Nirmala Carvalho

The man was a very influential Christian leader. Radical Hindus seek to eliminate community leaders. Widespread mistrust of police action. Four extremists have been arrested after a long delay, accused of raping a sister.

With a knife pressed to his throat, threatened with death, he did not renounce his Christian faith. But there are others who, under threat, have been forced to convert to Hinduism. Injured Christians attacked even in the hospital. Three more villages attacked in the district of Kandhamal. The missionaries of Mother Teresa want to return to take care of leprosy and tuberculosis patients.

Bodies belong to a group that visited a village to immunise residents. Plan to make the state Christian-free entails different stages. International disinformation campaign is underway.

On the evening of September 25, fundamentalists attacked and burned down the house of the Missionaries of Charity in the village of Sukananda. Sister M. Suma, the regional superior, prays for the "persecutors", that they may repent of their violence and "make peace with God" for their actions.

Whether they were arrested in March or simply disappeared thereafter, their relatives and friends are in the dark as to their whereabouts or even if they are still alive. An appeal is made to foreign governments, international agencies and the United Nations not to forget them.

Christians are scared of night-time attacks. Radical Hindus attack police, guilty in their eyes of jailing some of their fellow co-religionists involved in violence in past days. Christians forced to reconvert are also forced to burn churches and homes of other Christians. Terrorism sponsored by the state of Orissa comes in for harsh criticism.

The bodies of the two victims were cut into pieces and thrown into a pond. Some churches from the 1600's and from the Middle Ages attacked. Sisters and priests forced to conceal their identity in order to escape persecution and reconversion to Hinduism. At a meeting in Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh), the government is being asked to outlaw radical Hindu groups.

The clergyman lived like an Indian ascetic in an ashram, preaching peace and promoting inter-faith dialogue. Nothing is known of the motive behind the deed; police will not exclude a botched robbery attempt as the possible cause. The funeral is scheduled for tomorrow.

Dharm Raksha Sena groups dare parish priest to stop their action. More destruction is planned. Violence is tied to BJP election campaign. Gathering is to take place tomorrow, bringing Christians, Muslims, Sikhs and moderate Hindus together in Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh).

Archbishop Vincent Concessao emphasizes that Hindu extremism does not only deny minority rights, but also co-existence and respect for human rights, bringing the constitutional pillars of the country into crisis. In Delhi, Hindu radicals occupy the garden of the Catholic church of Trilokpuri, because they want to build a temple there.

The convent guard was injured. A statue of Our Lady of Lourdes was destroyed in Kolar. In the state of Orissa alone, 45 have been killed, 5 are missing, and 18,000 have been wounded.

A Christian has been killed and dozens of homes have been burned. Police are clashing with Hindu militants. The tension is spreading in Kerala, and remains high in Karnataka, where the government is accused of conniving with the fundamentalists.