a contextual missiology of the spirit - eTheses Repository ...

significant result of such a wedding between religion and politics is the religious
tension that now exists.
Incidents have been reported show that in those states where BJP is the ruling
party the tension between the religious communities remains, and in reality
minority rights and privileges are curtailed. Although there is constitutional
provision for religion, due to the strong link between religion and politics, the
religious minorities are reported to be in a perilous situation in many parts of
north India. It is likely that they are under attack even with the consent of the
governmental authorities including the police. For example, many like David
Emmanuel Singh sees that the post-Godhra event in Gujarat is an example of
governmental support of religious violence. There took place violent conflicts
between Hindus and Muslims in a small town called Godhra in Gujarat in North
West India. This spread all over Gujarat, resulting in the brutal killing of hundreds
of Muslims. Singh has observed that the response of the BJP government both in
the state and at the centre seems to be dismal. In most of the conflicts ‘police
either connived with the murderers or played the role of a passive observer.’ 100
The recent report by the Tehelka reveals that not only the Police Commissioner,
but even the Gujarat chief minister played a role in the aftermath of the Godhra
100 See for more details, David Emmanuel Singh, ‘Beyond Controversy: Christian Mission and
Communal Religious Violence in Contemporary India,’ http://www.martynmission.cam.
ac.uk/CDSingh.htm (accessed 10 July 2007).
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