MINORITIES - 2002 - Indian Social Institute
MINORITIES - 2002 - Indian Social Institute
MINORITIES - 2002 - Indian Social Institute
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con-'sultations with officials be fore sending it to the Chief Justice of India. The Supreme Court is likely lo<br />
take up the matter within a day or two in or der to fix a date for the hearing and to constitute the Bench.<br />
The solicitor-general, Mr Harish Salve, is to bring up the Gujaral issue before Chief Jus tice Mr BN Kirpal<br />
tomorrow or the day after. (Statesman, 21.8.<strong>2002</strong>)<br />
21 st Aug<br />
BJP alleges spate of conversions in Chhattisgarh. (7)<br />
RAIPUR, AUG. 20. The State unit of the BIP has decided to send a detailed report to the Centre on the<br />
spate of conversions to Christianity in Chhattisgarh. Describing it as a continua tion of the task undertaken<br />
by Christian missionaries in Eu rope and Africa in the 17th and 18th centuries, the Leader of the<br />
Opposition in the State As sembly, Nand Kumar Sai, al leged today that the conversions were receiving administrative<br />
patronage under the present Government. He told The Hindu that his party would prepare an<br />
elaborate re port on the role of the Govern ment machinery in promoting the conversions and send it to the<br />
Centre. The decision was taken after reports of 13 tribal families embracing Christianity in Mirigamuda<br />
village of Rai-garh district on August 16 ar rived here yesterday. Police have admitted conver sions having<br />
taken place but said only 21 persons had embraced Christianity. A priest, I. C.John, was specially sent to<br />
Raigarh for baptism. On the other hand, there have been re ports of some lower caste Sikh families<br />
embracing Christianity in Durg district. Taking a seri ous note of the situation, the Sikh Panchayat had<br />
sought ad vice from the New Delhi and Amritsar offices of the Sikh Dharma Prachar Committee to tackle<br />
the issue. The panchayat had also undertaken a door-to-door survey of the Sikh families to ascertain how<br />
many of them were being lured into embrac ing Christianity. About half-a-dozen families who were reportedly<br />
being persuaded to embrace Christianity had been identified. The Sikh Panchayat would now<br />
alert the members of their community in Chhattis garh against conversions. (Hindu, 21.8.<strong>2002</strong>)<br />
22 nd Aug<br />
22. convert to Christianity. (7)<br />
Raipur: Twenty-two persons, including seven women belonging to Satnami community (SC), converted to<br />
Christianity at Mirigunda village, in Raigarh district recently. The converted families have sent written<br />
communication to the district magistrate, SDM and the SO(police) claiming they changed their religion<br />
voluntarily and with out any allurement, in the presence of two priests who had come from Delhi on August<br />
10. They claimed they had changed their reli gion after reading the Bible and there was no pressure on<br />
them. Official sources also con firmed the conversions. Last month, two priests and a nun were sen tenced<br />
to imprisonment on the charge of forcible conversion by a Raigarh court. Meanwhile, a controversy has<br />
erupted in Durg district following reports of conversion to Christianity by some Sikh members. Kendriya<br />
Sikh panchayat chairman Harbha-jan Singh said they had complained to the Sikh Prachar Samiti at<br />
Amritsar about this. (Times of India, 22.8.<strong>2002</strong>)<br />
22nd Aug<br />
NCM objects to conversions. (7)<br />
New Delhi: Acting on the basis of news reports about the conversion of some Sikh families to Christianity<br />
in Bhilai, National Commission for Minorities (NCM) vice-chairperson Tarlochan Singh has written to<br />
Christian leaders "to desist from this activity to avoid tension between two minority communities". Singh's<br />
letter, addressed to H G Varghese Marcoorilos, president of the National Council of Churches in India, and<br />
Vincent M Concessao, president, Catholic Bishop Council of India, says: "Conversion is a se rious issue<br />
with all communities and there has already been tension be tween various communities in India in the<br />
recent past because of this. We do not want that the two minority communities, Sikh and Chris tians,<br />
should now try to make efforts to denounce each other and try to get numerical strength through<br />
conversion." Citing recent incidents in Punjab and Bhilai where "Christian mis sionaries fully supported with<br />
medical teams have been going around many villages alluring poor Sikh families to adopt Christianity",<br />
Singh said: "The <strong>Indian</strong> Constitution allows freedom of expression and we all should adhere to this<br />
principle." However, Henry D'Souza, convener of the media cell of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of<br />
India, denied any conversion by force. (Times of India, 22.8.<strong>2002</strong>)<br />
23 rd Aug<br />
VHP converts six families. (7)
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