'Sections of X'ians torpedoing peace initiative'

By Radhakrishnan Kuttoor

PATHANAMTHITTA, JULY 9. The National Minority Commission member, Mr. John Joseph, has alleged that certain quarters in the Christian community itself are torpedoing the Commission's efforts to end the attacks on the Christians in various parts of the country.

Talking to The Hindu here today, Mr. John Joseph said that the NMC had taken the reported attacks on the Christians in all its seriousness and had been trying to initiate a dialogue between the leaders of the Christian community and the Hindu community to resolve the issue.

Besides some political motives, certain Christian quarters in the country wanted to keep the pot boiling, the NMC member alleged. He alleged that these quarters wanted flow of foreign funds by keeping alive the tension between the Christians and the Hindus in different parts of the country.

``This is the truth. I got enough proof of all these things and I'm hopeful of resolving the issues in the next few months through fruitful dialogues between the two parties,'' he added.

Mr. John Joseph said that the Centre sincerely wished to resolve the issue for ever for it had already put a black mark on the country's image among the world nations.

Reacting to the criticism on inviting the VHP and the Bajrang Dal for talks, Mr. John said that it was these organisations which were blamed by various political parties and Christian leaders for the attack on Christian missionaries in various parts of the country and a dialogue without these organisations would be of no use.

However, Mr. John said that the discussion would bear fruit after completing its different phases. He said that the final phase of discussion would be held only in the presence of both the Prime Minister and the Home Minister.

Two representatives each from the Catholic Church, the National Council of Churches in India, the Evangelist and the Pentecostal Churches would represent the Christians in the discussions, Mr. John said.

Mr. John said that the NMC had never stated that the atrocities against Christians in India were isolated ones. Instead, he and the Commission had maintained that the reported incidents of attacks on Christian missionaries and institutions at five places in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana were not actually attacks on Christians, he added.

In Mathura, neither the Christian nuns nor the priests at the Sacred Heart School had to face any atrocity in April. There was no communal issue at all and that all what happened was an altercation between the school authorities and the parents over the failure of 80 students in the school examination and a hike in the school fee. The parents had staged a dharna and the issue was resolved, later.

However, it was two parents, who were leaders of the CPI and the Congress(I), that played a key role in making the issue controversial, he alleged. Mr. John said that he was not talking against the Congress(I) or the CPI in general.

``If you can prove that the nuns and priests at the Mathura Sacred Heart School had to suffer even a small incident of atrocity in April, I shall resign from the NMC itself,'' Mr. John said.

Similarly, at Rewadi in Haryana, a nun of the local Christian ashram was hit by a speeding scooter while she was on her way to attend the Easter prayer. The scooterist fled the scene without realising what had happened and the accident too was described as an attack on the Christian missionary, Mr. John said.

However, the authorities at the Christian ashram had later confided to the NMC team that the scooterist was their own man and it was nothing but an accident as he could not see the nun on the road due to a sand storm, Mr. John said.

Mr. John said that the NMC had enough proof of what was behind the recent death of a priest at Jalandhar and it was not at all fair to blame the Hindus for each and every attacks on Christians in the country.

Mr. John said that certain developments and official revelations would shock the nation in the next few days. However, he declined to comment further on it.

Militancy among X'ians

Mr. John said that he had never stated anything on the fanaticism among Christians in Kerala. The Christian community in the State is a peace-loving community, he added. However, he said that the Christian militancy was rampant in the north-eastern States.

Mr. John said that as a member of the NMC, he was sent to Manipur a few years ago by the then Prime Minister, Mr. P. V. Narasimha Rao, to hold talks with the warring groups of Christians there.

``At that time, even the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister of Manipur had to stay back in Delhi, unable to go to their native States due to the waging militancy there. I had attended a prayer service of a Church there which was attended by about 8,000 believers. I was shocked to find that it was none but the pastor of the Church who had been chalking out `schemes' to attack the neighbouring villages and to kill innocent small children there as part of the ethnic clashes between the Christian groups there,'' Mr. John said.

He said that he would reveal more on the remaining groups of fundamentalists in India. ``The Government has already launched an exhaustive probe into it and let the Government come out with its findings,'' he added.

He said that there were attacks on Christians in India even at the time of the previous Governments and most of the Pentecostal groups were the targets then. But, now most of the attacks reported from various parts of the country were on Catholics and that was why it had been aired the world over, he added.

He said that, ``the issues will subside once the NDA is out of power.''

He said that it was sad that there was more atrocities against the National Minority Commission than the reported attack against Christians in India. ``Being a faithful Pentecost who is not supposed to utter lies, I say that I have no vested interests. My hands are clean and I sincerely wish to resolve the issues, whatever be, between the Christians and the Hindus of the country in the best interests of the nation,'' Mr. John said.

He said, ``99 per cent of the Hindus in India love and respect the Christians. But, when we keep on blaming the Hindus for each and every attacks on the Christians, there is every chance that these 99 per cent may turn against the Christians, leaving them in deep trouble''.

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