INDIA: GUJURAT: CONCERNS OVER RECENT ATTACKS ON CHRISTIANS скачать в хорошем качестве

INDIA: GUJURAT: CONCERNS OVER RECENT ATTACKS ON CHRISTIANS

(9 Jan 1999) Hindi/English/Nat India's President K. R Narayanan has written to the Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to express his concern over a recent spate of attacks on Christians in the western state of Gujurat. Over the last two weeks, 18 churches, prayer halls and Christian schools were attacked by mobs in the state, attacks which Vajpayee says are part of a conspiracy by right-wing Hindu groups to discredit and overthrow the government. Militant Hindus accuse missionaries of forcibly converting Hindus, which the Christians have denied. Former Indian Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda has visited the area in an attempt to root out the causes of the violence. In a lull in the violence, officials in Gujurat are counting the cost of two weeks of religious attacks in the state. Many Christian churches have been burnt or damaged. And opposition politicians like the former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda are visiting the area. He's called for the state government to be dismissed. Like many, he's talking to local residents to find out what lies at the root of the violence. SOUNDBITE: (English) "Ask him when these 17 families were converted to Christianity." SUPERCAPTION: H. D. Deve Gowda, former Prime Minister of India After one incident, attacks flared up across the state. In western Gujarat state, 18 Christian churches, prayer halls and schools have been attack by militant Hindu mobs. The state is governed by the party of the Prime Minister, the Bharatiya Janata Party, or B-J-P. Others, like opposition Congress Party leader Sonja Gandhi, have said the B-J-P should be dismissed if it cannot control the violence. Concerned observers like H.D. Deve Gowda are left baffled by the new conflict. SOUNDBITE: (English) "Since from 8 years there was nothing, why all of a sudden was this problem?" SUPERCAPTION: H. D. Deve Gowda, former Prime Minister of India Security has been increased at Christian places of worship and schools across the area. The local police chief said the violence took everyone by surprise. SOUNDBITE: (English) "This incident is the first incident of its kind as far as Dangs is concerned. This has been a relatively crime free area of the state. Gujurat as such is peaceful from a crime point of view. Dangs is one of the most peaceful areas of Gujurat." SUPERCAPTION: Manoj Sashidhar, District Superintendant of Police, Dangs Government investigators have blamed right-wing Hindu groups for the violence against Christians. The B-J-P has criticised the attacks, but refused to consider a ban on the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, or World Hindu Council, and the Bajrang Dal, two groups accused of orchestrating the attacks. More than 140 people have been arrested by local police. But the level of fear is so high that many Hindus who had converted to Christianity are gathering in Hindu prayer halls to convert back for their own safety. SOUNDBITE: (Gujurati) "I became Hindu because my villagers said if I do not become Hindu there would be problems for me later -- that I should change my religion to save my family from attacks." SUPERCAPTION: Tulsai K. Gawli, recently converted back to Hinduism This missionary-run school in the village of Subir was damaged in one of the attacks. The school is for a mixture of Christian and Hindu pupils from poor backgrounds. Many of the pupils are from the tribal groups in the state. Hindu hardliners have accused missionaries of trying to indoctrinate the tribal people in an attempt to convert them. The principal of the school says the reason for the attack was not political, but motivated by caste and religion. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...