Indian Christian leaders
condemn Delhi communal violence
 |
| An Area of New Delhi, India, after the riots |
Christian leaders have called on church institutions to open
their doors to the victims of the riots in the spirit of Lent.
Vatican News
Christian leaders from different denominations in the Indian
capital have condemned the latest communal violence that erupted in New Delhi
and asked their churches to open their doors to the victims of the riots.
The three days of violence, which erupted on Feb. 23, has
killed at least 32 people, in the deadliest violence in the city since the 1992
nationwide riots following the demolition of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya in
Uttar Pradesh, and possibly since the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 after the
assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi, media reports said.
An uneasy calm reigned on the city on Thursday, with a heavy
deployment of security forces kept watch.
“At this trying moment when communal riots have
suddenly gripped Delhi, let us come forward with our prayers and every possible
effort to bring relief to the affected people in terms of shelter, food and
clothing,” appealed Archbishop Anil Couto of Delhi in a letter.
He urged his parish priests to open their premises "for
this noble cause in the Lenten season. Please convey this to our people and
organize them for action.”
Riots broke out as supporters of the Citizenship Amendment
Act (CAA) clashed with its opponents.
The government’s CAA, passed on Dec. 11 last year, allows
minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who settled in India prior
to 2015 to obtain Indian citizenship but excludes Muslims.
Coupled with the proposed nationwide National Register of
Citizens (NRC), Muslims fear the moves are intended to strip millions of their
community members of citizenship. People from other disadvantaged caste and
gender identities, as well as women, fear they are vulnerable to the NRC.
“Humanity has been knocked down one more time, our houses
burned, our kindred killed, our peace destroyed, and future betrayed,” said a
Feb. 26 statement from the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI), the
forum of Protestant and Orthodox Churches in India.
“We appeal to members of the different Christian traditions
to facilitate each other, and all others of different faith traditions and
ideological persuasions in their neighbourhoods, to rise from the ashes,” said
the statement signed by Rev. Asir Ebenezer, NCCI general secretary.
The statement condemned "the dastardly attack on the
vulnerable and the weak in different locations of Delhi, the explicit or
implicit complicity and tacit approval of those in power and authority.”
The NCCI also appealed to churches and Christian
organizations in affected areas to respond appropriately to those in need.
The Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI), the national
alliance of evangelical Christians, condemned the “reprehensible violence and
killing as the work of vested political interests and forces of hate."
The EFI statement signed by its general secretary Rev.
Vijayesh Lal appealed to the people of Delhi to “maintain peace and not to give
in to vicious vitriol fed by rumours and spread through social media. We must
not let hate win.”
It also asked its congregations in Delhi area to open
"their hearts and facilities for the afflicted and to come to the aid of
the helpless and distraught. This would be our act of service unto our Lord,
this Lenten season.” (Source: UCANEWS)
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