Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08CHENNAI350
2008-10-17 04:29:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Consulate Chennai
Cable title:  

CHRISTIANS STILL NERVOUS IN SOUTH INDIA

Tags:  PGOV PREL PHUM PINR KIRF IN 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO7723
RR RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHLH RUEHPW
DE RUEHCG #0350/01 2910429
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 170429Z OCT 08
FM AMCONSUL CHENNAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1920
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 3346
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENNAI 000350 

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PINR KIRF IN
SUBJECT: CHRISTIANS STILL NERVOUS IN SOUTH INDIA

REF: A) CHENNAI 315, B) NEW DELHI 2513, C) CHENNAI 326

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENNAI 000350

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PINR KIRF IN
SUBJECT: CHRISTIANS STILL NERVOUS IN SOUTH INDIA

REF: A) CHENNAI 315, B) NEW DELHI 2513, C) CHENNAI 326


1. (SBU) Several of South India's Christian leaders expressed their
continuing fear of anti-Christian violence to Joannella Morales, an
officer in the Department's Office of International Religious
Freedom, during her visit to Chennai and Bangalore on October 7 and

10. While violence on the scale of the September 14-15 attacks in
Karnataka has not been repeated (refs A and B),Morales's
interlocutors said that they fear that upcoming parliamentary
elections may encourage Hindu radicals to continue to target
Christians to attract Hindu votes. Hindu leaders said that the vast
majority of Hindus abhor violence but that some Christian groups
proselytize using techniques that many Hindus find offensive.
Police in Bangalore told Morales that every church in the city is
guarded by at least two police officers at all times and that they
are determined to prevent violence. End Summary

Christians and Hindus in Chennai offer explanations
-------------- --------------


2. (SBU) In Chennai, Morales spoke with both Christian and Hindu
leaders about the recent violence against Christians in India.
Catholic Archbishop Dr. A.M. Chinnappa said that the national
network of Hindutva-promoting organizations is essentially probing
various spots in India to see where it can succeed in promoting
violent attacks, arguing that some upper-caste Hindus are vehemently
opposed to the efforts of the Church to uplift the lower castes. He
also said that allegations of "forcible conversions" are a "bogey"
raised by the Hindutva organizations to stir resentment among Hindus
in the hopes of electoral gain.


3. (SBU) Assemblies of God National Superintendent Pastor D. Mohan
told Morales that the attacks are being organized with a view to
capturing votes in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in India. "The
BJP agenda is to create enmity between the Hindus and Christians so
that the whole Hindu vote would go to them", he said. He also
alleged that India's Home Minister, Shivraj Patil, is reluctant to
act forcefully because he is an "RSS man in his heart". Mohan told
Morales that RSS leaders --whom he perceives to be directing the
violence -- are mindful of their reputation abroad and urged the

U.S. Government to raise its voice against the violence.


4. (SBU) Malini Parthasarathy, Executive Editor for The Hindu, one
of India's most prominent dailies and a vocal secularist, told
Morales that communal violence against religious minorities occurs
mostly in states ruled by the BJP, particularly in situations where
the minorities are of little electoral significance. She criticized
the Government of India for not acting forcefully enough to curb the
violence but maintained that she believes the GOI's sympathies lie
with the minorities. She ruled out, however, the possibility of the
Center dismissing the Orissa and Karnataka governments, emphasizing
that the Center's governing coalition would not have the votes to
pass such a motion in the Lok Sabha.


5. (SBU) BJP National Secretary Thirunavukkarasar told Morales that
"95 percent of the BJP's leaders" are against violent opposition to
religious minorities, although the party uniformly opposes "forcible
conversions." (The term "forced" or "forcible" conversion has
different meanings to different people. We will explore some of
these meanings and their implications in subsequent reporting.)
Thirunavukkarasar said that he draws a distinction between the RSS
and some of its more radical, affiliated organizations like the
Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal that have been directly
implicated in some of the violence. He argued that although the RSS
stands for the Hindu community, it is not inclined towards
organizing violent action.

Karnataka's Christians fearful of upcoming elections
-------------- --------------


6. (SBU) Christian leaders in Karnataka told Morales that upcoming
state and national elections are making their community increasingly
fearful of attacks. By-elections elections for eight seats in the
state legislature are not yet scheduled but need to be held within
the next few months. These elections could bring down the state's
government if the governing BJP fails to win them, raising
Christians' fears that some Hindu groups supportive of the BJP might
use violence to target them and shore up electoral support.

Attacks not a new phenomenon
--------------


7. (SBU) Benedict Balu, President of Karnataka Christa Ranga, a
group that represents former Dalit converts to Christianity, said
that he fears the state's current crackdown against Hindu extremist
groups could soften as the elections approach. He also said that
radical Hindu groups like the Bajrang Dal have targeted Dalit
Christian pastors -- who often preach in homes or makeshift
structures -- since the BJP came to power in Karnataka in 2006 as

CHENNAI 00000350 002 OF 002


part of a coalition government. He alleged that these attacks
attracted little media attention, and that the issue gained
prominence only when attacks on organized and more prominent
Christian facilities took place.

Attacks on Churches subside in Karnataka
--------------


8. (SBU) While petty violence and vandalism against churches
continues sporadically, serious violence against Christians and
their places of worship appears to have tapered off, at least for
now. Bangalore's Police Chief Shankar Bidari told us that he had
posted two constables at each church in the city. He also said that
he had called in church representatives after the September 21
attacks (ref C) to discuss measures to better coordinate security.



9. Bernard Moras, the Catholic Bishop of Bangalore, confirmed to us
that he observed a definite drop in the frequency of attacks on
churches in the state. Lakshmi Narayan, Secretary to Karnataka's
Chief Minister, told Morales that the government's "clear
instructions" to the police to crack down on perpetrators of
violence were responsible for the drop in attacks.

Christians see discrimination in prosecution
--------------


10. (SBU) While Christians are pleased that violence is decreasing,
they are angry about what they believe is discrimination in how the
legal system is addressing the violence that occurred between
September 14 and 22. Bishop Moras told Morales that 35 of the 152
Christians arrested mainly in Mangalore have been charged with
serious offenses, like attempted murder. He alleged that the 16
arrested members of the extremist Bajrang Dal, however, have been
charged with minor offenses, like creating a public nuisance. While
Karnataka's Chief Minister agreed to the Catholic Archbishop's
demand to allow the charged Christians out on bail, they continue to
face the possibility of a sentence much more severe than the Bajrang
Dal members who initiated the violence.

Comment
--------------


11. (SBU) The violence in Karnataka may have subsided, but tensions
remain. The Christian community will remain a little-understood and
easy-to-demonize target for Hindu radicals. We believe the police
are making good-faith efforts to prevent violence against Christians
in Karnataka, but their capacity to do so successfully will come
under severe strain if Hindu radicals make a concerted effort to
target churches.


12. (U) This message was coordinated with Embassy New Delhi. IRF
Officer Morales did not have the opportunity to clear.

SIMKIN