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October 6, 2008

Christians, Hindus call for end to religious hatred in India

by Anto Akkara
Ecumenical News International

BANGALORE, India — Christian and Hindu leaders who took part in their first dialogue meeting in India’s southern state of Kerala are hopeful that the gathering will lead to greater understanding, against the background of anti-Christian violence in parts of the country.

“Religious leaders have spoken out in one voice that there can be no justification for violence in the name of religion,” said Andrews Thazhath, Catholic archbishop of Thrissur and secretary of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council.

The archbishop was among nine leaders of various denominations who took part in the Sept. 28  meeting with Kerala’s senior Hindu leadership.

“This could go a long way to promote harmony,” Bishop Joseph Mar Gregoriose of the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church in Kerala told Ecumenical News International on Oct. 1.

The 14 Hindu delegates at the meeting included monks, as well as leaders of several Hindu groups including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council), which has been accused of having played a major role in recent widespread violence against Christians in eastern Orissa.

In a joint statement, the religious leaders said, “Violence is not part of any religion. Acts that pave the way for religious hatred and disharmony should not be promoted, and have to be stopped.” The leaders also declared that “forced conversion is no conversion” and they deplored “exploitation of faith for political gains.”

The violence in Orissa broke out after the killing of Hindu leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati in August. A Maoist leader is reported to have claimed responsibility for the killing but some Hindu groups say it was a Christian conspiracy, as the 85-year-old slain monk had been campaigning against conversion to Christianity in Kandhamal, where he was based.

A Hindu leader who took part in the Kerala meeting said it augured well for "peace and mutual understanding".

Swami Viviktananda, a Hindu priest who is head of the Chinmaya Mission in Kerala, told ENI from Kasarcode, “All the Hindu leaders also unanimously condemned the attacks on churches and Christians.” He added, “The Hindu leaders spoke bluntly about the conversions, and the church leaders gave them a patient hearing.”

A committee has been appointed to follow up the dialogue and help coordination between the two communities in Kerala.

Many Christians have been killed, and thousands of Christian homes, churches and institutions have been looted and set on fire in the recent wave of violence.

Attacks on Christians have also been reported in the southern states of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh.

In Geneva, the World Council of Churches in a statement issued on Sept. 30 called on the government of India “to take steps to prevent violence and harassment against the Christian minorities in Orissa and other parts of the country.”

The church grouping said, “All religious groups in India have the responsibility to desist from spreading communal hatred.”