Report
Dear Friends,The following is the report of the RSS-BIRD fact-finding team that
enquired into an alleged attack on a church in Mysore last year. The
findings are revealing. At a time we're bursting our blood vessels on the
attacke on Cooper, our report is worth a further look at.
P N BENJAMIN
BANGALORE INITIATIVE FOR RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE (BIRD)
Flat No. 3, Rucela Apartments, 43/2 Promenade Road, Bangalore 560 005
INDIA
Tel. 080 5563681 e-mail; bejaminpn@hotmail.com
ATTACK ON HOLY FAMILY CHURCH IN MYSORE
REPORT OF THE BIRD-RSS FACT FINDING TEAM
THAT VISITED MYSORE ON 19 Feb. 2002
Preamble
THE dictum – “Let our words be matched by deed” – made full sense when
the leaders of Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) in Karnataka and the
Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD) decided to send a
joint fact finding team to Mysore for gathering first-hand information on
the violent incident on 17th February 2002 (Sunday) at the Holy Family
Catholic Church .It was also to reassure the Christian community that
the RSS and BIRD share their anxieties, concerns and fears and stand by
them in this hour of crisis.
The RSS was thus honouring its commitment, in letter and spirit, it
made to the Christian community at the first meeting between RSS and BIRD
in November at the Bible Society of India in Bangalore. The commitment
was that in the event of future violence against Christian community
anywhere in Karnataka, the RSS leaders would rush the trouble spot along
with representatives of the BIRD to defuse the tension and restore
peace and normalcy in the area.
The team led by Dr. Upendra Shenoy, included Mr. V.A.Gopala and Mr.
Chandrashekar Bhandary of the RSS and Dr. Thomas George of Asian Council
for Communal Harmony, and P.N.Benjamin of the BIRD. They reached Mysore
by 11.30 a.m. They could not meet the Catholic Bishop Rt. Rev. Dr.
Joseph Roy immediately as planned because he was leading the protest march
of Christians at that time.
Meeting with RSS/VHP leaders
So, they first met Dr. V. V. Bapat. He is a well-known pediatrician and
the Mysore District president of RSS. According to him the root cause
for such communal tension and hatred is the issue of conversion. He
agreed that there should be a mechanism to defuse communal tension and
prevent violent incidents in the future
Later the team went to the residence of Mr. V.Vittala Rao, a prominent
merchant and an activist of the RSS in Mysore. There they met Mr.
Sadashiva, Pracharak Pramukh of RSS (South Karnataka) and Mrs. Veena Bapat,
social worker and VHP activist. Mr. Sudhakar Shetty, President, Hotel
Owners’ Association, Mysore, also took part in the discussion. (The
association has over a thousand members. Mr. Shetty does not belong to any
groups – political or religious.)
While all of them condemned the attack on the church, they wondered why
so much of media hype is given to such a minor incident of violence and
questioned the authorities’ over-reaction. They expressed their
dissatisfaction at the double standards followed by the media and the
government in the light of the unabated violent incidents in the neighbouring
Madhikere where the Hindu temples were ransacked and desecrated a few
weeks back.
They also expressed their disapproval of the activities of certain
Christian groups distributing pamphlets ridiculing Hindus and urging poor
and lower strata of the Hindu community to convert them to Christianity.
Whatever had happened at Hinakal Church, “ is nothing but an out-burst
of some accumulated anger against the conversion activities
systematically carried out in and around Mysore by Christians”. According to them
the root cause was the distribution of the pamphlets and the attack was
only its effect. “ Of course, one may claim that there is nothing wrong
in distributing pamphlets and may justify it as within one's
constitutional right, but if the contents of the pamphlets are outrageous to the
sentiments of the majority community it is natural that they react
violently. No doubt violence is unjust but unfortunately in an emotionally
surcharged situation, discretion becomes the casualty”, they averred.
The fact finding team and the participants in the discussion were
unanimous in their opinion that every citizen of this country has the right
to preach, practise and propagate his/her own religion but that should
not cross the limits of decency and should not hurt the sensitivities
of adherents of other faiths.
While strongly condemning the violence in the church, Dr. Upendra
Shenoy impressed upon them the urgent need to enter into an open-hearted
discussion and dialogue with the Christian community to diffuse the
prevailing tension and to dispel mutual fears and misunderstandings. To
achieve this goal and to prevent recurrence of such incidents of violence in
future, he added, they must find permanent machinery - a platform for
joint meetings of representatives of the two communities. Dr. Bapat, who
later joined the group, agreed, as per Dr. Upendra Shenoy’s suggestion,
to coordinate the proposed peace initiative (an initiative similar to
BIRD) comprising of both Hindu and Christian representatives.
Dialogue with Catholic Bishop and other leaders
In the afternoon (2.15 p.m.) the team met Bishop Dr. Joseph Roy at the
Bishop’s House. Bishop Roy warmly welcomed the fact-finding team.
Father Noronha and Father Leslie Morris were too joined the discussion.
Dr. Bapat and Mr. Vittal, as representatives of RSS/VHP also
participated.
Bishop Roy, Fr. Noronha and Fr. Leslie spoke in detail about the attack
on the Holy Family Church. They expressed their sorrow, anxieties and
fears about the recurring violence against the Christians. Bishop told
the team that one youth by name Kumar was the main culprit behind the
violent incident at the church. He further told that the same youth had
created a scene during December 2001. At that time when members of the
Holy Family Church were visiting Catholic homes, singing carols, as is
the custom among Christians everywhere in the world during Christmas
season, some youngsters from nearby village led by Kumar, threatened them
and damaged the musical instruments. The incident was reported to the
police authorities, but no action has been taken till today on the
complaint.
According to the Bishop, on Sunday, 17 February, at about 10 a.m.,
Kumar intruded in to the room where Father William, parish priest of the
Holy Family Church was talking to four VHP leaders. He used some abusive
language against the priest. The parishioners present there objected to
it. This led to a commotion. Kumar went out to return immediately,
accompanied by about fifty emotionally charged youths. They were at
nobody’s control. They ransacked the priest’s room, entered the church and
damaged some furniture and broke window glasses. In the melee a few
parishioners sustained minor injuries. They included women and children.
Bishop Roy also spoke highly appreciatively about the timely
intervention of
Mr. Pappaya, a village leader of Hinkal, who rushed to the spot and
chased the unruly mob away. It was this man, a Hindu, who prevented the
situation being turned into a bloody battleground that would have
resulted in unimaginable loss of property, limbs and even innocent lives.
The Catholic priests who were present at the dialogue emphatically told
RSS-BIRD team that the Catholic Church does not indulge in any
conversion activities and wondered why they are being accused of these
activities and why the Catholic priests and nuns and their institutions are
always the targets of violent attacks and vandalism.
Mr. Benjamin shared the priests’ concern. He said that among the
Christian community, only Catholic priests and nuns are murdered and raped
mainly because they are easily identified as Christians by the dress they
wear. They are the visible Christian missionaries in the eyes of
ordinary people. They are always dressed in cassocks and robes. Most of the
Hindus and other religionists, including the enlightened media persons,
do not know that Christians are divided into hundreds of denominations
whose priests, preachers and pastors rarely put on their cassocks and
move around. (It is said that there are about 37 Christian denominations
operating in Mysore itself.) “ Although my analysis may sound too
simplistic, I firmly believe that it is this mistaken identity that makes
the Catholic priests and nuns always the victims of vicious attacks,
brutal murder and rape, while the fanatic and fundamentalist fringe of
Christian denominations who provoke, ridicule and belittle the Hindu way of
life go scot free”, Benjamin added.
Mr. Sadashiva, Pracharak Pramukh of RSS South Karnataka, produced two
pamphlets distributed allegedly by the Holy Family Church members. On
close scrutiny it was found these were printed, published and distributed
by some revivalist Christian organization in Bangalore.
Dr. Upendra Shenoy appealed to the Bishop and the priests to set up a
peace committee consisting of representatives of Christian and Hindu
communities, which would have regular meetings and interactions so that
violent incidents could be nipped in the bud itself in future. He
informed the gathering that he has named four RSS/VHP leaders in Mysore to be
part of the committee. They are: Dr. Srinivasa Murthy (Sanghachalak,
Mysore Division of RSS), Dr. V.V.Bapat (Sanghachalak, Mysore District),
Mr. Madappa, Mr. Shyam Bhat and Mr. Keshava Murthy (Advocates). Dr.
Shenoy requested the Bishop to nominate Christian representatives to the
committee. The Bishop agreed to consider the suggestion and would inform
Dr. Bapat about it soon.
“Should there be any sign of tension building up between Hindus and
Christians and possibility of recurrence of violence, please get in touch
with Dr. Bapat who would in turn rush to the spot along with RSS/VHP
members and help iron out differences and bring peace”, assured Dr.
Shenoy on behalf of the RSS and VHP to the Church leaders present at the
meeting.
Dr. Thomas George of Asian Council for Communal Harmony informed the
gathering that he came with the RSS-BIRD team because the Archbishop of
Bangalore, Most Rev. Dr. Ignatius Pinto, had asked him to do everything
possible to bring peace between the Church and the Hindu community in
Mysore. He also said that the Archbishop had informed Bishop Roy
previous day itself about the team’s visit.
Mr.Vasukhi of ANI, Mr. Bhanutej of The Week, Father Melvin and Mr.
Sajan K. George who ‘dramatically’ appeared on the scene in the midst of
the talks, were present until the end of the dialogue.
Immediately after the meeting with the bishop and others, in an
interview to ANI- a TV channel- Dr Upendra Shenoy condemned in strong words
vandalism at worshiping places, including the violent incident occurred
at the Hinkal church.
Meeting with advocates
Later the team met a few advocates at the District Court. Advocate
Shyam Bhat whose clientele list includes local churches, questioned why the
Christian missionaries are partial towards poorer section of Hindus
while rendering services. He wanted to know why slums dominated by Muslim
population are ignored for service activities. He also spoke about the
simmering anger in the Hindu minds for various other reasons, for
example, commercialisation of the Church property donated by the former
Maharaja of Mysore for charitable and educational purposes. Advocate Mr.
Medappa too expressed similar opinions. According to them, there is no
mention in the FIR of the involvement of any advocate in the Hinkal
vandalism.
The team also met Advocate Keshava Murthy who has been implicated in
the case. To a blunt question by Mr. Benjamin about his reported
connection with Bajarang Dal, he replied: “I am too old to be a member of
Bajarang Dal. That says it all, Mr. Benjamin”. Our enquiries revealed that
Mr. Keshava Murthy is a highly respected and well-known senior advocate
in the Mysore Bar. He is a former principal of Hassan Law College. He
is involved in various social service activities, including orphanages
in slums in and around Mysore City.
Visit to Holy Family Church
The RSS-BIRD delegation visited the Holy Family Church and met the
parish priest Father William at about 6 p.m. We had a long and cordial talk
with him at his residence. Dr. Upendra Shenoy and Dr. Thomas George
spoke to him on behalf of the fact-finding team. They said that the team
was visiting him and members of his parish to get the first hand
information on the violent incident in his church and also to express their
regret over it. They also assured them that they stand by the Catholic
Church now and would continue to do so in the future too. They also told
Father William and the parishioners that dialogue alone would be the
only antidote to violence in future.
Father William told the team that when he was engaged in cordial talks
with VHP leaders on Sunday morning after the Holy Mass, Kumar who had
threatened the members of the parish in December suddenly appeared on
the scene and created a ruckus. (Father William’s version of the incident
is exactly the same as that of the Bishop and others told us earlier.
So, there’s no need for its repetition). Fr. William emphatically denied
the charge that pamphlets encouraging conversion to Christianity
originated from his church. They were distributed by some other Christian
denominations. He too made it clear that the Catholic Church does not
believe in conversion. He said: “Catholics at Hinkal live in peace with
neighbours of other faiths. There has been nor quarrel or misunderstanding
between them so far. Those who are involved in the incident are
outsiders… It was the village leader Mr.Pappanna’s timely intervention that
prevented further violence.” He also agreed that inter-religious dialogue
is necessary for defusing tension among different communities. Father
William said that the attack was an unexpected one. He had no knowledge
of any violence brewing or erupting around his church. It looked as
though it were not pre-planned, he said. The team’s visit to the church
ended in a very cordial and friendly note.
Father Malcolm Bogadi, a former priest of the Holy Family Church, and
Messrs. A. James, Jayakumar, Wilfred, Deepak and Ambrose (all members of
the parish) were present at the meeting. The team rounded off the visit
after calling on Dr. Srinivasa Murthy, Sanghachalak of RSS, Mysore
Division, and listening to his version on the Church incident, which too
tallied with the facts we had already gathered. He readily agreed to be
on the proposed peace committee/initiative in Mysore.
FINDINGS OF THE RSS-BIRD TEAM
1) What happened at the Holy Family Church, Hinkal was a minor local
incident and it should have been localized and contained.
2) There was no need for blowing it out of proportion and flashing it
on national and international media. It was a classic example of making
a mountain out of a molehill. On the other hand, when eight innocent
Hindus, including three children were brutally massacred in J&K on the
same day there was not a a word of condemnation from the so-called
defenders of minorities from the secular and human rights warriors and even
the media. A Hindu temple at Coorg too was under attack a couple of
weeks back allegedly by a group belonging to a minority community. But
why was these incidents of brutality not given wide publicity by the
press. The media should have followed a similar attitude towards the Hinkal
incident too.
3) We are of the opinion that the incident was not pre-planned. We
agree with Father William in this context.
4) We believe that the violent incident took place due to “mistaken
identity” as explained by Mr. Benjamin during the talks with Bishop Roy
and others. In the eyes of the Hindus and even to the media persons, the
Catholic priests and nuns are the “visible” Christian missionaries.
They move around in their official dress (cassocks and robes) and are
mistaken for preachers, priests and pastors of Christian groups who use
doubtful methods and words that are derogatory to neighbours of other
faiths “to gain converts”. There are hundreds of varieties of Christian
sects in India- a fact seems to be unknown to non-Christians and media
persons alike.
6) We are convinced that the Catholic Church does not encourage
conversions to Christianity.
7) We are, again, convinced that the pamphlets urging conversions were
NOT distributed by or originated from the Holy Family Church. They were
printed, published and distributed by some fundamentalist Christian
groups unconnected with mainline churches. The mainline churches are
Catholic, CSI, CNI, Mar Thoma, Syrian Orthodox and Jacobite
8) Self-styled leaders of Christian community and unscrupulous
politicians are using ordinary Christians as cannon fodder for their narrow
selfish ends. This seems to have happened in the Hinkal incident also.
Those who claim to be spokesmen and defenders of Christian Faith and the
Indian Christian community spread distress and division and to all
appearances, enjoy the grace and favour of the State Government. This
encouragement helps the growth of powerful elements of separatism and
disunity.
9) Whenever two communities are at loggerheads the emotion should not
be allowed to take its own free course. Facts should be bared and
emotions should be contained. Regular meetings among various communities will
be a bulwark against the recurrence of communal tensions and passions
and also ‘a guarantor of peace and amity between different religious
communities.’
THE ROAD AHEAD
1. We have underlined the importance of establishing friendly relations
and collaboration on issues of common interest and in pursuit of amity
and peace between Hindus and Christians in Mysore
2. Our experience is that inter-religious communities often spring up
in response to crises and public emergencies also.
3. We are aware of the vital need of forming inter-faith communities in
rural areas.
4. Every person and institution, especially places of worship, should
take the initiative in forming inter-religious communities in cities and
rural areas.
5. Dialogue is a necessary tool for overcoming alienation and halting
the march of hatred and misunderstanding.
6. Engaging in dialogue will enable us to graduate from coercion to the
art of persuasion and the resources of civilized world
7. Our mission to Mysore has renewed our conviction that to be
religious is to grow in openness to other traditions.
CONCLUSION
Conscious of our limitations in facing challenges posed by the
prevailing tension and misunderstandings between Christians and Hindus in
Mysore, consequent to the recent incident of violence at the Holy Family
Church, we fellow pilgrims of inter-faith pilgrimage, affirm our faith in
one another, and our hope for a society where divisions will cease and
people will live together in harmony, respect, love and compassion. Our
hearts are full of gratitude for the leaders of the Catholic Church and
Hindu community in Mysore who extended their full support and
co-operation in our humble initiative to iron out differences between the two
communities through free, frank and openhearted talks and promised to
establish a permanent peace initiative to continue the dialogue process in
Mysore. We are confident that these leaders will be channels of peaces
in that city and its surroundings so that in the days to come they will
be able to prevent recurrence of communal violence.
The road ahead of the peace -makers is long, narrow and arduous. The
coming together of RSS and BIRD amounts to no more than, as it were,
striking a match in a dark immense cavern, to dispel the surrounding gloom.
We hope and pray such initiatives for peace and communal harmony will
soon spring up in various parts of Karnataka.
We returned home on the night of 19th February confirmed in our resolve
to work more effectively with added vigour and spirit for a harmonious
family of faiths.
REPORT PREPARED BY
P.N.BENJAMIN
Co-ordinator
Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD)
Tel. 080 5486880 e-mail: benjaminpn@hotmail.com
IN CONSULTATION WITH
CHANDRASHEKHAR BHANDARY V.A.GOPALA
RSS Prachar Vibhag Pramukh, RSS,
Prachar Vibhag Pramukh,
Karnatak Uttara and Dakshina
Bangalore, Tumkur and Mysore.
&
Dr. Thomas George