவ்வாறு?
மாலுப், கலாமினா, மைலாப்பூர்
கிருஸ்துவ பாதிரிகளின் தென்னிந்தியாவைப் பற்றிய குறிப்புகள்
போர்ச்சுகீசியரும்,அரேபியரும்
விஜயநகரப் பேரரசும், போர்ச்சுகீசியரும்
பிராமணர்களை சம்பந்தப்படுத்தும் கதைகள்
தென் இந்தியாவில் தாமஸக்கு ஆறு கல்லறைகள்
கட்டுக் கதை மறுபடியும் வளர்கிறது
http://www.hamsa.org/vedaprakash-intro.htm

Saint Thomas Legend and Indian Christianity

An enquiry into the colonial and missionary interest.

Prof. C. I. Issac

An historical narrative of Indian Christianity would not be complete without the study of Christianity in Kerala. Christianity is believed to have reached the shores of Kerala in the first century of Common Era [C.E.], though this is not supported by documentary or authentic evidence. The emergence and spread of Christianity in Kerala is shrouded in such myths and legends. Kerala’s Christian past is essentially pivoting on the stories popularized by the Church on the fragile foundations of theology and belief. Therefore, historians encountered many problems in deconstructing its past. First is the question of the arrival of Saint [St.] Thomas and subsequent conversion of Hindu aristocracy [particularly the Namboothiris] to Christianity. Second is the date of the origin of Christianity in Kerala. Third one is the European interest behind popularization of generating aristocratic [savarna] feeling among the native Christians. Finally, how far these missionary activities mutilated the national life?

The centre of the pre-colonial phase of history is the question of savarna origin of Kerala Christianity and the role of Thomas, a disciple of Jesus. This savarna origin theory of Indian Christianity was firstly constructed and popularized in Kerala by Fringies [Portuguese Catholic Missionaries] in the sixteenth century for the fulfillment of their colonial ends¹. It is true that before the arrival of Europeans in India, a nominal Christian presence was seen only in the Travancore and Cochin regions of Kerala. The antagonism that was generated amongst the Christians and Muslims due to the Crusades of 11^th, 12th and 13^th centuries prevented Christian proselytism enterprises from planting their roots in the Malabar region where Muslims got roots quite earlier. It is only during the British period that the Christian society came into being in the Malabar region. It is true that the Christians in Travancore and Cochin regions were only a marginal community confined to a few port towns before the arrival of Europeans. For that reason during this period the churches in Kerala were very few in numbers and could be counted on fingers. Hence, since the arrival of Portuguese till the early decades of the nineteenth century here in Kerala there were only less than three hundred Christian churches of all the denominations². According to Ward and Conner, even after two centuries of the birth of Christianity, the number of Christians on the Malabar Coast shrank to eight families. The Christian population altogether in Travancore and Cochin during the early decades of the 19^th century CE was 35,000 with 55 churches3. Thus the native Church’s claim of the story of St. Thomas and the early origins of Indian Christianity is not a universally accepted fact. In the year 1952 CE, the native Catholic Church approached the Papacy in Rome for Pontifical approval to celebrate 1900^th year of proselytism of Kerala since the arrival of St. Thomas on its shores. The Papacy declined the request of the Kerala Catholics on the ground that the claim has no historicity. In spite of this denial, the Savarna Catholics, the Syrian descendants of those said to have received baptism from disciple Thomas, celebrated the 19^th centenary of the arrival of Thomas with much pomp.

Behind the building of such a story of apostolic and savarna origin of Indian Christianity there was a willful plan of destabilizing the foundations of Hinduism through the conversion of higher castes of India. It means the total conversion of Hindus. Robert de’ Nobili, [hailing from Montepulciano, Tuscany, Italy]⁴ was the brain behind the savarna origin theory of the early Indian [Kerala] Church. It was the part of his ambitious programme of converting the Brahmins to Christianity. Because of his zeal to convert the Hindu aristocracy to Christianity; he adopted their mode of life, mastered in Sanskrit and so had to cut himself off completely from intercourse with his fellow missionaries. He worked in Madurai, Mysore, and the Carnatic till old age and almost complete blindness compelled him to retire to Mylapore⁵. Through him the cultivation of savarna feeling amongst then wealthy sections of the Christian faith started. A section of the Church en-cashed this new feeling for their missionary ends. His labour in this direction may further encouraged building the story of Thomas’ christening of the Namboothiris of Kerala. Another derogatory step that follows from the missionary interest in India is the recasting of the traditional Hindu symbols to suit the Church’s purpose of conversion. The pioneer in this line was Robert De Nobili, an early seventeenth century Catholic Missionary of India, who lived in the attire of a Hindu hermit and established a monastery in Madurai to convert Brahmins. He attempted to place Christianity within the Vedic tradition which would appeal to the upper jatis. The old Nobilian legacy is still continuing. ⁶.

. The only historical record pertaining to the arrival of Saint Thomas is the book ‘The Acts of Thomas’. But this book does not mention the Malabar Coast. “Acts of Saint Thomas is a historical romance written in Syriac towards the end of second or by the beginning of third centuries.”7 In the history of social formations of ancient Kerala, it is interesting to see that up to the fourth century CE this land was occupied by the pre-Vedic settlements only⁸. So Nambootiri as a Hindu jati was seen only after the fourth century of CE. The Terisapalli [St. Theresa Church] Copper Plate Grant [Terisapalli Cheppedu] executed in 849 CE by Ayyan Atikal Tiruvatikal of Venadu during the reign of Emperor Sthanu Ravi (844-855) is the available oldest historical documentation linking Christianity to Kerala. But this grant was obtained by the foreign Christian merchants⁹. The first Christians of the Kerala may be the merchant community hailing from the new faith who settled here temporarily or permanently for business purposes. The Persian Christian migration was the prime reason of the growth of Christianity in Kerala. In addition to it the threat posed by the religion of Islam in the Persian region since 7^th century CE onwards through its Christian persecution caused the influx of Christian refugees to this land, supplemented to the Christian population of Kerala. Even after the Persian Christian migration the Christian population remained here as a marginal group/jati in this tiny region until the European occupation of this land. Several travelers’ accounts and British documents are referring to the emaciated conditions of the native Christianity. Only after the indiscriminate conversion of native jatis from sixteenth century CE onwards by the European Christian missionary bands resulted in the enhancement of the Christian population of Kerala to the present level¹⁰. Further more G. T. Mackenzie observes, Christians prior to the arrival of Portuguese, did not form the part of Travancore aristocracy. Pope Nicolas IV sent Monte Corvino, a missionary to convert India and China and he wrote to pope in 1306 that “There are very few Christians and Jews [in India] and they are of little weight”.¹¹. Thus the earliest migrant Christian population was numerically a negligible section. The natives regarded Christianity as another path, as well as an upasana system¹². Therefore it functioned here as an offshoot of Hinduism till the arrival of Portuguese. Even the names of the Christians were Hindu.¹³

After the arrival of the Portuguese, a large-scale aggressive proselytizing movement started in Kerala under the stewardship of a padre called Francis Xavier. His eight-year stay in South India changed the entire course of its history. In a short period, he was able to enhance the numerical strength of Kerala’s Christian population. He was no different from Mohammed Ghazini or Aurangazeb in the space of proselytizing enterprise. Francis Xavier was the man solely responsible for the establishment of the Inquisition Court in Goa in 1560, under which Hindu women were raped and burnt alive and Hindu temples were demolished¹⁴. The wrath of the Catholic Church that was started with Francis Xavier in Goa did not spare even innocent children of Hindu origin. This notorious religious court functioned in Goa till 1812. Francis Xavier once remarked, “I told the new Christians to demolish the shrines of the idols and saw to it that they crushed the images into dust. I could not express to you the consolation it gave me to watch the idols being destroyed by the very hands of those who so recently used to worship them”¹⁵. No doubt Francis Xavier was a mentally debased bigot. Thus the history of temple annihilation in Kerala starts with Francis Xavier in Travancore-Cochin. The first prey was the temple at Thevalakkara in Quilon district and Palluruthi near Cochin¹⁶. Another church demolished by the Christian fanaticism during the said period was the Church at Palayoor near Guruvayoor. Until the day of the collapse of the disputed structure at Ayodhya, the Palayoor Church authorities kept a board in front of the church which reads: “The church was constructed by St. Thomas after demolishing a temple”. [Now the board has been removed]. The last one of such demolitions took place in 1950, by setting fire to the famous Sastha Temple at Sabrimalai. In the Malabar region it continued unabatedly until the resistance movement organized in 1969 under the organizational umbrella of Kshetra Smrakshna Samiti by the renowned freedom fighter K. Kelappan [Kelappajee]. De Souza, the Portuguese governor, made a futile attempt to plunder the shrine at Thiruppathi is also to be remembered in this context. The Portuguese did not spare the Muslims of Malabar. The Sixteenth Century Muslim Arabic scholar of Kerala [Ponnani], Shaik Zainuddin, in his work Tuhafat-ul-Mujahiddin, mentions their plunder and destruction of mosques. They did not spare the Kerala’s Jews either: to escape the Portuguese persecution, in 1565 the Jews of Crangannoor escaped to places of Hindu dominancy such as Paravoor, Mala, Chennamangalam, Ernakulam, etc.

It is important to consider the information available from the work of C. M. Augur, an English Missionary cum the Resident of Travancore, to pencil in a correct picture of the Christian intolerance from the days of Padre Francis Xavier. According to Augur in 1816 C.E there were, in the Travancore State [now the part of Kerala], 19,524 temples and 301 churches for all denominations. But in 1891, that is after 76 years, the number of temples had come down to 9,364 and the number of churches had burgeoned to 1,116. ^[17]. It really a testimony to understand the depth and extent of extermination of Hindu culture during the colonial phase. While the Portuguese used force to the spread of the ‘faith’ British moved with education and legislation. The British insisted several native kings to nationalize rich temples in order to enhance their revenue. This resulted in the withering away [mercy killing] of several temples having less income which was once supported by the nationalized temples.

In the place of every demolished temples churches were sprang up. One such famous church was established in 1938 was at Malayattoor, near Adi Sankara’s birthplace. It was earlier a Siva temple. The revenue records of the old princely state of Travancore admit this fact. The temple was known to the locality as “Kurinchimudi Temple” [hill peak temple]. After the Christian occupation the name of the place was slightly changed to “Kurissumudi” [Mount of cross]. During the Sangam period the entire South India was topographically divided into five regions. The regions contained hills and mountains were called “Kurinchi“. Really the temple name was associated with its topography was conveniently changed with the ’sign of faith’ by the Christians after their occupation of the temple site. Considering the geographical area, the number of the temples set ablaze or knocked down in Travancore was proportionately much higher than that of temples demolished by the Muslim rulers of Northern India.

The Portuguese’s over enthusiasm to generate a Christian population in India was not born out of their ecclesiastical interest but of their political ends. It is very clear from their Latin American experiences. To generate a section that supports their political interest in India was the need. Hence the early Christians of Kerala fell in their trap. Earlier they supported them and later clashed with them. Their objectives well reflected in the subsequent disguised reform measures.

1. It is to create the way smooth for the establishment of Portuguese domination over Hindustan.

2. To establish Roman ecclesiastical authority over Kerala’s Christianity;

3. To destroy all its Hindu practices, rituals and traditions that were retained by the native Christians;

4. To extend the Latin Christendom to the soil of the Hindus.

All this intended to de-Hinduize the Malabar [Kerala] Christianity resulted in the Synod of Damper [Udayamperoor], 1559, and it was the graveyard of Syrian Christian Hindu morphology¹⁸. Thus the native Christian community reacted against their villainous designs and it resulted in the “Oath of Coonan Cross”¹⁹. It was a delayed response so it didn’t produced any desired results.

During the British period missionaries followed the policy of education and modernization of the natives. Missionaries and indologists together popularized the notion of ‘modernity’ and presented colonialism as the synonym of modernity. It was in the light of the history of this land. They realized the fact that to proselytize a Hindu is a quiet difficult task. To the Hindu, “every religion is a path that leads to God-realization. There is only one God which is called by various names and which is attainable to genuine seeker by sincerely following his own path. All the Hindu scriptures have upheld this view”.²⁰. That is why to a Hindu the question of conversion is immaterial. The obsessive eyes of the English missionaries were always in search of the weaker aspects of the targeted society and people. This is an observable fact that operates from the first century to the present day with some morphological difference only.

On the other hand it is easy to make a Hindu a non-committed Hindu through his schooling. Missionary enterprises through ages moved in this direction. Educational vision of the missionaries in pagan lands not only confined to modernization of its social fabric but to “get acquainted with the person of Jesus Christ and His Gospel” by the youths outside the Christian faith²¹. This is nothing different from the ‘Pauline’ strategy of the first century that successfully experimented in Athens. It can be made clearer by quoting St. Paul, “For I walked through your city and looked at the places where you worship, I found an altar on which is written, ‘To an Unknown God’. That, which you worship, then, even though you do not know it, is what I now proclaim to you”²².

The colonial and subsequent missionary activities are not finishing with mere change of faith but its far reaching consequences are still confronting by the Hindu populations particularly of Kerala and North Western regions. No doubt, the history teaches that any small change in the demographic pattern will be a threat to the national integrity. The number of Muslim population in India in 1901 was 2,91,02,000, but thereafter in 1941 this population got a growth of 68.24 percent and reached it at 4,26,45,000. So they demanded an exclusive state for the Muslims. In 1940s Muslims has only 13.38 percent share in the Indian population but it established that it was sufficient to demand a separate state for them. Regions like the Northeast secured an upper hand to the Christian population in the 1960s [1961 Christian population: 52.97 % & in 2001: 85%], hence demands their severance. Like wise any slight regional imbalance due to the changes in the religious equilibrium will endanger the nation.

Before the political and economic strength of the organized religions of Kerala the divided Hindu is subjected to the extinction syndrome. Even though Hindus are numerically predominant, the vote bank politics kick them out of the political processes of Kerala. Religious minorities vote is very decisive to all political parties of the state and are very particular to sacrifice the Hindu interest before the religious minorities vested interest. From much applauded land reforms to the educational reforms the Hindu interest were sabotaged. Now the 55 percent of the Hindus population of Kerala controls 11.11 % of the total bank deposits. On the other hand 19 % Christian community commands 33.33% and 25% Muslim population retain 55.55 percent.

Non Resident Keralite [NRK] remittances as well as the income from commercial crops cultivation are the main source of the income of the state. The number of the NRKs during the period 2005-06 was 3, 65,293. Of which, the 82.5% are in the Gulf countries. Of the total Gulf country workforce during the reported period, 49.5% were Muslims and 31.5% were Christians. The Hindu share in this sector is only 19% only²³. 60.5% of the total NRK remittance is the contribution of the minority communities²⁴. Again the total NRK remittance is 184.65 billion rupees and it is equivalent to seven times of the state government receipts as centre budgetary support or fifteen times of the earning from the cashew export or nineteen times of the states marine export. The annual average remittance per house hold is also shown wide imbalances. A Marthomma Christian share is Rs.26, 098/-, a Muslim is Rs.24, 000/-, a Hindu is Rs.6, 134/- and a Hindu SC is Rs725/ ^[25]. On the other hand the average land holding of a Christian family of Kerala is 126.4 cents and of Hindus and Muslims are 69.1 and 77.1 cents respectively²⁶.

In the industrial sector 30% and 35% are under the control of the Muslims and Christians respectively. In the agriculture sector Muslims holds 23% and the Christians hold is 40%. The trade and commerce sector Muslims and Christians correspondingly holds 40% and 36%. Conversely the whole jatis of Hindu’s hold in the segments such as industrial is 28%, in agriculture is 24%, and trade-commerce is 22%. Don’t forget the fact that certain weakest Hindu jatis shares in the above sectors may be zero²⁷. The Hindu population of Kerala as per the 2001 census is 56.2%. Of them 5.5% are farmers and 18.3% are farm labours. The Muslim population as per the latest census is 24.7% and among them 6.1% is farmers, 11.8% is farm labourers and one among the three families has an overseas employed person. The 19.1% Christians are the most blessed and 12.8% of them are farmers and 11.2% agricultural labourers. The numbers of BPLs are too high in Hindu jatis. It is 39.3 lakhs amongst the Hindus. On the other hand it is 24.7 lakhs and 8.2 lakhs respectively amongst the Muslims and Christians²⁸.

Before the growing strength of Semitic religions the Hindu identity itself is in danger at certain parts of the country. This situation further advances to several new states by taking advantage of the changed political situation of India. Under the shield of certain constitutional rights the minority religions labouring to enhance its numerical strength by ignoring the fact that all other sections has the right to protect their religions, faith and cultural identity. If this trend continues unabatedly for another half a century the Hindu nation may shrink to be a concept of the past.

End notes

1. V. Balakrishnan, History of Syrian Christians of Kerala, Trissur, 1999, pp 75, 76

2. C. M. Augur, The Church History of Travancore, 1902, Kottayam, pp 7, 8, 9.

3 Ward [Lieut.] and Connor, The Survey of Travancore and Cochin States, Trivandrum, 1863, pp 146, 147

4. Catholic Encyclopedia on CD-ROM, http://www.newadvent.org

5. Ibid

6 Titus George, Why must it be Vedic identity? The New Indian Express, Kochi, 25 September 2000.

7. The date of the journey of Saint Thomas is not mentioned in this book. The book tells us that Thomas started from Jerusalem spent a few time in Syria and reached Afghanistan. Its ruler was Gondophernes. Thomas converted the ruler and his brother. Thereafter his journey was to Mazda where there he became martyr. See The Saint Thomas Christian Encyclopedia of India, Vol. 2, Trissur, 1973, p 3. Three fragments of the Gospel of Thomas in Greek, dated about 200 CE, were found in Oxyrhyncnus, Egypt, at about the turn of the last century and a full text in Coptic, dated 350 CE, was found near Nag Hammadi, Egypt. See New Theories in Bible Research, John Dart, Indian Express, dated 9^th April 1978.

8 P. K. Gopalakrishnan, Kerala Samskarika Caritram, 1991, Trivandrum, pp 206 –211

9. This Copper Plate contains a land grant to Christian community of Quilon for the construction of Teresa Church. A. Sreedharamenon, Survey of Kerala History, Kottayam, 1970, p100.

10. C. M. Agur, Church History of Travancore, Kottayam, 1902, pp 7-9

11. G.T. Mackenzine, Christianity in Travancore, Trivandrum, 1901, p 8

12.P.K.Balakrishnan, Jati Vyavstituoum Kerala Charitravoum, Kottayam, 1983,

p 345 ff

13. See Thazhakadu Church Inscription of Chera King Rajasimha, [1028-1043 C.E]

14.Kanayalal. M.Talreja, Holy Vedas and Holy Bible, New Delhi, 2000, p 170.

15. Francis Xavier in a letter to the Church authorities in Portugal explains his joy and consolation while Hindu idols were destroyed. See V. Balakrishnan, op cit, p 105 & Kanayalal M. Talrej, op cit, p 18.

16.T. K. Velupillai, The Travancore State Manual, Vol. II, [1940] Trivandrum, rpt. 1996, pp 174,175 & A. Sreedharamenon, op cit, pp 228, 229.

17. C. M. Augur, Church History of Travancore, Kottayam, 1902, pp 7, 8, 9.

18. P. Cheriyan, op cit, p 68 & Missionary Register from 1818 to 1817, pp 101-115

19. It is because of the pull caused through the coir rope the Cross curved down. In Malayalam Coonan mean curved or bent. The meaning is “Oath of Bent Cross”.

20. Rg Vedic messages of “eakam sat vipra bahutavatanthi” the centre of Hindu religious approach. See, P. Parameswaran, Hindutva Ideology – Unique and Universal, Chennai, 2000, p 7.

21. “Education is an integral part of our mission to proclaim the Good News to every creature”. See C.M.I Vision of Education, [A policy statement published by Carmelite of Mary Immaculate] Cochin, 1991, pp 1, 6.

22. Paul, the Apostle of Christ, The Acts of the Apostles, New Testament, Chapter XVII, Aphorism: 22.

23. See Economic Times, 19 May 2003

24. See K.C. Zachariah & others, Study, report published in ‘The new Indian Express’, Kochi, 22 July 2003.

25. K. C. Zachria & S. Irudayarajan, CDS Study, New Indian Express, Kochi, 16^th July 2004

26. Kerala Padanam, Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad, Kozhikode, 2006, p 54. [Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad is a Marxist party organization.].

27. K. C. Zachariah, CDS Study, report: The New Indian Express, Cochin, 16^th July 2004.

28. Kerala Padanam, op cit, p 54

Orissa VHP leader’s hunger strike enters second day

IANS
First Published : 21 Oct 2008 09:56:00 PM ISTLast Updated : 22 Oct 2008 01:16:15 AM IST

BHUBANESWAR: A hunger strike by a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader here demanding arrest of those behind the killing of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati entered the second day Tuesday.

Senior leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) including national vice president Jual Oram and state president Suresh Pujari went to the venue of the protest and extended their support to Swami Jeevan Chaitanya, a VHP central advisory committee member, who is on fast.
Swami Jeevan Chaitanya and 70 other Hindu saints have been protesting here with a charter of five demands.

“We want the arrest of all those who killed Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and those who conspired in the crime,” Swami Jeevan Chaitanya told IANS.

“Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati had named two persons prior to his killing and had said they were after his life. We want their immediate arrest,” he said.

Swami Laxmanananda, a VHP leader, and four of his aides were killed in their Jaleshpata ashram Aug 23. The murders led to violence in Kandhmal district in which 36 people have been killed and more than 20,000 people have been rendered homeless.

While Maoist guerrillas have claimed responsibility for the killings, Hindu groups hold Christians responsible for the crime. Christians and their places of worship have faced large-scale attacks.

Hindu seers demand security for Orissa temples, priests

20 Oct 2008, 1358 hrs IST,

IANS JAGATSINGHPUR: A group of Hindu seers has demanded increased security at temples and for priests in Orissa as they fear more attacks against the c ommunity, especially after the killing of a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader that led to widespread communal violence in the state. A Christian group, meanwhile, pointed out that the communal violence had been aimed against Christians and not against Hindus. “Swami Laxamananda Saraswati (of the VHP) and four of his aides were killed by unidentified gunmen on August 23. All the people involved in the murder have not yet been arrested. They may carry out attacks on other Hindu religious places and priests,” Swami Arupananda, president of the Nikhil Utkal Math-Mandiradhish Sevasangha, said here, around 120 km from state capital Bhubaneswar. "But no one has yet shown sympathy to Hindus especially tribal, their temples and their places of worships. No security is provided to the over 40,000 temples across the state and its priests and saints. The state government should take steps to protect them," he said on Sunday, adding that Hindu seers felt threatened after the killing of Saraswati. Kandhamal district, some 200 km from here, has been witnessing communal violence after the killing of Saraswati and four others by unidentified gunmen at his Jalespata Ashram. Maoist rebels have claimed responsibility for the murder, but some Hindu groups held Christians responsible for it, despite repeated denials by Christian organisations. At least 36 people have been killed in the violence and thousands of Christians have been rendered homeless. More than 20,000 people, most of them Christians, have taken shelter in private and government relief camps after their houses were torched by rampaging Hindu mobs. Thousands of Hindu tribals have, meanwhile, taken shelter in forests fearing arrest. There has been no report of any Hindu place of worship or any priest being attacked during the violence. Sajan K George, president of the Global council of Indian Christians (GCIC), pointed out that most of the victims in Kandhamal are Christians. "There seems to be a larger conspiracy behind the attack on Christians and that needs to be investigated," he said. "All Christian organisations have condemned the killing of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati but we are totally dismayed at the ongoing attacks on Christians, their houses and institutions that continue unabated in Orissa and other parts of the country," George said. The police in Kandhamal said that on Saturday night, a Hindu man was critically injured after some miscreants fired at him in a remote village under Katingia police station. The houses of a Hindu and a Christian were torched in G. Udayagiri area the same night, police said. Officials said curfew has been lifted since Friday night in many part of the district as normalcy is gradually returning to the region.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Hindu_seers_demand_security_for_Orissa_temples_priests/articleshow/3618789.cms

Kandhamal violence: Probe begins

IANS
First Published : 19 Oct 2008 08:58:00 PM IST
Last Updated : 19 Oct 2008 01:35:58 AM IST

PHULBANI: A one-man judicial commission Saturday began its probe into the killing of a Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader in Orissa's Kandhamal district that sparked communal violence in the state in which at least 36 people were killed and thousands of homes were torched, an official said.

Justice S.C. Mohapatra, a retired judge of the Orissa High Court appointed last month by the state government, visited Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati's Jalespata ashram in Kandhamal district and held discussions with the ashram inmates, a district official said.

Kandhamal district, some 200 km from the state capital Bhubaneswar, witnessed communal violence after the killing of Saraswati and his aides at the Jalespata Ashram Aug 23.

At least 36 people, mostly Christians, were killed and thousands of homes burnt in the district during the violence in the past weeks.

Over 20,000 people, mainly Christians, have taken shelter in private and government relief camps after their houses were torched by rampaging Hindu mobs.
("rampaging Hindu mobs" is a secularist cliche - Tamil Brahmins)

Officials said curfew was lifted Friday night in parts of the region as normalcy is gradually returning to the area.

Curfew had been imposed in areas under the district's nine police stations and prohibitory orders under Section 144 that bans the assembly of four or more people was clamped across the district.

"We lifted curfew in four police station areas and Section 144 in most parts of the district on Friday night as the situation has improved and there has been no violence over the past two weeks," District Collector Krishan Kumar told IANS.

Now, prohibitory orders will remain in force in areas under five police stations.

End harassment of Kandhas: Ashram

October 20, 2008
Express News Service
First Published : 20 Oct 2008 10:35:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 20 Oct 2008 01:15:11 PM IST

BHUBANESWAR: Alleging that security forces have unleashed a reign of terror in Kandhamal district, Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, a Sangh Parivar outfit working for the welfare of the tribals, today urged the State Government to stop mid-night arrest of innocent people.

While male members of many ‘Kandha’ households in the district have fled to forests fearing arrests, security personnel are conducting midnight raids without the presence of lady police and misbehaving with women members, general secretary of Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (VKA) Laxmikanta Dash told mediapersons here.

A mother of two children, Pulima Mallick of Pajaimaha village under Raikia police station, said her husband is living in jungles for over a month fearing arrest, though not a single house of ‘Pana’ Christians in her village was damaged.

With tears, Pramila Pradhan, widow of a policeman, narrated how her mentally retarded son was brutally assaulted by the security forces although he is totally innocent.

Pramila belongs to Sisapanga village under Raikia police limits.

‘‘We are living in constant fear and unable to sleep at night fearing police raid,’’ they said. Sound of a vehicle scared the villagers and people started running to jungles apprehending arrest.
Citing several instances, Dash alleged that tribal women were molested by CRPF personnel.
While police refused to register complaints of tribal women, the complainants were threatened with arrest if they pursue to lodge FIRs. Police are arresting ‘Kandhas’ on the basis of information provided by ‘Pana’ Christians. Most of the time, Christians are accompanying them in police uniform and voters’ list has formed the basis of arrest, Dash alleged.

On October 3, police raided several houses in Beheragoan and tortured women. Two minor girls of Gaonala village of Gagaguda gram panchayat under Udaygiri police limits were picked up after their mother was mercilessly beaten up. Father of the two girls has fled the village, Dash said.
The two girls were kept in the CRPF custody that night and forwarded to court the next day.
The villagers’ demand for medical examination of the two girls were ignored.

Although several women in various parts of the district were treated very shabbily by the security forces, they are not coming out with details out of shame and fear, he added.

Dash today submitted a memorandum to the State Human Rights Commission alleging violation of human rights of innocent tribals in Kandhamal district.

Comments to the above report:

What better behaviour can be expected from those who worship imported Gandhis instead of indigenous Gandhi?Not a single media - both print and TV reported this because of foreign money. Even after the naxalites admited having killed the swamiji because of the pressure brought in by christians and money given to them to train a group of locals to kill the swamiji. No Hindu victim can voice heir grievances through media. That is the freedom we enjoy. The matter will be suppressed by the media on the lines of the Nandigram killings and rapes. After all, Americans and christians supported the incident without demanding any action against the culprits. The christian priests will never demand any action but argue as emotional outbursts to justify the crime.By R.Subramanian10/20/2008 3:06:00 PM

Such sad state of affair in a secular country like India. Media should stop acting like a stooge to minorities and report atrocities againt tribals and hindus as front page stories Stop potraying minority community as victims they are not!By Adarsh10/20/2008 1:29:00

PMhttp://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=End+harassment+of+Kandhas:+Ashram&artid=lZ556AEetYQ=&SectionID=mvKkT3vj5ZA=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=nUFeEOBkuKw=&SEO=

Revelations put nun’s life in danger

G Rajiv
First Published : 17 Oct 2008 02:00:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 17 Oct 2008 03:33:13 PM IST

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A nun’s life is under threat following her revelations about the alleged abortions performed on nuns and the "limitless"’ affairs the priests were having with nuns of the Congregation of Daughters of Mary Convent, Anchal.

Following a complaint from the nephew of this nun, the State Women’s Commission member P.K.Sainaba met the nun at a mental hospital in Thodupuzha.

Her nephew has alleged that she has been forcibly admitted to the mental hospital by the Convent authorities.

The complaint makes an even more serious charge that one of the nuns of the congregation, Sister Serenna Jacob, had committed suicide unable to bear the trauma.

Now the State Women’s Commission has sought the urgent intervention of the Health and Home Ministers in the issue. In a report submitted to the Ministers, the Commission said: "If things continue like this we fear that the life of the nun is in danger." In her statement given to the Women’s Commission member, the nun said: "My hands and legs were tied up and I was forcibly given anaesthesia and then I was taken to the mental hospital. I am given 18 tablets a day now for making me mentally weak." She narrated all that had happened in the convent and told the Women’s Commission member that she was ready to repeat all that she had said in the court.

The nun pleaded that she be rescued from the clutches of the convent authorities.
The 60-year-old nun has been with this congregation for the past 43 years and she had complained to her relative over phone on August 17 that she was being mentally and physically tortured by the convent authorities.

However, according to the nun’s nephew, the very next day the nun’s relatives and her brother received a call from the convent authorities seeking permission to admit her to a psychiatric hospital. Sister Lilly Thomas Paikada, Mother-Provincial, had termed the nun as extremely abnormal.

"Her sharp criticism about the abortions carried out on some sisters and her questioning about the limitless affairs with sisters and priests made the authorities violent and was the reason behind their decision to give psychiatric treatment with the intention to make it seem that her statements were meaningless and baseless," the complaint to the Women’s Commission says.

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Revelations+put+nun%E2%80%99s+life+in+danger&artid=9i39XP7mgj8=&SectionID=lMx/b5mt1kU=&MainSectionID=lMx/b5mt1kU=&SEO=P.K.Sainaba,+nuns,+Kerala,+abortions,+suicide&SectionName=tm2kh5uDhixGlQvAG42A/07OVZOOEmts

Conversations with foreign-funded charity

Sudheendra Kulkarni Posted online: Oct 12, 2008
Has the time come for the Government to set up a National Commission to investigate religious conversions in India? Certainly. Let the Nation know how many conversions have taken place from—and into—Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism and other faiths since 1947. Let the commission throw light on the districts where, and how, significant changes in religious demography have taken place, and whether conversions have created resentment and social disharmony in their wake.

An unbiased commission would reveal three irrefutable facts: (1) Christianity accounts for the largest number of converts; (2) Christian organisations conduct service activities—schools, hospitals, poverty-alleviation programmes, relief during calamities, etc.—with exemplary dedication and professionalism. However, some of them, though not all, make the conversion agenda a part of their seva agenda; (3) Foreign funds supporting these charitable activities have greatly aided conversions.

Take, for example, the following information, pertaining to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), available on the website of the Union Home Ministry. During 2005-06, Rs 7,877 crore was received by way of foreign donations to various NGOs, up from Rs 5,105 crore in 2003-04. Tamil Nadu (Rs 1,610 crore) and Andhra Pradesh (Rs 1,011 crore) were among the highest recipients. The highest foreign donors were Gospel Fellowship Trust USA (Rs 229 crore), Gospel for Asia (Rs 137 crore), Foundation Vincent E Ferrer, Spain (Rs 104.23 crores) and Christian Aid, UK (Rs 80.16 crores). The largest recipients were World Vision (Rs 256 crore), Caritas India (Rs 193 crore), Rural Development Trust Andhra Pradesh (Rs 127 crore), Churches Auxiliary for Social Action (Rs. 95.88 crores) and Gospel For Asia (Rs. 58.29 crore). The funds received by some of these organisations have trebled or quadrupled in just three years since the formation of the UPA Government.

If the official Christian population in India is barely 3 per cent, why do Christian NGOs receive the largest share of foreign funds? From Christian organisations that are known to support evangelism in many Asian countries?

In my travels in Karnataka, my home state, I have seen significant conversions to Christianity having taken place in recent years wherever World Vision and other foreign-funded NGOs started their charitable activities. Kannada newspapers in the past few weeks have carried graphic accounts of how proselytisation is packaged with charity, especially targeting vulnerable sections of society. There is resentment in Assam against World Vision's flood-relief operations in Majuli, a large island in the Brahmaputra and a sacred seat of the Vaishnava monastery of Sankara Deva, the great reformist saint.

Tripura is one of the Indian states where, as the CPI(M) Chief Minister Manik Sarkar has himself acknowledged, the foreign-funded Baptist church supports subversive activities, including the conversion of tribals. The church-backed separatist outfit, National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), gunned down 16 Hindus at a marketplace in West Tripura district on January 13, 2002, on the eve of Makar Sankranti, an incident that went largely uncommented by the national media.

The Internet has many reports about Buddhist resentment against World Vision and other evangelical bodies operating in Mongolia, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar and even Tibet, "using unethical methods, under the guise of being charitable organisations, to buy converts in Asia". The Australian, a leading newspaper of Australia, reported on December 24, 2005: "Tensions between Muslims and Western aid workers have begun to erupt in Aceh as the tsunami-devastated Indonesian province (where 170,000 people died) slowly recovers. Islamic activists have claimed that aid workers are secretly attempting to convert Muslims to Christianity, pointing particularly to World Vision, the International Catholic Mission and Church World Service."

Lt Col A.S. Amarasekera, a Sri Lankan Buddhist activist, has expressed the following fear: "While everyone is focusing their minds on the LTTE problem, we Sinhalese Buddhists are pitted against another force as dangerous: the dangers that the Sinhalese Buddhist way of life will have to face due to conversions in the near future. What happened in South Korea, where the 80 per cent Buddhist population was reduced to 18 per cent in five decades, will be repeated here¿ It (is) proved beyond reasonable doubt that World Vision, an American-funded Christian evangelical organisation, was surreptitiously trying to convert Sinhalese Buddhists into Christianity."

The recent attacks on churches in Orissa and elsewhere have been justifiably condemned by all patriotic individuals. However, as I stated in my column last week, a distinction must be made between a violent campaign against our Christian brethren and a non-violent, democratic campaign against organised conversions using foreign funds. I happened to participate in a remarkable inter-religion conference on conversions organised by the Vatican in collaboration with the World Council of Churches, Geneva, a Protestant body, in Lariano (Italy) in May 2006. Let me mention here some of the recommendations in a report unanimously adopted by the conference.

• "While everyone has a right to invite others to an understanding of their faith, it should not be exercised by violating other's rights and religious sensibilities. At the same time, all should heal themselves from the obsession of converting others."

• "Freedom of religion enjoins upon all of us the equally non-negotiable responsibility to respect faiths other than our own, and never to denigrate, vilify or misrepresent them for the purpose of affirming superiority of our faith."

• "Errors have been perpetrated and injustice committed by the adherents of every faith. Therefore, it is incumbent on every community to conduct honest self-critical examination of its historical conduct as well as its doctrinal/theological precepts. Such self-criticism and repentance should lead to necessary reforms inter alia on the issue of conversion."

• "A particular reform that we would commend to practitioners and establishments of all faiths is to ensure that conversion by 'unethical' means are discouraged and rejected by one and all. There should be transparency in the practice of inviting others to one's faith."

• "While deeply appreciating humanitarian work by faith communities, we feel that it should be conducted without any ulterior motives. In the area of humanitarian service in times of need, what we can do together, we should not do separately."

• "No faith organisation should take advantage of vulnerable sections of society, such as children and the disabled."

• "We see the need for and usefulness of a continuing exercise to collectively evolve a 'code of conduct' on conversion, which all faiths should follow."

Why shouldn't there be a sustained and sincere all-religion debate in India on an anti-conversion law in the spirit of the above recommendations?

Write to: sudheenkulkarni@gmail.com