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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENNAI 000017 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KIRF PINR IN
SUBJECT: BJP STATE GOVERNMENT RESPONDS TO RECENT CHURCH ATTACKS IN 
KARNATAKA 
 
REF: A) 09 CHENNAI 25, B) 09 CHENNAI 98 
 
CHENNAI 00000017  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Several acts of vandalism against Christian sites 
in Karnataka over the past several days may be the work of the Hindu 
extremist Sri Ram Sena, the same outfit responsible for multiple 
violent incidents in the state over the past 18 months.  The group 
reportedly sent a letter to a top local bureaucrat threatening 
action against Christian interests in India in protest against 
attacks against Indians in Australia.  The response from the 
government of Karnataka has been positive and led by the Chief 
Minister, who issued prompt and sharp rebukes against the 
perpetrators.  End Summary. 
 
Miscreants vandalize churches in Karnataka 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (U) Local press reported that unknown perpetrators vandalized two 
Catholic churches in Karnataka in the late night/early morning hours 
of January 25/26, one near Mysore (120 km south west of Bangalore) 
and one in the village of Bhatkal (halfway between Goa and 
Mangalore, on Karnataka's coast).  In both cases, the damage appears 
to be fairly minor, and directed mainly towards shrines housing 
statues of Mother Mary.  There were no reports of injuries, and no 
arrests have been made.  The local Catholic bishop's office has told 
us that the police response at the scenes of the incidents was 
prompt and professional. 
 
¶3. (U) Karnataka Chief Minister Yeddiyurappa publicly condemned the 
incident, alleging that the perpetrators were both "organized" and 
part of a "conspiracy against the (state of Karnataka's) 
government."  He also told reporters that he had directed the police 
to "act tough" against the culprits.  Karnataka's Governor, Hans Raj 
Bhardwaj, also publicly condemned the attacks, urging the state 
government to take "stringent action" against the perpetrators and 
emphasizing the importance of upholding the Indian constitution's 
protection of the right of citizens to practice their religions 
freely.  The state's Home Secretary, V.S. Acharya, told reporters, 
however, of the difficulties in providing security to all places of 
worship in the state, and appealed to religious institutions to make 
the necessary arrangements for their own security. 
 
¶4. (SBU) A reporter for one of India's major dailies based in the 
area told us that he believed the January 25/26 incidents were 
perpetrated by Sri Ram Sena activists.  (Sri Ram Sena, a violent 
Hindu chauvinist group, has been involved in a number of ugly 
incidents in western Karnataka, including an assault on women at a 
pub in Mangalore in January 2009 - see ref A.)  The reporter told us 
that police arrested eight Sri Ram Sena members for damaging a cross 
at a church near Bhatkal on January 22, and that the January 25/26 
attacks were a response to those arrests. 
 
A bizarre Aussie twist 
---------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) Local press reports claim that on January 19 the leader of a 
local Sri Ram Sena unit delivered to the area's top bureaucrat 
("Assistant Commissioner") a memorandum addressed to the President 
of India warning that if attacks on "Indian Hindus" in Australia 
continued, Sri Ram Sena would "ensure that there is not a single 
church in Bhatkal."  (The Indian media has reported heavily on a 
series of attacks against Indians in Australia.)  The memo also 
reportedly claimed that "Christians in India are part of a 
conspiracy to target Indian Hindus in Australia." 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) While these acts of vandalism against Christian sites are 
unsettling, it appears that state officials have finally got the 
message on the importance of protecting religious freedom.  In 
contrast with earlier episodes (ref B), where the state's BJP-led 
government often acted lethargically and tended to blame the victim, 
the response this time was prompt and unequivocal.  The arrest of 
Sena leaders following the January 22 incident (not widely reported 
in the mainstream media) and deployment of additional police forces 
 
CHENNAI 00000017  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
in the area to prevent further attacks after the January 25/26 
incidents, suggest the seriousness with which the government of 
Karnataka is responding to these acts of Hindu extremists. 
 
SIMKIN