VZCZCXRO7723
RR RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHLH RUEHPW
DE RUEHCG #0350/01 2910429
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 170429Z OCT 08
FM AMCONSUL CHENNAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1920
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 3346
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENNAI 000350 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PINR KIRF IN
SUBJECT:  CHRISTIANS STILL NERVOUS IN SOUTH INDIA 
 
REF: A) CHENNAI 315, B) NEW DELHI 2513, C) CHENNAI 326 
 
¶1. (SBU) Several of South India's Christian leaders expressed their 
continuing fear of anti-Christian violence to Joannella Morales, an 
officer in the Department's Office of International Religious 
Freedom, during her visit to Chennai and Bangalore on October 7 and 
¶10.  While violence on the scale of the September 14-15 attacks in 
Karnataka has not been repeated (refs A and B), Morales's 
interlocutors said that they fear that upcoming parliamentary 
elections may encourage Hindu radicals to continue to target 
Christians to attract Hindu votes.  Hindu leaders said that the vast 
majority of Hindus abhor violence but that some Christian groups 
proselytize using techniques that many Hindus find offensive. 
Police in Bangalore told Morales that every church in the city is 
guarded by at least two police officers at all times and that they 
are determined to prevent violence.    End Summary 
 
Christians and Hindus in Chennai offer explanations 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) In Chennai, Morales spoke with both Christian and Hindu 
leaders about the recent violence against Christians in India. 
Catholic Archbishop Dr. A.M. Chinnappa said that the national 
network of Hindutva-promoting organizations is essentially probing 
various spots in India to see where it can succeed in promoting 
violent attacks, arguing that some upper-caste Hindus are vehemently 
opposed to the efforts of the Church to uplift the lower castes.  He 
also said that allegations of "forcible conversions" are a "bogey" 
raised by the Hindutva organizations to stir resentment among Hindus 
in the hopes of electoral gain. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Assemblies of God National Superintendent Pastor D. Mohan 
told Morales that the attacks are being organized with a view to 
capturing votes in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in India.  "The 
BJP agenda is to create enmity between the Hindus and Christians so 
that the whole Hindu vote would go to them", he said.  He also 
alleged that India's Home Minister, Shivraj Patil, is reluctant to 
act forcefully because he is an "RSS man in his heart".  Mohan told 
Morales that RSS leaders --whom he perceives to be directing the 
violence -- are mindful of their reputation abroad and urged the 
U.S. Government to raise its voice against the violence. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Malini Parthasarathy, Executive Editor for The Hindu, one 
of India's most prominent dailies and a vocal secularist, told 
Morales that communal violence against religious minorities occurs 
mostly in states ruled by the BJP, particularly in situations where 
the minorities are of little electoral significance.  She criticized 
the Government of India for not acting forcefully enough to curb the 
violence but maintained that she believes the GOI's sympathies lie 
with the minorities.  She ruled out, however, the possibility of the 
Center dismissing the Orissa and Karnataka governments, emphasizing 
that the Center's governing coalition would not have the votes to 
pass such a motion in the Lok Sabha. 
 
¶5. (SBU) BJP National Secretary Thirunavukkarasar told Morales that 
"95 percent of the BJP's leaders" are against violent opposition to 
religious minorities, although the party uniformly opposes "forcible 
conversions." (The term "forced" or "forcible" conversion has 
different meanings to different people.  We will explore some of 
these meanings and their implications in subsequent reporting.) 
Thirunavukkarasar said that he draws a distinction between the RSS 
and some of its more radical, affiliated organizations like the 
Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal that have been directly 
implicated in some of the violence.  He argued that although the RSS 
stands for the Hindu community, it is not inclined towards 
organizing violent action. 
 
Karnataka's Christians fearful of upcoming elections 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Christian leaders in Karnataka told Morales that upcoming 
state and national elections are making their community increasingly 
fearful of attacks.  By-elections elections for eight seats in the 
state legislature are not yet scheduled but need to be held within 
the next few months.  These elections could bring down the state's 
government if the governing BJP fails to win them, raising 
Christians' fears that some Hindu groups supportive of the BJP might 
use violence to target them and shore up electoral support. 
 
Attacks not a new phenomenon 
---------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Benedict Balu, President of Karnataka Christa Ranga, a 
group that represents former Dalit converts to Christianity, said 
that he fears the state's current crackdown against Hindu extremist 
groups could soften as the elections approach.  He also said that 
radical Hindu groups like the Bajrang Dal have targeted Dalit 
Christian pastors -- who often preach in homes or makeshift 
structures -- since the BJP came to power in Karnataka in 2006 as 
 
CHENNAI 00000350  002 OF 002 
 
 
part of a coalition government.  He alleged that these attacks 
attracted little media attention, and that the issue gained 
prominence only when attacks on organized and more prominent 
Christian facilities took place. 
 
Attacks on Churches subside in Karnataka 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) While petty violence and vandalism against churches 
continues sporadically, serious violence against Christians and 
their places of worship appears to have tapered off, at least for 
now.  Bangalore's Police Chief Shankar Bidari told us that he had 
posted two constables at each church in the city.  He also said that 
he had called in church representatives after the September 21 
attacks (ref C) to discuss measures to better coordinate security. 
 
 
¶9. Bernard Moras, the Catholic Bishop of Bangalore, confirmed to us 
that he observed a definite drop in the frequency of attacks on 
churches in the state.  Lakshmi Narayan, Secretary to Karnataka's 
Chief Minister, told Morales that the government's "clear 
instructions" to the police to crack down on perpetrators of 
violence were responsible for the drop in attacks. 
 
Christians see discrimination in prosecution 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) While Christians are pleased that violence is decreasing, 
they are angry about what they believe is discrimination in how the 
legal system is addressing the violence that occurred between 
September 14 and 22.  Bishop Moras told Morales that 35 of the 152 
Christians arrested mainly in Mangalore have been charged with 
serious offenses, like attempted murder.  He alleged that the 16 
arrested members of the extremist Bajrang Dal, however, have been 
charged with minor offenses, like creating a public nuisance.  While 
Karnataka's Chief Minister agreed to the Catholic Archbishop's 
demand to allow the charged Christians out on bail, they continue to 
face the possibility of a sentence much more severe than the Bajrang 
Dal members who initiated the violence. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) The violence in Karnataka may have subsided, but tensions 
remain.  The Christian community will remain a little-understood and 
easy-to-demonize target for Hindu radicals.  We believe the police 
are making good-faith efforts to prevent violence against Christians 
in Karnataka, but their capacity to do so successfully will come 
under severe strain if Hindu radicals make a concerted effort to 
target churches. 
 
¶12. (U) This message was coordinated with Embassy New Delhi.  IRF 
Officer Morales did not have the opportunity to clear. 
 
SIMKIN