Religious violence in India; Hindus force Christians to convert

The New York Times describes a torrent of "forced conversions" in India, where Hindus are forcing Christians to renounce their religion on pain of death.

"The clash of faiths has cut a wide swath of panic and destruction through these once quiet hamlets fed by paddy fields and jackfruit trees. Here in Kandhamal, the district that has seen the greatest violence, more than 30 people have been killed, 3,000 homes burned and over 130 churches destroyed, including the tin-roofed Baptist prayer hall where the Digals worshiped. Today it is a heap of rubble on an empty field, where cows blithely graze," the paper says.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says such incidents threaten his nation's "fundamental underpinnings."

"Perhaps the most disturbing and dangerous aspect today is the assault on our composite culture... we see fault-lines developing between, and among, communities," he says, according to AFP.

Reuters says politics is fueling some of the violence. "From attacks on Christians to suspected Islamist bombings, communal politics is back on the agenda across India, to challenge an embattled secular-leaning government as its gears up for an election against a Hindu-nationalist opposition in 2009," the wire service says.

Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, a BJP politician who runs the South Indian state, blames Christian groups for the violence.

"While Christians and Hindus have co-existed peacefully in the state, there have been unconstitutional and illegal efforts by some Christian organisations such as 'New Life' to forcibly convert or to induce conversion to Christianity," he says, according to The Times of India, adding: "Efforts of such organization include publishing booklets like 'Satya Darshini' in which Hindu gods and goddesses were denigrated. Our constitution provides for freedom of religion but does not permit forcible or induced conversion." source>>>

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