Churches Vandalized in India

By James Varghese
Special to ASSIST News Service

KARNATAKA, INDIA ANS — Two more churches were vandalised by a mob in Mangalore-one on Sunday and the other on Monday.

According to a story reported on www.thehindu.com, Samuel Mathew, Bishop of the Believers Church, said that soon after the Sunday service at Puttur Believer’s Church, “miscreants” forced open the church door and broke musical instruments, furniture, fans and windows.

The second incident took place on B.C. Road on Monday. “A mob set fire to the church door, but fortunately the blaze was put out early,” Mathew told The Hindu. The Hindu said Mathew has filed a police report.

The Hindu reported that Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa is promising swift action against the vandals, and has pledged to repair the destroyed buildings at government expense. It will also meet the cost of treatment of those who were injured in the attacks.

However, Yeddyurappa also asked missionaries not to practice forced conversions, saying there is no room for such behavior in a democracy.

The story reported that Yeddyurappa said the literature circulated by the New Life Organization has infuriated some people. They believe that it is insulting to Hindu gods.

The Chief Minister however clarified that he was not defending the actions of the attackers.

The Hindu reported he said, “The government will not protect anyone, and the guilty will be punished.”

Yeddyurappa said that if an organization had any information on forced religious conversion, it should have been brought to the government’s attention. Any such complaints would have been investigated, he said.

The Hindu reported Yeddyurappa said, “Some anti-social elements are indulging in such acts to bring bad name to the government … ”

However, Yeddyurappa did not specify to whom he was referring.

The Hindu reported that Yeddyrappa said it was wrong to put down any religion. He said when he met Christian leaders in Mangalore on Monday, they told him that Catholics and Protestants were not connected to any organization called “New Life.”

The Chief Minister also said that people should co-exist and lead a peaceful life.