Indian Christians under siege

Last week, the impressively tough Indian Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack - Bhubaneswar came to Washington, D.C. to speak out about on-going violence   against Christians in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, where forty Christians have been killed since August, according to the Indian Bishops Conference.

Christians in Cheenath's archdiocese have been under pressure from Hindu fundamentalists and state "anti-conversion" laws  for years, the archbishop told an audience of journalists and religious freedom  scholars and activists.  But the recent violence was provoked by the August killing of a local swami, a Hindu leader. Though news reports pointed to Maoist rebels as the likely perpetrators, Hindu mobs blamed Christians, and attacked their villages and churches.

The primary victims of the recent violence are typical Christians in this isolated region:  poor tribals and Harajans -- once called "out castes." According to the archbishop, the low social and economic status of local Christians has complicated his efforts to gain political traction on two key goals:  the criminal prosecution of individuals responsible for the anti-Christian violence, and government compensation for the destruction of Christian homes and churches.

By all accounts, the archbishop faces an uphill battle,  but the day after his press conference, he received some good news:   the Associated Press reported that  criminal charges
had been filed against ten men for the rape of a nun, an assault that took place last August.

The excellent Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom  and The Ethics and Public Policy Center’s Program to Protect America’s Freedom  co-hosted the archbishop's presentation. A while back, I wrote an article for Touchstone magazine summarizing Hudson's important and fascinating survey: "Religious Freedom in the World 2007."

The Hudson survey raised a number of issues of special relevance to the on-going problem of religious freedom in India, one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. For example, the West's experience with religious and economic freedom can help Indian leaders understand the practical utility of defending civil liberties for religious minorities: "Free markets and economic prosperity are correlated with religious tolerance because free societies permit the seamless integration of “personal commitment, belief, and action.”

The survey's authors urged "governments, global financial institutions, and corporations to press for improved human rights in countries seeking foreign aid and investment." The most immediate goal,then, would be to increase pressure on the Indian government and the Orissa state authorities to complete the criminal prosecution of individuals responsible for the ant-Christian attacks and to provide financial aid for the rebuilding of Christian homes and institutions. A long term goal sought by human rights activists is a reappraisal of India's state anti-conversion laws that have been used as a shield for attacks against Christians.

Archbishop Cheenath's compelling presentation also brought to mind a long-ago visit I made to Bihar,  another isolated Indian tribal state facing similar problems.  I wrote about that visit and the transformative impact of Christian missionary work in Bihar for First Things.  But I couldn't "name names": Christian missionaries there feared provoking Hindu  violence.

As I wrote in First Things, Christian conversions in Bihar had undermined the power of Hindu landlords: on-going Hindu-Christian conflicts were partly due to the increased economic independence of new  Christian communities. The key was Christian baptism, one ancient Belgium missionary told me. Baptism banished the paralyzing fear and superstitious practices that discouraged the search for real solutions to the tribals' predicament. The Hudson Institute report noted the complex intersection of religious, social and economic rights, and my experience in Bihar confirms that insight.   My daughter, Justine and I are writing a column on religious freedom in India for the National Catholic Register that should be published within the month.