Author: Joshua Newton in Ahmedabad
and Mubai
Publication: Christianity Today
Date: March 2004
URL: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/003/18.26.html
Congressmen appalled at religious
persecution of Christians Muslims.
A fact-finding team of four U.S.
congressmen has raised hopes among Indian Christian leaders fighting persecution.
After a weeklong tour in January
requested by Indian Christians, Joseph Pitts (R-Pa.) expressed shock at
the persecution. We are touched by the suffering of the Christian and Muslim
minorities at the hands of Hindu extremists here, Pitts said.
The team will take up with both
U.S. and Indian authorities the countrys controversial anti-conversion
laws, the status of oppressed Dalits, and violence against minorities.
The All-India Christian Council (AICC), with help from Jubilee Campaign,
organized the delegations visit.
We learned about the Dalits, 250
million people who are suffering in almost indescribable, inhumane ways,
Pitts said. This is a great human rights tragedy.
According to police records, the
number of reported attacks on Christians in India rose from seven in 1996
to 380 in 2003. Unofficial estimates put last years number at 600.
