Deccan Churches Attacked

A Crusade against Christians in Karnataka

Everything began on September 8. A Christian prayer hall was vandalized in Bada village of Davangere district. Three other churches were targeted in the district before this incident.
Yeddyurappa, while maintaining that the focus would be on preserving communal harmony, said, “The rule of law will prevail. Nobody has the right to indulge in forcible conversions, and inducement to pave the way for conversions is banned.”
But, his words clearly stated that the victims of the attacks were at fault, not the perpetrators. The Deputy commissioner of Davangere, K. Amar Narayan, gave instructions to check how many churches were authorized. He made it clear that the survey would be only for churches and Christian prayer halls.
Speaking to ‘The Week,’ on why no action was being taken against temples that encroached on public places, BJP state spokesperson Dhananjay Kumar said, “If you don’t expect temples to come up in a Hindu country, where else do you expect they will?”
So it was not surprising that when 14 churches were attacked in Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Chickmagalur districts on September 14, state Bajrang Dal convener Mahendra Kumar proudly declared that the organisation was behind it.
In the Adoration Monastery on Falnir Road in Mangalore, a mob damaged the crucifix and the tabernacle. In the afternoon, Mahendra Kumar told the Mangalore media that the Bajrang Dal had carried out the attacks. “We will continue to do this against all churches indulging in conversion,” he said.
The sizeable Christian community in Dakshina kannada protested against the attacks and clashed with the police, who resorted to lathicharge and teargassing.
While prayer halls in Davangere were attacked on grounds that they were “illegal structures”, in Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Chickmagalur, churches were targeted for allegedly converting people. Though the Bajrang Dal claimed they were targeting the New Life Group, even Catholic churches were attacked.
‘The Week’ and ‘Tehelka’ reported that there had been 55 attacks on churches in different parts of Karnataka since the BJP came to power in the state. “This is payback time for the BJP. Which has built its success on 40 years of hard work by the RSS,”Tehelka reported.
“While the various Christian groups were targeted, the primary anger of the BJP, RSS and VHP is on the newly emerging church groups which are booming and which try to lure the people with money if they joined their churches. While Catholic and other prominent churches remain silent about such incidents, the BJP is alarmed about the growing menace,” said some informed sources from Bangalore.
Yeddyurappa alleged the attacks were an opposition conspiracy “to besmirch the government’s image”. The Congress and the JD(S) said the attacks were part of the BJP’s “hidden agenda”. Congress leader Veerappa Moily called it “state-sponsored communal terrorism”, and alleged that the culprits were being allowed to go scot free.
More than 170 people were arrested. But on why Mahendra Kumar was not arrested, the chief minister’s reply was that “the police have also arrested Bajrang Dal activists”.
Yeddyurappa ruled out a judicial probe, and ordered an inquiry into the sources of funds for the New Life Fellowship Trust (NLFT).