MINORITIES - 2002 - Indian Social Institute

HYDERABAD, OCT. 18. The Tamil Nadu ordinance to check forced conversions had its echo in Andhra
Pradesh today. In a rare show of unity, Christian groups and organisations, belonging to both the Catholic
and the Protestant sects, came together to fight the ordinance. A hectic campaign is on by these groups to
mobilise the Chris tian public for participation in demonstrations planned at the Ta mil Nadu Secretariat
and the Assembly at Chennai on October 24. All churches in Andhra Pradesh, Catholic and Protestant,
will ob serve Sunday (October 20) as "prayer day" for resolving the issue, said Jatti A. Oliver, chairman of
the joint commission of the Andhra Pradesh Council of Churches and the A.P. Catholic Bishops' Coun cil
after a meeting of the highest policy-making bodies of the two sects here today. The meeting demanded
withdrawal of the "draconian law", describing it as a blatant intrusion by the State into personal domain
and an attempt to intimidate dalits and the poor who were struggling to free themselves from the caste
system and its ill-effects. (Hindu 19.10.02)
Kutch village erupts after boys forced conversion (7)
AHMEDABAD, OCT 18: RAPAR taluka in Kutch district remained tense today after at least six shops
belonging to the mi nority community were burnt down to protest against conversion of a per son to Islam.
Police detained 22 peo ple in Adeshwar village, around 170 km from Bhuj, for burning down the shops.
Trouble started around 7 am when sarpanch Khimalal Barot and a dozen other villagers went to Bhimasar
police station with a memorandum that a village boy had been forcibly converted. They demanded action
against the culprits. (Indian Express 19.10.02)
20 th October
Ban VHP, Bajrang Dal, says Youth Congress (7)
NEW DELHI, OCT. 19. Demanding an immediate ban on the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal,
a large number of Indian Youth Congress activists demonstrated in front of the VHP's central office here
today shouting for arrest of the VHP leader, Praveen Togadia, and a public apology from him for us ing
derogatory language against the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi. Lambasting the Sangh Parivar for
"degrading the culture of the country and vitiating the political atmosphere", the IYC workers, led by their
president, Randeep Singh Surjewala, and lYC's Delhi unit chief, Rajesh Liothia, gathered in front of the
VHP office in the evening de manding senior VHP leaders, including Mr. Togadia, to ten der an apology in
public. (Hindu 20.10.02)
Massive protest against TN ordinance (7)
CHENNAI, OCT. 19. Articulating their protest against the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Forcible Conversion of
Religion Ordinance, minorities and Opposition parties today staged a massive demonstration in Chennai
and all over the State. "This is not a mere symbolic protest, but beginning of a movement seeking either
the repeal of the black law or the downfall of the AIADMK regime," Hyder AH, general secretary, Tamil
Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam, who led the protest along with Christian, Muslim and Dalit leaders,
under the banner of the Anti-Conversion Ordinance Protest Committee, told mediapersons. The
protesters, who congregated near the Memorial Hall at Park Town here, carried placards claiming that the
ordinance challenged the Dalits and other oppressed classes, who were seeking a better life with dignity.
The measure was a clear move by the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, to "appease the saffron brigade".
(Hindu 20.10.02)
21 st October
Villagers threaten Orissa converts (7)
Bhubaneswar, Oct. 20: Tension sparked off in the border area of remote Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar
district of Orissa when a majority of villagers threatened to drive out a converted Christian family
after the latter's action reportedly hurt religious sentiment. According to a report which reached here,
a high-ranking district offi cial team along with armed police forces were camp ing at Chakidi panchayat of
Mayurbhanj district. Sensing trouble in the highly sensitive area, which had hit headlines of
almost all the international media for the killing of the Australian missionary Gra ham Staines and his two
..minor sons, (Asian Age 21.10.02)
Rajasthan may face communal backlash (7)
Jaipur: Oct. 20. — The Intelligence wing of the state police fears that after Gujarat, Rajas-than may
witness communal tension in the near future, with the RSS and other Sangh Parivar outfits intensifying