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Date Posted: 06:18:49 03/16/04 Tue
Author: Joseph N Raju
Subject: Re: Attack on Christians in India
In reply to: James 's message, "Attack on Christians in India" on 14:53:38 01/20/03 Mon

>The US (INS) needs to curb the entry of Hindu
>preachers into the country.
>India has recently asked a US missionary, who was
>brutally attacked by Hindu fundamentalists and under
>treatement to heal his severed hand, to leave the
>country immediately.
>The reason given is, he preached while on visitor visa!
>
>
>http://indiancurrents.com/ic4/mukundan.htm
>
>Missionary Blood on their Hands
>
>A Gujarat Model in Kerala
>
>-- Mukundan C. Menon
>
>I have no ill will or hatred against my attackers. I
>would be glad to invite them for a lunch, instead. Of
>course, initially I was angry. But, later I realized
>that whatever had happened was according to God’s
>will", said Pennsylvania-based U.S. missionary, Bishop
>Joseph W. Cooper (67), while convalescing at Kerala
>Institute of Medical Science (KIMS) hospital in
>Thiruvananthapuram, a day after he was attacked
>reportedly by RSS activists on January 13 night at
>Koppam near Kilimannor in Thiruvananthapuram district
>of Kerala. He had gone there to attend a Gospel
>Convention at Friends of Bible Church.
>
>His right hand, nearly chopped off, was rejoined in an
>operation. There were other minor injuries and he was
>still writhing in pain when he talked to the stream of
>people who made a beeline to the hospital this past
>week-end. Among the visitors were top leaders of both
>the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) and
>opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF). According to
>KIMS doctors, who operated upon him, he was out of
>danger but may have to remain in hospital for another
>fortnight or so.
>
>There was wide condemnation of the dastardly attack
>from within and outside Kerala and India. All
>right-thinking people opined in unison that this
>should not have ever happened in Kerala. Not because
>45 percent of the State population belong to the
>minority Muslim and Christian communities. Not because
>Christian and Muslim parties are ruling UDF partners.
>But because Kerala has a proud and exemplary history
>of communal amity, to where both Christianity and
>Islam reached at the same time it spread respectively
>in Europe 2000 years ago and in Arab peninsula 1,400
>years ago. Also, because, Kerala is not Orissa, where
>the Australian missionary Graham Steins and his two
>kids were brutally burnt alive by Hindutva forces
>three years ago, and surely not Gujarat which
>witnessed the ethnic cleansing of Muslims last year
>under the aegis of ruling Moditva forces. Keralites
>also co-existed with Jews, Arabs, Portuguese, Dutch,
>and the British, which is an unenviable and unparallel
>history from rest of India. Malayalees also maintain
>the exceptional inborn nature of going anywhere in the
>world and settling there by easily getting mingled
>with the local populace.
>
>Notably, the January 13 attack on Cooper and other
>missionaries came within weeks after President Dr. A.
>P. J. Kalam inaugurated the 1950th anniversary of the
>arrival of St. Thomas to Kerala at massive convention
>of Christians at Kochi last month. The attack took
>place five days before the Kerala Government’s
>prestigious Global Investment Meet (GIM) to be held at
>Kochi on January 18-19, which was to be attended by
>major foreign investor delegates from USA, Europe and
>Middle-East region. It also came a week before the
>International Pentecostal Convention to be held at
>Kumbanad near Thiruvalla in which around 100,000
>believers and 3,000 pastors from various countries are
>scheduled to attend. And, more significantly, the
>Sangh Parivar onslaught was carried out when top RSS
>functionaries like RSS Sarsanghchalak, K. S.
>Sudarshan, and Akhil Bharatiya Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram
>president, Jagadev Ram Orone, was in Kerala making
>wanton statements on conversions and foreign
>missionaries. The attack took place amidst the Sangh
>Parivar leaders taking strong exceptions to President
>Dr. Kalam accepting the invitation to attend a jubilee
>function of Jesuits to be held at Calcutta soon. The
>incident, therefore, cannot be treated either as a
>coincidence or isolated case, although Chief Minister
>A. K. Antony wanted the world to believe so in an
>apparent attempt to dilute its seriousness on the eve
>of the GIM.
>
>In the post-Cabinet meet press briefing on January 15,
>Mr. Antony termed the attack as an "isolated incident"
>and said : "Such incidents are very unfortunate and
>should not take place". He pleaded ignorance as to who
>the attackers were. "I directed the police to conduct
>a thorough investigation of the incident. I am
>following this up and at the moment I have nothing
>more to say", he added. Antony’s ignorance should be
>read along with his holding charge of police (Home)
>portfolio and that the police have already arrested
>one known RSS local leader, Raju, and took into
>custody four others (Shaji, his brother Shan and
>Shaiju) for questioning. The Kilimanoor police
>registered a case under IPC 307 (attempt to murder)
>and other counts under Explosives Act and Rioting,
>since the attack took place after throwing of bombs.
>"Although it is known to all that the attack was
>carried out by the RSS, why Antony is scared of
>uttering these three letters", questioned CPI-M State
>Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan. According to CPI State
>Secretary, Veliyam Bhargavan, "the Sangh Parivar is
>trying to repeat in Kerala their agenda of
>intimidating and attacking Christian missionaries in
>Gujarat and Orissa".
>
>Bishop Cooper was attacked along with the local
>preacher, Pastor Benson K. Sam (37), his wife Sali
>Benson, their two children (Joy and Judith), singers
>Jayakumar and Mercy Christudas, of whom Pastor Sam
>also suffered serious injuries. The colony settlers
>are "Vedars", a Dalit community, with 60-odd houses
>and around 150 population, who follow both Christian
>and Hindu faiths. With no conversion in recent past,
>some of the Vedars’ forefathers had converted into
>Christianity. Although the January 13 attackers belong
>to nearby area and are known Sangh Parivar activists,
>the area witnessed total communal harmony until a bomb
>exploded in a nearby school three days before the
>attack took place.
>
>Those attended the Bible Convention are still at a
>loss to grasp as to what provoked the RSS men to carry
>out the attack. Surely there was no provocation from
>us, they said. According to one source, two RSS
>activists, auto-driver Kumar and the owner of
>upholstery shop at Kilimanoor, Shaji, came to the
>venue of the Convention and asked the mike operator
>whether the public address system belonged to the US
>missionary and left the place. Later two or three
>unidentified people came to the venue, stayed around
>for some time listening to the Bible speeches. Even
>then there was no hint of the impending attack.
>
>The gruesome incident took place after the convention
>ended at 9.30 p.m. and when Bishop Cooper, Benson and
>others were walking along the narrow path to where
>their vehicles were parked. The vehicle tiers were
>deflated in advance by the attackers to ensure that
>the missionaries won’t get away. The Bible hall was
>situated on a high range amid rubber plantation, and
>the vehicles were parked below on the road.
>
>The gang, comprising more than a dozen people and
>waiting in the rubber plantation, suddenly pounced
>upon the missionaries by throwing country bombs to
>create scare and started attacking with knives and
>swords. While Cooper’s right hand was nearly chopped
>off, Benson had a head injury, and his wife and
>daughter were left unconscious on the spot.
>
>The terrified local people did not come forward to
>rush them to the hospital, until the police reached
>the spot after half-hour. According to Pastor Benson,
>there were no electric lamp posts in the area and they
>were approaching the car, 150 metres away, with the
>help of torch-light when the unexpected attack took
>place. The main target of the attackers was Rev.
>Cooper. They detained the missionary and other
>preachers for some time before attacking them with
>swords, crowbars and knives.
>
>Pastor Benson told the police that the attack was
>carried out by known RSS activists in the area and
>named some of them, including the auto-driver.
>Confirming Kilimanoor Circle Inspector D. Rajagopal’s
>version that the area had no history of communal
>discord, He said: "There had been no threat whatsoever
>to the functioning of the church in the area so far".
>According to him and the police, the church was
>constructed in the area three years ago and "Gospel
>Conventions" were held in the past as well.
>
>Pastor Benson further stated: "We were told that the
>attackers were listeners at the Convention and they
>were all armed. Before the attack started, a
>country-made bomb exploded just inches away from me."
>Lizzy, a colony resident narrated their plight: "Most
>of us eke out our livelihood through manual labour. We
>are totally neglected by the Government and
>politicians. Being converted Christians, we are denied
>reservation benefits. In this grim situation, we rest
>our hopes only on God and decided to hold the Bible
>Convention". Despite electric lines were taken through
>the colony to a nearby locality four years ago and
>promise of power connections given to them, the
>"Vedars" colony still has no electricity. Plugs,
>switches and other electric materials that they
>purchased long ago lie unused. Neither do they have
>pure drinking water in the colony. Following the
>attack, although all the politicians expressed grave
>concern on the incident and showered promises on
>communal amity, people in the colony no more trust
>their promises on upliftment of socio-economic
>conditions from their own hard and bitter past
>experience.
>
>A senior police officer said : "This is the first
>organized attack on a foreign missionary in Kerala,
>whose one-third population are Christians". According
>to Pastor Benson, "it was a silent attack since the
>assailants did not utter a single word even though we
>pleaded them to reveal their motive". ‘’We could
>identify most of the members of the ten-member gang.
>All of them are known RSS activists in the locality
>and we have mentioned this in the police complaint,’’
>he added.
>
>Bishop Cooper has been a missionary for the past 25
>years and this was the first time he has been attacked
>anywhere in the world. This was his 12th visit to
>Kerala, "which is a great place with fantastic people,
>except what happened to me which is not good for the
>State’s reputation."
>
>He was a professional parachute jumper in his young
>days. He entered missionary work in early 1970s as an
>energetic youth and after resigning job from a
>professional firm. Since then, he has been actively
>involved in evangelization in many countries. He
>reached India for the current tour early this month to
>attend a series of gospel conventions in Kerala, Goa
>and Andhra Pradesh. He was scheduled to leave for
>Visakhapatnam on Tuesday but, instead, landed in the
>intensive care unit at KIMS. "This is not going to
>deter my spirits and I will certainly be back in
>Kerala. I am happy that I was able to speak to my wife
>and my close friends who appeared tensed after hearing
>what happened", Rev. Cooper said. He added: "I’ve
>forgiven my attackers. Now that the case has been
>registered, I do not know if there is a provision by
>which I can withdraw it. In the U.S., one could sue
>for damages, but I am not going to do any such thing."
>
>Expressing shock and concern over the attack, a US
>embassy spokesperson in New Delhi said : "This is a
>very serious matter. You cannot just go on attacking
>anybody. Naturally we are deeply concerned". The
>United States condemned the attack and a State
>Department official in Washington said that
>authorities were in touch with the consulate in
>Chennai. US consulate officials from Chennai are
>reaching Kerala to ascertain the facts relating to the
>attack. They already had a telephonic discussion with
>Cooper on Jan. 17 night.
>
>Expressing deep concern and pain on the attack,
>Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil, Major Archbishop of
>Syro-Malabar Church, said it was ominous to see
>certain groups resorting to violence to settle any
>difference of opinion in a democratic country.
>"Unfortunately these violent elements have been
>emboldened by the rhetoric of certain fundamentalist
>leaders of Hindutva, who spread hatred against
>minorities. Fundamentalism was consistently destroying
>the religious and democratic foundations of this
>country. The attack is a sad betrayal of the country’s
>heritage of welcoming a guest as God himself into our
>midst", Vithayathil, who is also the Chairman of
>Kerala Catholic Bishops Council, said.
>
>Meanwhile, the Kerala State Human Rights Commission,
>which took suo motto cognizance of the issue, sought a
>report from Thiruvananthapuram (Rural) Superintendent
>of Police to be submitted within 15 days.
>
>RSS operation cover-up
>
>No sooner the widely condemned dastardly act took
>place, the entire lobby of Sangh Parivar plunged into
>action with their customary leveling of baseless
>accusations, wild allegations, and unsubstantiated
>charges against Rev. Cooper and the evangelist
>missionaries. Panic and fear prevailed in and around
>Kilimanoor after the Sangh Parivar undertook a
>procession within 24 hours of the attack accusing the
>police of harassing "innocents" by conducting raids
>and arrests. RSS Malayalam organ, "Janmabhoomi", said
>that two of the evangelists were earlier involved in a
>sex racket, and that a woman resisted their sexual
>advances which led the "local people" to "protest
>against the missionaries" on January 13 at the Bible
>Convention!
>
>In the first statement, the RSS "Vibhagh
>Sahakaryavah", K. Rajasekharan, alleged that Sangh
>workers were "falsely implicated" in the case and
>termed the incident as "shrouded in mystery". He fired
>the first salvo against Rev. Cooper: "It was unlawful
>on the part of Cooper, who was on a visiting visa, to
>preach religion in India. There should be an inquiry
>into the circumstances under which the U.S. citizen on
>a visiting visa was allowed to speak at a Gospel
>Convention." Sangh Parivar leaders also alleged that
>Rev. Cooper and other preachers at the Convention made
>"inflammatory and insulting speeches" against Hindus,
>which was stoutly denied by all those who attended the
>convention, including Pastor Benson.
>
>On January 27, VHP Kerala unit demanded the "arrest
>and prosecution" of Rev. Cooper for alleged violation
>of Foreigners’ Act. The VHP State Organising
>Secretary, Kummanam Rajasekharan, asked the State
>Government to initiate prosecution proceedings against
>Rev. Cooper for "carrying out religious propaganda
>after coming to the country on a visiting visa". He
>claimed that "as per the Foreigners Act of 1956,
>foreigners visiting the country should not engage
>themselves in religious preaching and are only
>supposed to do sight-seeing and visit relatives".
>Besides, Rev.Cooper and his team of evangelists
>"slandered" the Hindu "dharma" and traditions and
>sought to convert the residents of a Scheduled Caste
>colony by allurement and compulsory means, the VHP
>leader alleged. The Kilimanoor incident, according to
>the VHP leader, "underlined the need for a code of
>conduct for missionary activities".
>
>While Sangh Parivar is taking the opportunity to
>demand introduction of an Act banning "forcible
>conversion", they are left without answers as to how
>people like Mata Amrithanandamayi are frequently
>visiting Western countries for preaching religion and
>how her "Ashram" at Vallikavu, near Kollam, has a
>large number of Western devotees. In fact, a French
>lady in the Ashram died under mysterious circumstances
>in August last year. "What will be their reaction in
>India if any such attack took place on
>Amrithanandamayi abroad", reacted an evangelist in his
>reaction given to a Malayalam TV channel.
>
>Notably, inflammatory statements, if any, in Kerala
>had come from people like RSS chief Sudarshan before
>and after the attack on Rev. Cooper. On the day of the
>attack, Akhil Bharatiya Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram
>president, Jagdevram Oraon, told a press conference at
>Kozhicode: "West-promoted conversions into
>Christianity were causing divisiveness among the
>people in the country. Countries like the United
>States and Britain were creating their own pockets
>through missionaries. Issues like ‘Nagas’, causing
>divisions in the country, are a consequence of this.
>The foreign churches through conversions made the
>tribals isolated from the mainstream of the society".
>
>The day after the attack on Rev. Cooper, the RSS
>chief, while inaugurating the Akhila Kerala Vanavasi
>Sangamam, at Wayanad said : "Even Mahatmaji had
>cautioned against weaning Hindus. The British had
>invented many theories like the Aryan invasion to
>divide the Hindus. Though the theory has logical
>validity, it was used to create schism within the
>community. The Arya-Dravida, Brahmin-non-Brahmin,
>North India-South India divisions are the by-products
>of the theory."

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