Hindu Extremists Block Christian Aid to India's Earthquake Victims

Reports coming from India's earthquake zone indicate tensions are heating up between radical Hindu extremists and the nation's minority religious groups. Christian missions workers say members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a controversial Hindu nationalist group, are blocking aid from Christians, Christian agencies, and other minority religions.

Most of the incidents are reported from one of the most radically Hindu states in India, Gujarat. One Indian pastor and four students with the Gujarat Bible Training Center, who visited the towns Bhuj and Bachaua, said that RSS people harassed them on several occasions, even though they had government permission to distribute supplies. The pastor and his team also witnessed radical Hindus taunting a hungry Muslim woman who begged them for food and water.

"Hindu hotheads are trying to dominate the rescue effort," said Father Cedric Prakish, a Catholic priest who directs St. Xavier's Social Service Society. Prakish told The Washington Times that after the devastating January earthquake struck, he rushed to a local understaffed hospital to help with incoming victims. Instead he was forced to leave when the Hindu volunteers continued to shout at him and push him around.

"Hindus are hardening their hearts," said a worker from India Gospel Outreach in a letter to supporters. He continued, saying radical Hindus claim "sole right to dispense food and water," then deny it to "non-Hindus unless they acknowledge Hindu deities," a claim confirmed by Indian television reports.

The same worker said that the RSS had ordered local villagers not to accept help from Christians. Christians have also been kept from donating blood.

One leading Indian newspaper, The Hindu reported that Hindu fanatics have been "hijacking" supplies delivered from foreign countries and distributing them under their own banner.

"In a situation like this, anybody who wants to work and serve must be given a chance to do so," said Prakish. Yet Indian officials deny anyone is preventing Christian relief. "This tragedy is not about religion, it's about humanity," said Arun Jaitley, India's minister for information and broadcasting.

Tension between Christians and Hindus in India is not a new problem. One Indian government official was fired for saying that the recent earthquake was "a judgment of God to the people ... for ill-treating Christians and minorities." T. John, minister of state for civil aviation and infrastructure, said during a speech, "Injustice was done to our people [Christians]. Churches were destroyed [by Hindus] in Gujarat. For this injustice, God has punished them."

Persecution of Christians by the RSS rose to new fervor in 1998 when the Bharatiya Janatha Party came to political power. Early this year such incidents came to the attention of U.S. Sen. Arlen Spector, who expressed concern that India's government was not doing enough to prevent violence against Christians.

"I am not satisfied by the steps taken by the Indian government to curb such incidents," said the Pennsylvania Republican during a visit to New Delhi in January.

Indian officials insist that violence against Christians is limited to a few isolated incidents, and is not a general hate campaign against any particular community. According to figures published by the Indian government, India witnessed about 100 reported attacks on Christians and Christian institutions last year.

By Stephen McGarvey, editor of News and Culture

Editor's Note: The names of several Indian Christians were omitted from this article to protect their safety.