Fundamentalists blamed for Spate of Christian Attacks in India

The Secretary General of the Catholics Bishops Conference of India, Bishop Percival Fernandez has commented that the recent wave of violence against Christians in India is part "of a plan led by fundamentalist groups." The statement came in an interview session whilst discussing the high level of attacks against Christians over the past month.

Fernandez told, "Practically all of these incidents of violence against Christians are masterminded by fundamentalist groups."

The wave of attacks seemed to be ignited at the end of January when Hindu activists raided a large Christian prayer rally in the Uttar Pradesh state. The activists defended their actions by saying that prayer rallies held the purpose to convert people and lure people with land, money, food and clothes.

Later in February an evangelical pastor was murdered in Karnakata after working in the region for more than 25 years.

The latest incident saw six evangelical Christians abducted and badly beaten in Kerala last week by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activists, who are also associated with the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) – the Hindu nationalist party accused of persecuting and discriminating against various religious minorities.

The spate of violent incidents against the Christian community have come despite the defeat of the BJP in the 2004 elections. Fernandez reported, "I feel that the central government that we have elected has the responsibility to help people live as brothers and sisters in this beautiful land of ours."

Fernandez continued by stating that until the government had the chance to establish this type of brothership, that the Christian community should "respect others and live in love and harmony. The more we reflect Christ's message of love and peace so well spelt out in the Gospels, the less will these incidents occur."