India Pastor Jailed For Converting Hindus, Corpse Exhumed
Friday, March 19, 2010 (9:43 am)
By Santosh Digal, BosNewsLife Asia Correspondent
NEW DELHI, INDIA (BosNewsLife)-- Police in India's southern state Karnataka detained a pastor for "forcing" Hindus "to convert" to Christianity, while Hindu extremists exhumed a Christian's dead body saying it "contaminated" a cemetery's soil, evangelical leaders confirmed Friday, March 19.
Pastor M. S. Valsalan of the Bethesda Assembly of God Church was taken into police custody near the port city of Mangalore, under pressure of dozens of Hindu militants and the hard-line Bharatiya Janata Party, said the influential Christian umbrella group Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI).
Some thirty Hindu militants accusing Valsalan of "forceful conversions" had stormed a church member's house visited by the pastor and his family, before turning him over to police, according to local Christians.
"Police arrived on the spot and took the pastor to the station for questioning and later arrested him under Sections 295 (A) and 34 of the Indian Penal Code", EFI General Secretary Richard Howell told BosNewsLife."The pastor was sent to the central jail in Mangalore."
It was not immediately clear if and when the pastor would be released on bail, pending trial. The advocacy group Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) said on its affiliated Website persecution.in it was "in touch with the police officials to get the pastor released as early as possible."
ANTI-CONVERSION POLICIES
Several states in India have implemented anti-conversion policies, but human rights groups say they have been misused to target minority Christians and to settle personal disputes.
The detention came as elsewhere in Karnataka, some "150 Hindu extremists" were seen digging out the dead body of a Christian and dumped it Wednesday, March 17, about three kilometers (two miles) away from the cemetery in the town of Arsikere, said Walter Maben, chairman of mission group Karnataka Mission Network.
It happened soon after the funeral procession of 50-year-old Isaac, a member of St. Thomas Church, he explained.
"The Hindu radicals forcefully entered into the cemetery, exhumed the body, and tossed it into a tractor while reprimanding the Christians to carry the dead body instead to Rome or America. They said the dead body of a Christian may contaminate the soil," Maben added.
MOURNERS UPSET
Mourners apparently pleaded with the extremists "to spare the dead body" and ran after the truck. The Christians managed to take hold of the body and reported the matter to police, Maben told BosNewsLife.
"However, police advised the Christians to remain silent about the incident and to bury the dead body in another cemetery, to avoid further attacks from the extremists. The body was buried in the Church of South India cemetery at midnight, one kilometer away from the [original] St. Thomas cemetery," he added.
The latest incidents in Karnataka come amid concerns among law enforcement officials that Hindu militants may prepare more violence against Christians in southern India.
In a related development in the southern state of Orrisa police on Friday, March 18, detained the leader of the nationalist group Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), or World Hindu Council, Praveen Togadia, for attempting to enter riot-hit Kandhamal district.
MORE VIOLENCE
Authorities and church leaders said there was concern his visit could spark new violence in the area, where over 100 people died in anti-Christian violence since December 2007.
Most bloodshed happened in the region in August, 2008, when Hindu mobs in Orissa's Kandhamal District attacked churches and Christian homes. The violence broke out after the killing of a Hindu leader. Although Maoist fighters reportedly claimed responsibility, Hindus blamed Christians.
Togadia was released Saturday, March 19, but VHP said it would plan massive strikes and protests this weekend against the brief detention.
The tensions come at a time when Hindu groups are increasingly vocal against what they view as attempts by active Christians, including church leaders and missionaries, to convert people to Christianity in this predominantly Hindu nation of over one billion people.
Church groups say there is growing interest in Christianity among India's Dalits, the 'lowest' caste in the country's ancient system of Hinduism. There are believed to be about 170 million Dalits, roughly Brazil's population. (With additional reporting by BosNewsLife Special Correspondent Ajay Kumar Singh from India. Editing by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos).
Christians are a minority in India and can face persecution, rights groups say. Via BBC News
NEW DELHI, INDIA (BosNewsLife)-- Police in India's southern state Karnataka detained a pastor for "forcing" Hindus "to convert" to Christianity, while Hindu extremists exhumed a Christian's dead body saying it "contaminated" a cemetery's soil, evangelical leaders confirmed Friday, March 19.
Pastor M. S. Valsalan of the Bethesda Assembly of God Church was taken into police custody near the port city of Mangalore, under pressure of dozens of Hindu militants and the hard-line Bharatiya Janata Party, said the influential Christian umbrella group Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI).
Some thirty Hindu militants accusing Valsalan of "forceful conversions" had stormed a church member's house visited by the pastor and his family, before turning him over to police, according to local Christians.
"Police arrived on the spot and took the pastor to the station for questioning and later arrested him under Sections 295 (A) and 34 of the Indian Penal Code", EFI General Secretary Richard Howell told BosNewsLife."The pastor was sent to the central jail in Mangalore."
It was not immediately clear if and when the pastor would be released on bail, pending trial. The advocacy group Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) said on its affiliated Website persecution.in it was "in touch with the police officials to get the pastor released as early as possible."
ANTI-CONVERSION POLICIES
Several states in India have implemented anti-conversion policies, but human rights groups say they have been misused to target minority Christians and to settle personal disputes.
The detention came as elsewhere in Karnataka, some "150 Hindu extremists" were seen digging out the dead body of a Christian and dumped it Wednesday, March 17, about three kilometers (two miles) away from the cemetery in the town of Arsikere, said Walter Maben, chairman of mission group Karnataka Mission Network.
It happened soon after the funeral procession of 50-year-old Isaac, a member of St. Thomas Church, he explained.
"The Hindu radicals forcefully entered into the cemetery, exhumed the body, and tossed it into a tractor while reprimanding the Christians to carry the dead body instead to Rome or America. They said the dead body of a Christian may contaminate the soil," Maben added.
MOURNERS UPSET
Mourners apparently pleaded with the extremists "to spare the dead body" and ran after the truck. The Christians managed to take hold of the body and reported the matter to police, Maben told BosNewsLife.
"However, police advised the Christians to remain silent about the incident and to bury the dead body in another cemetery, to avoid further attacks from the extremists. The body was buried in the Church of South India cemetery at midnight, one kilometer away from the [original] St. Thomas cemetery," he added.
The latest incidents in Karnataka come amid concerns among law enforcement officials that Hindu militants may prepare more violence against Christians in southern India.
In a related development in the southern state of Orrisa police on Friday, March 18, detained the leader of the nationalist group Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), or World Hindu Council, Praveen Togadia, for attempting to enter riot-hit Kandhamal district.
MORE VIOLENCE
Authorities and church leaders said there was concern his visit could spark new violence in the area, where over 100 people died in anti-Christian violence since December 2007.
Most bloodshed happened in the region in August, 2008, when Hindu mobs in Orissa's Kandhamal District attacked churches and Christian homes. The violence broke out after the killing of a Hindu leader. Although Maoist fighters reportedly claimed responsibility, Hindus blamed Christians.
Togadia was released Saturday, March 19, but VHP said it would plan massive strikes and protests this weekend against the brief detention.
The tensions come at a time when Hindu groups are increasingly vocal against what they view as attempts by active Christians, including church leaders and missionaries, to convert people to Christianity in this predominantly Hindu nation of over one billion people.
Church groups say there is growing interest in Christianity among India's Dalits, the 'lowest' caste in the country's ancient system of Hinduism. There are believed to be about 170 million Dalits, roughly Brazil's population. (With additional reporting by BosNewsLife Special Correspondent Ajay Kumar Singh from India. Editing by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos).
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March 20th, 2010 at 10:08 am
pastor valvan should be released immediately because in Christianity nothing like force to change your faith, those hindus accepted the christain faith from their own mind
March 20th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
The same old slogan “forced conversion” is a political strategy of the BJP and other sister
organizations. Nobody is forcing anybody to convert. How people can be forced to
convert? If I tell somebody about Jesus and the way of happiness to follow, is that
forced conversion? Anyway, thousands of Hindus are coming to follow Jesus Christ,
and the BJP is chronically singing the same old song ” forced conversion”.
March 21st, 2010 at 12:12 pm
There are many extreme religions in the world. Viewing the articles concerning this subject, it appears that the missionary movement is part of the problem. While Islam wants all to covert to their teachings, the Christian groups have missionaries in countries like India, hoping to covert a few. Time to realize that reglion in itself, is the problem on the world stage. Whether Christian, Muslim, Hindu, etc, each religion seems to believe that they are the true religion. Western countries should withdraw their missionaries, withdraw aid to these countries, withdraw totally. Many will argue that the world is to “connected” to perform an action such as this, but what gain is there to continue a dialogue, when ignorance in these countries is the order of the day. These countries should be left alone, let them destroy themselves, just let them be. These folks cannot be forced to change, they will not change. As the worlds population increases, with the increase in poverty, the only solution will be a few countries in the world, who have an environment, in which they chose to consider their own fate, rather than worry about nations who will in the end, destroy themselves anyway.
March 21st, 2010 at 12:55 pm
There are many extreme religions in the world. Viewing the articles concerning this subject, it appears that the missionary movement is part of the problem. While Islam wants all to covert to their teachings, the Christian groups have missionaries in countries like India, hoping to covert a few. Time to realize that reglion in itself, is the problem on the world stage. Whether Christian, Muslim, Hindu, etc, each religion seems to believe that they are the true religion. Western countries should withdraw their missionaries, withdraw aid to these countries, withdraw totally. Many will argue that the world is to “connected” to perform an action such as this, but what gain is there to continue a dialogue, when ignorance in these countries is the order of the day. These countries should be left alone, let them destroy themselves, just let them be. These folks cannot be forced to change, they will not change. As the worlds population increases, with the increase in poverty, the only solution will be a few countries in the world, who have an environment, in which they chose to consider their own fate, rather than worry about nations who will in the end, destroy themselves anyway.
March 22nd, 2010 at 10:49 am
I don’t think that you could prove a “forced” conversion. If these people choose to become Christians they will probably be beaten, abused, kicked out of their family, house or village. They will be ostrisized and possibly even killed. Knowing what they will face; why would any choose to become Chrstian? Maybe there is something that goes beyond suffering that they can not find anywhere else. True Hope.
March 24th, 2010 at 7:38 am
Any human being should be allowed to practise his or her religious belief and focuse attention into something productive. I just happend to read take dead bodies to Rome or America. Millions of Indians live in US practicse there religious belief with no restriction they build temples spread there belief live and work freely. Hindu saints visit US to make and collect money. Millions of dollars are send back to India to build temples and support political parties. America is not a christain nation. This is a country people of different faith, culture, nationality live together freely. Can India be the same.
March 31st, 2010 at 12:55 pm
The persecution of Christians reflects the hypocritical and stagnant ideologies of an stagnant nation.
We in the West will not tolerate this and India will have to pay dearly for it’s newly found Anti-Christian image.
You’re not fooling anyone India.
April 17th, 2010 at 5:29 am
hioll pastor , may name nasir masih, I am pakistan , I love you pastor you E – mail and name , ok pastor,
April 18th, 2010 at 9:40 pm
Hello, I really love the design of your site. What theme are you using?
May 20th, 2010 at 4:39 am
ooohh, Good article Thank you so much
July 10th, 2010 at 2:13 am
the hypocritical and stagnant ideologies of an stagnant nation may be a little harsh!