Author: Sandhya Jain
Publication: Vijayvaani.com
Date: February 1, 2011
URL: http://www.vijayvaani.com/FrmPublicDisplayArticle.aspx?id=1608
The Supreme Court shocked the Hindu community when on 25 Jan. 2011, it succumbed
to pressure from Christian activists and modified its 21 Jan. 2011 judgment
in the Graham Staines murder case, without the filing of a curative petition
by any party to the case; without notice to the lawyers of convicted Rabindra
Kumar Pal (alias Dara Singh) and Mahendra Hembram; and without reference to
representatives of the Hindu community which is the target and victim of Christian
conversions in India.
The burning to death of missionary Graham
Staines and his two minor sons while they were asleep in their vehicle at
Manoharpur village, district Keonjhar, Orissa, on 22 Jan. 1999, was a grim
response to missionary provocation in the state. It was a unique crime in
modern India, matched only by the burning alive of Malegaon additional district
collector Yashwant Sonawane by the oil mafia on 25 Jan. 2011.
The Justice D.P. Wadhwa Commission of Enquiry,
which submitted its report on 21 June 1999, found evidence of the sustained
missionary activity of late Graham Staines in the form of his dispatches to
Australian missionary magazine, Tidings, reports of his colleagues, evidence
of his wife, and others.
Police arrested anti-cow slaughter activist
Dara Singh from Mayurbhanj forest in January 2000 for instigating and planning
the crime; he and Mahendra Hembram were found guilty during the trial. Singh's
death penalty was commuted to life imprisonment by the Orissa High Court in
May 2005, because he was convicted on circumstantial evidence as none of the
eye witness accounts established his involvement in the crime.
The court noted, "There is absolutely
no evidence on record that due to individual act of Dara Singh alone the three
deceased persons or any of them died." It added: "The eye witnesses
never attributed any particular fatal injury, for which Dara Singh can be
individually held responsible for the death of the three deceased persons
or for the death of any of them." The High Court upheld life imprisonment
for Hembram and acquitted 11 others for lack of evidence. This verdict was
upheld by the Supreme Court.
In its original verdict, the apex court observed,
"the intention was to teach a lesson to Graham Staines about his religious
activities, namely, converting poor tribals to Christianity. All these aspects
have been correctly appreciated by the High Court, which modified the sentence
of death into life imprisonment with which we concur". This was modified
as, "more than 12 years have elapsed since the act was committed, we
are of the opinion that the life sentence awarded by the High Court need not
be enhanced in view of the factual position discussed in the earlier paras."
Secondly, the sentence, "It is undisputed
that there is no justification for interfering in someone's belief by way
of use of force, provocation, conversion, incitement or upon a flawed premise
that one religion is better than the other" (the meaning of the constitutional
principle of equality of faiths and non-discrimination in matters of religion)
was replaced by "There is no justification for interfering in someone's
religious belief by any means".
The apex court's original assertions came
as a balm to the Hindu community that has long been battered by jihad and
crusade simultaneously; but were bitterly attacked by Christian activists.
In a flurry of denunciations in the secular media, Fr. Dominic Emmanuel, chief
spokesman, New Delhi Roman Catholic Archdiocese, said the bench's statement
that "the intention was to teach a lesson to Graham Staines about his
religious activities, namely, converting poor tribals to Christianity…"
and "…flawed premise that one religion is better than the other"
came as "a shock to all those who believe in India's secular spirit and
Constitution" (Deccan Chronicle, 24 Jan. 2011).
Former journalist B.G. Verghese said attenuation
of the punishment because of Graham Staines' converting poor tribals to Christianity
was an "appalling statement and should be expunged or reversed by a larger
bench…" He condemned anti-conversion laws in some states (Deccan
Herald).
Cardinal Oswald Gracias, president, Bishops
Conference of India Mumbai said the judgment "seems to justify inter-religious
and anti-Christian violence" (AsiaNews). The All India Christian Council,
Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) and Civil Society joined the fray.
The latter said "The Supreme Court ruling may in fact send the wrong
signals to courts trying cases of religious violence in Kandhamal, for instance…
It also tends to pre-empt possible challenges to the black laws enacted by
many states in the guise of Freedom of Religion Bills. … We expect the
government to ask the Supreme Court to expunge the unnecessary, uncalled for
and unconstitutional remarks".
Perhaps the Centre, controlled by an Italian-born
Roman Catholic with obliging minions, did 'lean on' the Hon'ble Court and
ensure prompt redressal of Christian grievances, even at the cost of compromising
basic principles of the constitution, and the Fundamental Rights of India's
beleaguered native community, particularly weaker sections like tribals who
are continuously preyed upon by the gargantuan international soul-harvesting
industry.
Since the plea to enhance Dara Singh's life
sentence to death penalty was made by the Central Bureau of Investigation,
it would have been appropriate for the Supreme Court to have issued notices
to all parties before amending its own judgment, and invited a larger national
debate on its ruling that, "Our concept of secularism is that the state
will have no religion. The state shall treat all religions and religious groups
equally and with equal respect, without, in any manner, interfering in their
individual right of religion, faith and worship."
Today, the Supreme Court has given weightage
to a trans-national imperial religion with a history of genocide and forced
conversions, leaving no trace of original faith and culture in lands it now
dominates. Its inhuman crimes against adherent-victims, manifesting as clergy-related
sex abuse scandals in dioceses across the West, leave no fig leaf that its
mission is social service, no matter on what pretext it enters vulnerable
societies on its soul-gathering agenda.
Conversions always produce social strife and
disharmony. Staines' writings home reflect his awareness of the deep unhappiness
he had stirred in the region. The brutal murder of Swami Laxmanananda at Kandhamal
in 2008 shows how unsafe Hindu leaders are when fighting conversions; the
verdict in this case now worries the church. Sadly, the Supreme Court has
compromised its courage at a very critical hour.
- The writer is Editor, www.vijayvaani.com
