Vishal Arora
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Christians Face 1,000 Attacks in 500 Days in India
Christians Face 1,000 Attacks in 500 Days in Karnataka, India Minority Christians in southern Karnataka state are under an unprecedented wave of Christian persecution, having faced more than 1,000 attacks in 500 days, according to an independent investigation by a former judge of the Karnataka High Court.
The spate began on Sept. 14, 2008, when at least 12 churches were attacked in one day in Karnataka's Mangalore city, in Dakshina Kannada district, said Justice Michael Saldanha, former judge of the Karnataka High Court.
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Attacks in Punjab, India, Similar to Orissa Mayhem, Report Says
Attacks on Christians last month in India's Punjab state following protests against banners depicting Jesus drinking and smoking were eerily similar to the anti-Christian violence in Orissa state in 2007 and 2008, according to a fact-finding mission.
"I was struck by the similarities between the attacks in northern Punjab state and the violence in eastern Orissa state in 2007 and 2008," said John Dayal, a member of the All India Christian Council (AICC) fact-finding mission, which released the report yesterday.
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Church Bomber in Nepal Repents, Admits India Link
Disillusioned with Hindu nationalists, the leader of a militant Hindu extremist group says contact with Christians in prison led him to repent of bombing a Catholic church in Kathmandu, Nepal, in May 2008.
Ram Prasad Mainali, the 37-year-old chief of the Nepal Defense Army (NDA), was arrested on Sept. 5 for exploding a bomb in the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption, in the Lalitpur area of Kathmandu on May 23. The explosion killed a teenager and a newly married woman from India's Bihar state and injured more than a dozen others.
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Christmas Season Attacks Worry Christians in India
hristmas Season Attacks Worry Christians in India With at least two violent attacks and alleged "reconversion" of more than 1,700 Christians in the week leading up to Christmas, a sense of fear is growing among India's minority Christian community.
On Sunday, Hindu extremists attacked a church during worship in western Maharashtra state's Sindhudurg district and a Christmas exhibition in Gwalior city in central Madhya Pradesh state. The following day, extremists claimed having converted over 1,700 tribal (aboriginal) Christians "back" to Hinduism in western Gujarat state.
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Official Names Hindu Nationalist Groups in Orissa Violence
The ruling party of Orissa state, which labeled last year's mayhem in Kandhamal district as "ethnic violence," has publicly admitted that Hindu nationalist groups were behind the killings and arson of Christians and their property.
"It is learnt from the investigation into the riot cases that the members of the RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh], the VHP [World Hindu Council] and the Bajrang Dal were involved in the violence that took place last year," Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik told the state legislative assembly last month.
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Massive ‘Reconversion’ Event in India Aimed at Christians
Hundreds of tribal Christians and adherents of aboriginal religion from villages in Maharashtra state were reportedly "reconverted" to Hinduism Monday in the Mumbai suburb of Thane at a ceremony led by a Hindu nationalist cleric.
Swami Narendra Maharaj's goal was to "reconvert" 6,000 Christians in the so-called purification ceremony, reported The Hindustan Times, which put the number of "reconversions" at around 800. Hindu nationalists believe all Indians are born Hindu and therefore regard acceptance of Hinduism by those practicing other religions as "reconversion."
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Police Collusion Seen in ‘Forced Conversion’ Complaints
Hostilities Flare in BJP-Run Madhya Pradesh, India Hindu extremist groups in collusion with the state police filed an average of more than three baseless complaints of "coerced" conversions per month in the past five years—shortly after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power—according to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Madhya Pradesh.
"I have gathered information from all the districts of the state, according to which the number of [forced or fraudulent] conversion complaints against Christians in the last five years is over 180," the Rev. Anand Muttungal, spokesman for the state's Catholic body, told Compass Direct News.
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Christians Concerned Over Acquittals in India Violence
Only 24 people have been convicted a year after anti-Christian mayhem took place in India's Orissa state, while the number of acquittals has risen to 95, compounding the sense of helplessness and frustration among surviving Christians.
Dr. John Dayal, secretary general of the All India Christian Council, called the trials "a travesty of justice."
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Officials in India on Defensive at ‘Watch List’ Designation
Ahead of one-year remembrances of massive anti-Christian violence in the eastern state of Orissa, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has put India on its "Watch List" for the country's violations of religious freedom, evoking strong reactions from the Indian government.
USCIRF Chairman Leonard Leo said in a statement on Aug. 12 that it was "extremely disappointing" that India "has done so little to protect and bring justice to its religious minorities under siege."
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