Violent confrontations, ritual beatings, sudden threats now define what was earlier a peaceful environment to organise prayer meets in. Police and political support bolster such attacks.
Belagavi, Karnataka: As a jubilant crowd gathered inside the Gogte Rangmandir auditorium in Belgaum on Christmas eve, Pastor Benny Paul Saturi, more than once, reminded them of the grimness surrounding the community.
“There is just too much bad news all around us. You look around, and you only hear stories of sadness and despair.”
“But only Lord can save us,” Benny added, in the same breath. “Just continue keeping faith in Him and pray.”
As Benny continued with his prayer meet of the Harvest Church, the gathering of close to 300 people – men, women, and young children – listened to him attentively. “The service last year had been so different. Despite the pandemic, one did not sense any tension in the air,” said an elderly woman to her granddaughter, as soon as the service was over. The ‘tension’ that she and many others in the Christian community had been sensing over the past many months was directly related to the attacks on the churches and the community meetings across Belgaum and other northern districts of Karnataka.
Just a month ago, a prayer gathering – only a few kilometres away at Tilakwadi – was disrupted. The aggressive mob had allegedly entered the venue and demanded that the pastors stop “converting Hindus into Christianity”. The mob, all belonging to many different saffron groups, posing as self-styled protectors of Hinduism, had issued an ultimatum to the New Life church-goers.
The police allegedly were present at the spot, but did not intervene. Overlooking the real incident, the motive behind the attack, the police then booked four pastors present at the prayer meet instead.
‘Rented space’ warning
This attack coincided with the police’s subtle warning to the Christian community against gathering at any rented space for prayers. Over two dozen pastors and community leaders were called in by the police on different occasions and asked to not rent any space for prayers.
The Harvest Church prayer meet too had moved online as the attacks began. “The situation was pretty tense,” pastor Benny says. “There was no point in making people gather at a venue where they would not feel safe, so we opted for online prayer for a few weeks,” he added.
Only on the Sunday before the Christmas eve did churchgoers decide to have an offline meeting. “We informed the nearby police about our prayer. We did not go to them with the intention of seeking permission. We asked them to be proactive and provide us with security should need arise.”
Both the prayer meetings went well. But the police security that the community had eagerly sought was missing. Young men and women took turns to protect the venue instead. On Christmas eve, over a dozen of them stood vigilant outside the two entry gates and scanned every entrant. “We would rather attend the Christmas celebrations,” said Shailaja, a young college-goer.
Smaller Protestant meetings more vulnerable
Most Protestant prayer meets in Belagavi district, unlike those of the Catholics’, are informal set ups. Some meet at a rented auditorium, some in a school halls or houses of devotees, every week. Unlike the established Catholic churches, pastor Benny says these meets have become an easy target over the past years. And the ongoing narrative of coercive means used to convert the Hindus into Christianity has made the Bahujan class particularly more vulnerable.
Pastor Sanjay Bhandari shares his personal encounter with the Hindutva goons early this year. On April 5, when Pastor Sanjay had, along with his teenage daughter and wife, visited a relative in Vadgaon village of Belgaum’s rural region, he was allegedly attacked by a mob of 40-50 men. The men, mostly from the village and known to pastor Sanjay, beat him mercilessly and paraded him across the village. He ended up in a civic hospital for over a week with multiple injuries.
This attack, he says, was particularly on the Devanga or the weaver community of the village. “Over the past decades, several families from the community have been attending prayer meets. This angered the Hindus of the region,” pastor Sanjay says. The attack, he says, was easier only because of the “vulnerable life and the rural background” of the followers who attended his prayer meet.
Pastor Sanjay says over 60-70 people attended his prayer meet every week. “It has now reduced to 30 and some days not even 20 turn up.” This doesn’t mean that people have given up on their belief. “But they fear for their lives,” he feels.
Pastor Benny too points to the sizeable presence of the working and Bahujan caste people in the congregation. But also paused to note that none of them are “forced” to follow Christianity. “Conversion is a legal procedure. It can’t happen by merely attending a prayer meeting,” he clarifies.
“Ours is an informal set-up where people come and go, unlike the established Catholic sect,” he adds. This, Benny says, made for a convenient narrative that the Christians in the district have been forcibly converting.
Sustained intimidation
At least five different incidents of violent confrontations have been reported in the district. Similar cases of disruption and intimidation have been registered in neighbouring districts like Mandya and Hubbali too.
While the attacks and intimidation have succeeded in dissuading many from attending the prayer meets and other church related activities, in some instances, the pastors and their families were also forced to leave the village. Benny narrates one such incident where a pastor who ran a mass prayer in a village close by had to move out following a violent attack on him.
While the attack is largely attributed to vigilante Hindutva groups like the Shri Ram Sene and its offshoot Shri Ram Sene Hindustan, most pastors and community members that The Wire met shared that the attackers were local men who would align with just about any organisation that propagated Hindutva agenda.
The attacks began as early as December 2019, says Gopal Gowda, a senior editor of a leading Marathi daily Pudhari. “The miscreants are mostly young men who only believe in one agenda, Hindutva. And this agenda has only gotten violent by the years,” Gowda points out.
In Belagavi, the militant rightwing group Shri Ram Sene has been active for over a decade. Its splinter outfit Shri Ram Sene Hindustan (SRS-H) too, under the leadership of Ramakant Konduskar, has gained popularity. Both organisations say they have “different politics” and have differences in approach. On the ground, their followers are the same.
‘Freedom of religion’
These attacks and open intimidation have continued with both the police and political support. The Karnataka Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021, passed by the Karnataka legislative assembly in the recent Winter Session has only made miscreants’ resolve stronger, says Iqbal Jakati, editor of a Hindi weekly newspaper Paigam-e-Ittehad.
“The bill has been in the works for the past few years. And this time when the bill was to be tabled in the session, the attacks across the state increased. A direct connection between the two can’t be ruled out,” he says. Jakati has been actively organising meetings of both Christian and Muslim leaders to find ways to stop the growing spate of violent attacks by the Hindu force in the state.
The Karnataka bill emphasises on the term “freedom of religion,” which is actually a misnomer, many say. For example, Gowda says, the Bill was pushed following BJP MLA Gulihatty D Shekhar’s statement on the floor of assembly regarding his mother’s alleged conversion into Christianity. “His mother apparently was a regular at the prayer meetings. So, Shekhar made a passionate speech in the assembly and later launched a ghar wapsi (‘return home’) campaign across the state. His mother too has been “re-converted” into Hinduism now,” Gowda says.
But it is important to note that his mother had willingly attended the prayer meetings and her re-conversion was a forced one, Gowda adds.
Muslim and Christian community members meet in Belagavi to discuss the anti-conversion bill. Photo: Special arrangement.
Konduskar’s outfit, a relatively newer one, has been accused of several violent crimes. The outfit’s Khanapur taluka head Pundalik Maharaj was arrested in the brutal killing of a Muslim youth Arbaz Mulla for allegedly being in love with a Hindu woman.
Konduskar, who has multiple pending cases against him, of rioting and delivering provocative speeches, is currently in jail. He, along with 27 others, were arrested for protesting in Belgaum following the desecration of a King Shivaji statue in Bengaluru. The arrest, his organisation says, was to ensure they don’t protest while the assembly session was on in Belagavi.
“Konduskar dada had no role in any violence. He was in fact not even present at the site of protest when the police began arresting people. But he and many others from the organisation were arrested,” says Sachin Patil, the organisation’s spokesperson.
But these arrests have proven to be a blessing in disguise for the Christian community, many say. The arrests ensured that the right wing group didn’t aggressively participate in attacks on Christmas and most prayer meetings were peaceful.
While the attack on Christians has been on a rise in Belagavi and several other districts in the state, the community leaders and pastors have been finding ways to have a dialogue with the state and police. On December 17, several representatives from the community gathered outside Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, the legislature building in Belagavi. This protest, pastor Benny says, was initiated both with the hope to begin dialogue with ministers and MLAs attending the session and also putting across a point that the community is united against any kind of communalisation.
Belagavi, Karnataka: As a jubilant crowd gathered inside the Gogte Rangmandir auditorium in Belgaum on Christmas eve, Pastor Benny Paul Saturi, more than once, reminded them of the grimness surrounding the community.
“There is just too much bad news all around us. You look around, and you only hear stories of sadness and despair.”
“But only Lord can save us,” Benny added, in the same breath. “Just continue keeping faith in Him and pray.”
As Benny continued with his prayer meet of the Harvest Church, the gathering of close to 300 people – men, women, and young children – listened to him attentively. “The service last year had been so different. Despite the pandemic, one did not sense any tension in the air,” said an elderly woman to her granddaughter, as soon as the service was over. The ‘tension’ that she and many others in the Christian community had been sensing over the past many months was directly related to the attacks on the churches and the community meetings across Belgaum and other northern districts of Karnataka.
Just a month ago, a prayer gathering – only a few kilometres away at Tilakwadi – was disrupted. The aggressive mob had allegedly entered the venue and demanded that the pastors stop “converting Hindus into Christianity”. The mob, all belonging to many different saffron groups, posing as self-styled protectors of Hinduism, had issued an ultimatum to the New Life church-goers.
The police allegedly were present at the spot, but did not intervene. Overlooking the real incident, the motive behind the attack, the police then booked four pastors present at the prayer meet instead.
‘Rented space’ warning
This attack coincided with the police’s subtle warning to the Christian community against gathering at any rented space for prayers. Over two dozen pastors and community leaders were called in by the police on different occasions and asked to not rent any space for prayers.
The Harvest Church prayer meet too had moved online as the attacks began. “The situation was pretty tense,” pastor Benny says. “There was no point in making people gather at a venue where they would not feel safe, so we opted for online prayer for a few weeks,” he added.
Only on the Sunday before the Christmas eve did churchgoers decide to have an offline meeting. “We informed the nearby police about our prayer. We did not go to them with the intention of seeking permission. We asked them to be proactive and provide us with security should need arise.”
Both the prayer meetings went well. But the police security that the community had eagerly sought was missing. Young men and women took turns to protect the venue instead. On Christmas eve, over a dozen of them stood vigilant outside the two entry gates and scanned every entrant. “We would rather attend the Christmas celebrations,” said Shailaja, a young college-goer.
Smaller Protestant meetings more vulnerable
Most Protestant prayer meets in Belagavi district, unlike those of the Catholics’, are informal set ups. Some meet at a rented auditorium, some in a school halls or houses of devotees, every week. Unlike the established Catholic churches, pastor Benny says these meets have become an easy target over the past years. And the ongoing narrative of coercive means used to convert the Hindus into Christianity has made the Bahujan class particularly more vulnerable.
Pastor Sanjay Bhandari shares his personal encounter with the Hindutva goons early this year. On April 5, when Pastor Sanjay had, along with his teenage daughter and wife, visited a relative in Vadgaon village of Belgaum’s rural region, he was allegedly attacked by a mob of 40-50 men. The men, mostly from the village and known to pastor Sanjay, beat him mercilessly and paraded him across the village. He ended up in a civic hospital for over a week with multiple injuries.
This attack, he says, was particularly on the Devanga or the weaver community of the village. “Over the past decades, several families from the community have been attending prayer meets. This angered the Hindus of the region,” pastor Sanjay says. The attack, he says, was easier only because of the “vulnerable life and the rural background” of the followers who attended his prayer meet.
Pastor Sanjay says over 60-70 people attended his prayer meet every week. “It has now reduced to 30 and some days not even 20 turn up.” This doesn’t mean that people have given up on their belief. “But they fear for their lives,” he feels.
Pastor Benny too points to the sizeable presence of the working and Bahujan caste people in the congregation. But also paused to note that none of them are “forced” to follow Christianity. “Conversion is a legal procedure. It can’t happen by merely attending a prayer meeting,” he clarifies.
“Ours is an informal set-up where people come and go, unlike the established Catholic sect,” he adds. This, Benny says, made for a convenient narrative that the Christians in the district have been forcibly converting.
Sustained intimidation
At least five different incidents of violent confrontations have been reported in the district. Similar cases of disruption and intimidation have been registered in neighbouring districts like Mandya and Hubbali too.
While the attacks and intimidation have succeeded in dissuading many from attending the prayer meets and other church related activities, in some instances, the pastors and their families were also forced to leave the village. Benny narrates one such incident where a pastor who ran a mass prayer in a village close by had to move out following a violent attack on him.
While the attack is largely attributed to vigilante Hindutva groups like the Shri Ram Sene and its offshoot Shri Ram Sene Hindustan, most pastors and community members that The Wire met shared that the attackers were local men who would align with just about any organisation that propagated Hindutva agenda.
The attacks began as early as December 2019, says Gopal Gowda, a senior editor of a leading Marathi daily Pudhari. “The miscreants are mostly young men who only believe in one agenda, Hindutva. And this agenda has only gotten violent by the years,” Gowda points out.
In Belagavi, the militant rightwing group Shri Ram Sene has been active for over a decade. Its splinter outfit Shri Ram Sene Hindustan (SRS-H) too, under the leadership of Ramakant Konduskar, has gained popularity. Both organisations say they have “different politics” and have differences in approach. On the ground, their followers are the same.
‘Freedom of religion’
These attacks and open intimidation have continued with both the police and political support. The Karnataka Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021, passed by the Karnataka legislative assembly in the recent Winter Session has only made miscreants’ resolve stronger, says Iqbal Jakati, editor of a Hindi weekly newspaper Paigam-e-Ittehad.
“The bill has been in the works for the past few years. And this time when the bill was to be tabled in the session, the attacks across the state increased. A direct connection between the two can’t be ruled out,” he says. Jakati has been actively organising meetings of both Christian and Muslim leaders to find ways to stop the growing spate of violent attacks by the Hindu force in the state.
The Karnataka bill emphasises on the term “freedom of religion,” which is actually a misnomer, many say. For example, Gowda says, the Bill was pushed following BJP MLA Gulihatty D Shekhar’s statement on the floor of assembly regarding his mother’s alleged conversion into Christianity. “His mother apparently was a regular at the prayer meetings. So, Shekhar made a passionate speech in the assembly and later launched a ghar wapsi (‘return home’) campaign across the state. His mother too has been “re-converted” into Hinduism now,” Gowda says.
But it is important to note that his mother had willingly attended the prayer meetings and her re-conversion was a forced one, Gowda adds.
Muslim and Christian community members meet in Belagavi to discuss the anti-conversion bill. Photo: Special arrangement.
Konduskar’s outfit, a relatively newer one, has been accused of several violent crimes. The outfit’s Khanapur taluka head Pundalik Maharaj was arrested in the brutal killing of a Muslim youth Arbaz Mulla for allegedly being in love with a Hindu woman.
Konduskar, who has multiple pending cases against him, of rioting and delivering provocative speeches, is currently in jail. He, along with 27 others, were arrested for protesting in Belgaum following the desecration of a King Shivaji statue in Bengaluru. The arrest, his organisation says, was to ensure they don’t protest while the assembly session was on in Belagavi.
“Konduskar dada had no role in any violence. He was in fact not even present at the site of protest when the police began arresting people. But he and many others from the organisation were arrested,” says Sachin Patil, the organisation’s spokesperson.
But these arrests have proven to be a blessing in disguise for the Christian community, many say. The arrests ensured that the right wing group didn’t aggressively participate in attacks on Christmas and most prayer meetings were peaceful.
While the attack on Christians has been on a rise in Belagavi and several other districts in the state, the community leaders and pastors have been finding ways to have a dialogue with the state and police. On December 17, several representatives from the community gathered outside Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, the legislature building in Belagavi. This protest, pastor Benny says, was initiated both with the hope to begin dialogue with ministers and MLAs attending the session and also putting across a point that the community is united against any kind of communalisation.
