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Christian leaders offer to talk to VHP, BJP

Major Christian organisations today said they are ready to enter into a dialogue with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bharatiya Janata Party on the issue of "forced conversions", and added that they are ready to rectify such conversions if any such real incidents are brought to their notice.

These remarks were made at a press conference in New Delhi addressed by representatives of the National Council of Churches in India, the Churches of North India, the Churches of South India, and the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India.

They said a 10-member team had visited the areas where attacks on Christians took place and brought out a report.

The team comprised Dr K K A Rajaratnam, Rev Vinod A R Peter, Dr J A Oliver, John Hanchimani, Rev Ipe Joseph, Rev Dr Prasanna Kumari, Rev Dr Samuel Meshak, the Rt Rev Vinod Kumar, John Dayal, and Shailesh.

The team quoted Deputy Inspector General of Police O P Mathur and Collector B N Joshi of Dangs district as having said that "there have been no formal complaints of forced conversions or any attempts [to do so] from the Christian communities in the area".

They said the allegation of forced conversions is part of the 'premeditated agenda' of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to malign Christian missionaries who are providing basic education, health care and an awareness of people's rights in the remote tribal areas.

Besides, they said, the term 'missionaries' is being used by the VHP and the Bajrang Dal to mislead the public into believing that foreign agents are forcibly converting local people. They pointed out that no foreigner is allowed a visa for missionary work in India.

"Forced conversion is a sin," they said, but wanted to know why all these issues had cropped up after the BJP came to power in Gujarat and the Centre.

The team's report indicted the Gujarat government for its "support" to Hindu fundamentalists and urged Governor Anshuman Singh to exercise his constitutional responsibility of ensuring proper functioning of the state machinery.

They took strong exception to the VHP and Bajrang Dal explaining away the attacks on Christians as a "patriotic reaction" of the youth and asked if the community is considered anti-national or unpatriotic.

The team members' separate memoranda to the President and the prime minister sought their personal intervention to stop the violence. They also demanded that the state government pay compensation for the damage to places of worship and institutions and promote measures to set in motion the peace process.

UNI

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