In India, Catholic Church Attacks Spark Fears Of Intimidation
Unease is rippling through India's small Christian community as vandals mar church property and raise fears that Hindu fundamentalists have interpreted government silence as a green light to pursue a campaign that places Hinduism above other religions.
The latest incident was a break-in at a Catholic church on Monday in New Delhi. The parish priest of St. Alphonsa's Church, Father Vincent Salvatore, tried to convince police it was no run-of-the-mill theft but rather a desecration.
"If they were interested in stealing, they could have ransacked the whole thing ... It is not a theft," the priest said emphatically.
To make the point, Salvatore swept his arms across a cupboard with shelves of gold-plated chalices. All were intact, he said, as were the collection boxes filled with cash. The only missing items were vessels used to preserve the Eucharist.
The latest episode comes one week after a visiting President Obama urged Indians to defend the right to freely practice their religion. Some derided the speech as patronizing. Still others praised Obama for giving voice to an issue that the Indian government has so far failed to join.
Father Mathew Koyickal, chancellor of the Catholic Archdiocese of Delhi, insisted Monday's incident was a defilement.
"They removed the Holy Eucharist," he said. "It is an attempt of desecration. The Eucharist is the core, the center of our Christian faith."
Koyickal asserted that India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not said "anything about such attacks on us," and that his silence was a source of "anguish and anxiety."
Delhi's Archbishop Anil J.T. Couto said the incidents reflected the government's "failure to give protection to minorities and their religious structures" and had fueled "fear" and "tension among different communities."
St. Alphonsa's lies amid spacious farm houses behind retaining walls protected with surveillance cameras that police are now scouring for clues.
Writer and activist Farah Naqvi says there has been a spate of incidents against Muslims, Christians and even Dalits [formerly known as untouchables in India's caste system] which have made minorities feel "insecure" and "under threat."
"The prime minister is an extremely voluble man ... yet this is a subject on which there is a deafening silence," Naqvi says.
The church ransacked Monday is named for the first women of Indian origin to be declared a saint, St. Alphonsa, a nun who was canonized in 2008. In the past two months there have been several incidents at other churches in Delhi, beginning with St. Sebastian's, which was gutted in a fire Dec. 1.
Members of the Christian community say they suspect fundamentalist Hindus determined to intimidate other faiths.
St. Alphonsa's Catholic Church was desecrated early Monday, according to the parish priest, Father Vincent Salvatore. Parishioners suspect Hindu fundamentalists in the recent spate of church attacks.
Civil liberties activist Gautam Navlakah says the election last year of Modi, a self-described Hindu nationalist, has emboldened such forces. He says Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party "seems to have galvanized their activists into launching these campaigns and attacks in different parts of the country, not just Delhi."
The issue of religious conversion has erupted with the Hindu ultra-Right rejecting the proselytizing of the Christian faith, and waging its own re-conversion campaign. For its part, Father Koyickal says the Catholic Church opposes forced conversions.
"If somebody wants to accept the faith that is his fundamental right," he says.
Navlakah says the People's Union for Democratic Rights has studied incidents of harassment of both Muslims and Christians in recent months. He says the very presence of religious minorities offends Hindu fundamentalists.
They are "seen as coming in the way of imposing a vision of a Hindu Rastra," or Hindu state.
Political scientist Zoya Hasan, a former member of the National Commission for Minorities, says, "The 19 percent of the country who are non-Hindus are routinely being told over the past six to seven months that this government has been in power, that they are actually Hindus."
Hasan says the antagonism against minority religions needs to be seen in the broader context of an attack on India's religious co-existence and secularism which is enshrined in India's constitution.
Naqvi, the writer and activist, says unless Modi addresses the issue, he undermines his principle project: "Development cannot reach people who are feeling scared. You have to have a citizenry that has full faith in the equality of the state," she says.
K.J. Alphons, a Catholic and member of Modi's ruling Party, stood in the vandalized church Monday and said the culprits were a "fringe element which is making some noises." He said he had faith that Modi would not tolerate them.
Follow NPR's Julie McCarthy on Twitter @JulieMcCarthyJM.
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Transcript
DAVID GREENE, HOST:
Vandalism aimed at several Catholic churches in Delhi has India's small Christian community on edge. Delhi's archbishop calls it a hate campaign intended to create fear and tension. From New Delhi, NPR's Julie McCarthy reports on the latest break-in, which occurred yesterday.
JULIE MCCARTHY, BYLINE: Father Vincent Salvatore, the parish priest of Saint Alphonsa Church, stands in the sacristy he says had been rummaged through, but not robbed. He says the main purpose was to vandalize the church.
VINCENT SALVATORE: If they were interested in stealing, they would have ransacked the whole thing - what's called a bag-and-go. It is not a theft.
MCCARTHY: He's sweeps his arms across a cupboard with shelves of gold-plated chalices - all untouched, as were collection boxes filled with cash. He says an aide preparing for early mass discovered the wafers used in communion, which are considered sacred, scattered beneath the tabernacle that had been flung open. The only missing items were vessels used to preserve the Eucharist.
Police took the priest's statement, and he says he had to challenge their interpretation that it was simply theft. The chancellor of the Catholic Archdiocese of Delhi, Father Mathew Koyickal, insisted it was desecration and urged the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak up.
MATHEW KOYICKAL: You know, he's our prime minister. We respect him. We honor him. But at the same time, you know, it is a matter of anguish and anxiety that he is not saying anything about, you know, such attacks on us. You know, that, you know, creates a kind of worry in us.
MCCARTHY: Delhi's Archbishop blamed the government for failing to protect religious minorities. The church is named for the first Indian to be declared a saint, Saint Alphonsa, [POST-BROADCAST CORRECTION: In the audio version of this story, we incorrectly said that St. Alphonsa was the first Indian to be declared a saint. In fact, she was the first woman of Indian origin to be declared a saint.] a nun who was canonized in 2008. The past two months have seen incidents at other churches in Delhi, beginning with Saint Sebastian's, which was gutted in a fire December 1.
Members of the Christian community say they suspect ultra-conservative Hindus determined to elevate Hinduism at the expense of other faiths. Civil liberties activist Gautam Navlakha says such forces have been emboldened since the election last year of Narendra Modi, a self-declared Hindu nationalist. Navlakha's group, the People's Union for Democratic Rights, has studied recent harassment of religious minorities, and he says their very presence offends Hindu fundamentalists.
GAUTAM NAVLAKHA: The presence of minorities itself is seen as coming in the way of imposing a vision of India that India is a Hindu nation.
MCCARTHY: Navlakha says Hindu extremists hold a special animus for Christians and Muslims, who he says are viewed as outsiders.
NAVLAKHA: It's a very racist notion which is abhorrent to the very idea which our freedom movement spoke of and we gave to ourselves through our Constitution in 1950.
MCCARTHY: The incident Monday comes one week after President Barack Obama urged Indians in a speech to the nation in a visit here to safeguard the freedom to practice their religion. Some derided the speech as patronizing. Others praised Obama for giving voice to an issue that has not been joined by the Indian leadership. Standing in the vandalized church yesterday, K.J. Alphons, a Catholic and member of Modi's ruling party, said Modi has demonstrated that he will not tolerate extremism.
K.J. ALPHONS: There's a fringe element which is making some noises. And that fringe element is there in every community around the whole world, and I don't think we need to worry about that.
MCCARTHY: The vandalized church lies amid spacious farm houses protected with surveillance cameras. The police are now scouring for clues. India's home minister, meanwhile, has demanded a full report from police. Julie McCarthy, NPR News, New Delhi. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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