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.
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