John Dayal's letter to NCM re harassment of christians

Sent: Thursday, July 06, 2006 1:10 PM
Subject: URGNET FOR JENAB ANSARI, CHAIRMAN, NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR MINORITIES

Dr. John Dayal
Member: National Integration Council
Government of India
National President: All India Catholic Union (Founded 1919)
Secretary General: All India Christian Council (Founded 1999)
President: United Christian Action, Delhi (Founded 1992)
Member, Justice and Peace Commission
Archdiocese of Delhi

MOST URGENT

505 Link, 18 IP Extension, Delhi 110092 India
Email: johndayal@vsnl.com
Phone: 91-11-22722262 Mobile 09811021072

6 July 2006


Jenab Mohammad Hamid Ansari
Chairman
National Commission for Minorities
Lok Nayak Bhawan,
New Delhi 11003

Re:

1. Harassment of Nuns and Christian workers at Bus Stops, Rail Stations in Tirupati government-owned areas
2. Request to have the Constitutionality of the Seven Tirumala Hills reportedly being out of bounds to Christians
3. Ending hate campaign against Christians in Andhra Pradesh


Copies to

1. Union Ministers of Minority Affairs, Law, Home affairs and Social [Women] Welfare
2. Mr. M P Pinto, Member, NCM


Dear Ansari Saheb

Greetings

I am glad the Commission has been given its full complement of Members at last, including a member to represent our community, the Christians.

I am making this formal complaint to you regarding a sustained hate campaign by the religious fanatics of the so-called Sangh Parivar in Andhra Pradesh, directed as much against the Church as against certain local politicians who may profess the Christian faith, and in particular Chief Minister Rajshekhar Reddy.

While I am sure the Mr. Reddy can take adequate care of himself and counter the campaign ˆ carried out in the media as also on the grassroots level ˆ helpless Christian workers, ordinary people, cannot. Nuns and Pastors have particularly been victimized and targetted. There have been several incidents in the state in the last six months.

The worst scenario is in the area of the Tirumala hills in Andhra. To the best of our knowledge, the TTD temple owns 10.33 sq. miles of land on two hills. This land is in the control of, and is administered, by the mandir trust, or Devasom Board.

We have absolute respect for the sense of reverence of our fellow citizens of all faiths. No Christian has ever been known to have, knowingly or unwittingly, desecrated any holy place of any religion anywhere in India. Nor have we demolished any place of worship. We instinctively obey, in a sense of the honouring the Holy, exclusivity that may occur or be enforced by certain sects for their places of worship which are barred to others. There are, also, well accepted laws and regulations on setting up religious institutions and places of worship separated by regulated and notified distances so as to maintain communal amity [with the exception of some historical places where, for instance, a mosque or temple may adjoin each other.]

There cannot, of course, be any question of public places, such as Bus stops, Railway stations, and in fact inside buses, being barred to Indian citizens of any and all faiths.

And yet, goons of the Sangh Parivar have taken upon themselves to be the local religious police ˆ in connivance with some ranks of the Andhra State police, to harass Christian workers in the guise of stopping their missionary activities or `conversions.‚

Serious questions remain. Are we also barred from schools and hospitals in civil and government urban and rural areas in any part of our motherland because that region is deemed to be holy by one sect or religion and is administered by a charitable religious board. Christians, and their places of worship, exist in such holy cities as Panipat, Kurukshetra, Amritsar, Ajmer and another place you would care to name. There never has been trouble or harassment.

This is to request you to have the NCM, or the Union Law Ministry, or the Law Commission, examine the Constitutionality of laws or local regulations that bar any citizen‚s movement, profession and charity and social work in such areas.

The Catholic Nuns who were attacked, detained illegally by the police and later let off, were on a humanitarian task which is their charism as Sisters of Charity, the Order founded by Nobel Laureate, the Blessed Mother Teresa. The Nuns have been doing their charitable work in SVRR hospital, Tirupati since 1986.

As by now you know [and I am attaching herewith several news reports of the incident], on 25 June 2006, four Sisters had been to Ruyya hospital at Tirupati to distribute some fruits and to pray the sick people. On 27 June 2006, as usual the Nuns ˆ Sr. Maria Julia, Sr. Chriselda, Sr. Emma Felesia and Sr. Reena Francis - went to SVRR Hospital at 5.30 pm to visit poor patients. Two of the Sisters went to the orthopaedic ward, interacted and consoled a boy of 14 years who had met with an accident. Then they moved to another patient.

In the meantime a man enquired about their intention of visiting the patients. While the Sisters were answering, suddenly a crowd of around 40 people came with a video camera and press reporters. They started accusing the Nuns of evangelising and converting patients to Christianity. The Nuns were taken to the main building where a huge crowd gathered around them. They shouted slogans against the Nuns and the Christian religion. The Nuns were allowed neither to leave the hospital premises nor to contact their superiors. Their bags were opened and checked for any pamphlets and other material related to evangelisation. But they could not find any such material, except a prayer book.

The Nuns have the documents including commendations by the Superintendent and other authorities of the hospital to take care of patients, particularly abandoned children and patients of terminal cases (AIDS). This only shows that there has been good rapport between the hospital authorities and the Nuns for the past 20 years. The Police arrived at 8 pm and took them to Alipiri police station by an auto and retained them till 10 pm.

The detention of the Nuns in the police station after the dusk is a violation of human rights. By this action the police have flouted the Supreme Court directives that women should not be taken into custody between sunset and sunrise.

The Nuns are on record to say they have forgiven the culprits.

India prides itself on its rule of law. Surely the law must prevail even in these cases.

I am sure you, and other departments of the Government of India, will look into this incident and it ramifications for the health of secularism in our country.

With warm personal regards

John Dayal