Nicht nur Orissa brennt - das Alternative Law Forum in Bangalore weist auf die Übergriffe von Hindu-Fundamentalist_innen gegen Christ_innen in Karnataka hin. Sie rufen dazu auf folgenden Brief an den Premierminister Indiens, die National Human Rights Commission und die State Human Rights Commission, Karnataka zu schicken:

  "Appeal against the violence against Christians in Karnataka

October 1998: Convent schools in Karnataka and some other States begin to receive threatening letters and in some cases visits by local leaders of Hindu fundamentalist groups demanding that they stop their alleged prosletysation activities.

June 8th   and 9th  2000:  Bomb blasts in Wadi district of Gulbarga near a church, at St.John’s Lutheran church in Hubli- Gadag road, and in St.Peter’s and Paul’s church, Bangalore, right after the 3000 people who had come for the corpus Christi celebrations had begun to leave.

August 21st, 2007: A large group attacked six female and twelve male students from the Full Gospel Church, while they were at a picnic. Around 50 goons arrived on bicycles, motorbikes and cars and began to hit and kick the students. They swore at them and insulted them, accusing them of ‘forcible conversions’. They then dragged the students identified as Parasuram, Ramesh, Vani Jyothi, Pushpa, Vijay, Shilpa, Prasan, Nirmala and Chandra, to the Vidyanagara Police Station where they filed a complaint of ‘forcible conversions’ against them. Police claimed that they held the students ‘for keeping peace’, and released them on 27 August. The case against the students was officially closed and no known action was taken against the attackers.

25th November, 2007: In  Balupette village, Hassan district  three Christians severely beaten by Hindu fundamentalists. About twenty Hindu extremists stormed a worship service at Christ Vision Church in Balupette village. They threatened the congregants and chased them away. After burning the Bibles, the extremists then dragged out two pastors, C.J. Joemon and C.J. Jojo, and another congregant, G. Anil, to the junction half a kilometer away. They stripped them, tied them to a pole and beat them. When police arrived, they took the three victims to the police station and charged them with ‘forcible conversions’. They were also initially refused medical aid. The two pastors were later released on bail. No action is known to have been taken against the attackers.

14th September, 2008: 14 churches attacked in one day in Dakshina Kannada, Udipi and Chikmangalur districts. Planned and almost simultaneous attacks resulting in injuries to pastors and believers as well as damage to church property include desecration of statues of Jesus.

The above is merely an assortment of incidents over the past few years  where Christians in the state have been attacked brutally. The attack on 14 churches in three districts in Karnataka is symbolic of this ongoing violence. The attacks are evidently well planned and are on the increase at a rapid pace. Apart from these incidents a number of areas are witnessing Christians living in fear of daily threats and violence. The violence has already had a profound impact on the mobility of these individuals and communities on a daily basis. The attack is as much on institutions such as churches as well as educational institutions who while being supported by Christianity are not those directed towards religious propagation. Various individuals and their families have been attacked in their homes and in public.

The explanation given for most of this violence is that of ‘forcible conversion’. The very concept is a fallacy and is not supported by individual stories of believers or within the law. There is not a single case of ‘forcible conversion’ that has been proved to have occurred in Karnataka. The statistics of the state speak volumes. The percentage of Christians in the state is 1.9% ,below the national average of 2.3%. Like in many other states, Christians institutions have existed in Karnataka, like in many other parts of the country for centuries. The question then is if the alleged ‘forcible conversions’ are actually taking place, the population of Christians in Karnataka and in India remaining abysmal is then absurd and inexplicable.

Further, many Christians in Karnataka, like in other parts of the nation are practicing rituals in multiple religions. Many so-called ‘converts’ still visit Hindu temples and perform Hindu rituals at home and in public. The joining of a church congregation is often inspired by a certain faith which is often the basis for the practice of any religion.

Christian institutions have been an integral part of the social fabric of Karnataka as in many other parts of India. They have played a substantive role in setting up of the well acclaimed primary and higher educational institutions. They have played a crucial role in provide access to social mobility through education and employment for many persons from underprivileged backgrounds.

The disturbing trend in Karnataka is the passive role that the police and local administration has played in these incidents of violence. In some other cases they have actively participated in the violence and have gone on to abuse the provisions of law to file false cases against the victims.

All of these factors have created and atmosphere of fear for the community in Karnataka  while Hindu fundamentalist forces are repeatedly going scot free and thus their actions.

These incidents are a blatant violation of the right to life, liberty and religious freedom enshrined in our constitution. It is important that immediate action be taken in this regard so as to avoid planned violence against any one community among the citizens of the nation, as has been witnessed in India in the past.

We hope that the Central Government and the Human Rights Commissions will reprimand the actions of Hindu fundamentalist forces as well as state actors while urging the state government to ensure protection for these communities throughout the state and pursue relevant action in all of these cases so as to restore law and order and protect the rights enshrined in our constitution. It is only by curbing this violence can India comply with the law of the land and live up to its image of being the largest democracy that ensures equality, freedom, respect and dignity to all its citizens."