Must Read: Crying wolf: The narrative of the ‘Delhi church attacks’ flies in the face of facts

[Shinigami]

where is mr. emanuel who was shouting out loud on times now show ???

there is this rumour that english media is influenced by christians

 

[vsdave2302]

Is the Christian community in Delhi under threat now that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in power? Many people would like you to think so.

Since December 2014, six specific incidents, all in Delhi, of alleged attacks on churches and, most recently, on a Christian school have been widely reported and commented upon by the media, both domestic and foreign.

The burden of this spate of reportage and commentary is to suggest that the recent attacks reflect a broader trend of rising intolerance against religious minorities, in this instance Christians in particular. It’s also suggested that this, in turn, is a result, either directly or indirectly, of the rise to power of Narendra Modi and the BJP in May 2014

Even US President Barack Obama chose to pinpoint the issue of religious intolerance in India in widely publicised speeches, both in India and on his return to the US. While he made no specific mention of the BJP being responsible, his comments were widely read as a veiled critique of the Modi government.

While it’s hard to quantify the impact, the church attacks also figured in the recently concluded Delhi assembly election which swept the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Arvind Kejriwal to a landslide victory. Minority communities, both Muslim and Christian , appear to have heavily favoured the AAP, and church leaders in the recent past have made no secret of the fact that their preferred party was indeed AAP. In fact, in the aftermath of AAP’s victory in the Delhi elections, the Catholic Archbishop Anil Joseph Thomas Couto celebrated the BJP’s defeat.

It’s routinely assumed that Hindu groups support the BJP, which many do. Yet many in the mainstream establishment refuse to acknowledge the obvious fact that minority religious groups, both Muslim and Christian, themselves play an overtly political role.

It’s no wonder then that church leaders, including the same archbishop, have proclaimed there’s a pattern to these recent alleged attacks.

But do the facts actually bear out the claims being made? In a word: no.

The first of these six alleged attacks, the fire that resulted in the burning of St. Sebastian Church in Dilshad Garden, is currently under investigation by a Special Investigative Team (SIT) set up by the Home Ministry shortly after the incident occurred in December.

In a second incident in Jasola it was alleged that a group of miscreants threw a stone and shattered a window pane. The police commissioner, as reported here by a news editor and here said it was due to a group of kids playing outside, which resulted in a stone landing inside the church. There is no evidence as yet of any communal angle.

The third incident in Rohini, in which the Christmas crib was charred, was determined by the police to be the result of an electrical short circuit.

The fourth incident in Vikaspuri, in which a small group of men allegedly vandalised a church, turned out to be the result of a drunken dare. What’s more, they were caught on CCTV and arrested shortly thereafter by the police and have confessed to the crime. Again, there’s no evidence whatsoever of a communal angle.

The fifth incident in Vasant Kunj, allegedly a case of burglary, is currently under investigation by the police.

The sixth and most recent incident, in Vasant Vihar, of a burglary at a Christian school, has been determined by the police and the school itself to be a case of theft— Rs. 8,000 was reported to have been stolen — again, no communal angle.

And, according to the Delhi Police themselves, there’s no evidence whatever that these six incidents in Dilshad Garden, Jasola, Rohini, Vikaspuri, Vasant Kunj and Vasant Vihar are related or part of a pattern of attacks on minority institutions. Further, again according to the police themselves, and as noted above, there’s no evidence that communal sentiment animated any of these attacks.

It’s also necessary to keep the nature and quantum of these incidents in the proper perspective.
According to the Delhi Police’s own statistics, in 2014 there were 155,654 incidents of crime in the city, of which there were 10,309 burglaries and 42,634 “other” incidents of theft, that is not involving motor vehicles or houses. Total crimes reported almost doubled from 2013 to 2014, reflecting, according to the police themselves, more diligent filing of reports by them rather than a huge jump in the incidence of crime.

Crucially, it’s not just churches that are periodically vandalised and robbed in India. With incidents of theft alone, according to the Delhi Police, 206 temples, 30 gurdwaras and three churches (out of some 200 or more churches in Delhi) and 14 mosques were burgled in 2014. And such crimes didn’t mysteriously start to occur in May 2014 after the BJP’s victory — as with other crimes, they routinely occur every year in Delhi as the data show.

Despite the facts pointing in one direction, church leaders and commentators, both in the domestic and foreign media who parrot their line, continue to insist that there’s a pattern to the incidents, the motivation is communal, and the BJP or affiliated groups are somehow responsible. An entire narrative of a rising tide of religious intolerance in India has been crafted, on the back of unpersuasive evidence, such as these six incidents and misinformation around the conversion and reconversion debate in India.

Even in an open and shut case like the Vikaspuri incident in which the perpetrators were caught and confessed to the drunken dare, Archbishop Cuoto maintains in the face of the evidence that he was dissatisfied with the police explanation, without explaining how the CCTV footage and the perpetrators’ own confession somehow bears a different interpretation.

Of course, the police aren’t infallible, and if church leaders or those who toe their line have any evidence of a communal angle or the involvement of Hindu groups in any of these incidents, they’re surely obliged to come forward with whatever facts they may have to back up their assertions. They haven't done so, which suggests that their assertions are based on prejudice or a pre-determined agenda, not facts.

Unfortunately, the authorities reinforce the erroneous impression that minorities are under threat when, for example, as reported here they propose to set up special protection for minority religious institutions in Delhi. As we’ve seen, houses of worship of all faiths are subject to burglary and vandalism, so why extend this preferential treatment to only minority institutions? Aren’t temples equally worthy of protection?

This is where the Modi government must step up to the plate and improve the messaging. Reacting passively and with a lag to loud cries that minorities are under attack only reinforces that narrative of persecution. What is needed is a positive counter-narrative which stresses that the problem is not crimes against Christians but the larger problem of law and order, which affects everyone regardless of religious affiliation.

And all of us should be asking why exactly are church leaders and their friends in the media so eager to establish there’s a communal angle to these recent incidents when the facts say the opposite? What are they hoping to gain?

Church leaders and their media acolytes have every right to dislike the BJP or Hindu groups if they so wish. But it’s irresponsible and downright dangerous if they promote their agenda in the face of the facts.

Crying wolf: The narrative of the ‘Delhi church attacks’ flies in the face of facts - Firstpost

@The_Showstopper , @Guynextdoor2 @isupportaap @SarthakGanguly @seiko

Here the question is that why should we give importance to these bloody people (Who plays politics on the name of religion) who have always used religion to play politics. In europe and US churches are purchased and sold and destroyed. Thye do not utter a single word. This is not the first time they are doing these. Few years ago they charged RSS for burning bible. Ultimately Bible found in tact. In MP they charged VHP with rape of Nuns and ultimately local; Christians found to be guilty. Actually whosoever charge BJP or RSS should be asked to provide the proof and in case of failure to do so, they should tried for spread rumors to create rift between the 2 communities.

 

[SarthakGanguly]

This is an entirely new type to me. Please expand on it if you can.

It's difficult to point it out like that - I can quote a few documents, papers, news items, op-eds(none from evil Yindoo sources) for you to read. Tag me in Whatever, I don't want to put those here in this thread in particular.

 

[IndoCarib]

The soul is satisfied - Modi has broken his silence (stupidly). It's almost like an admission of guilt.

Right. Modi timed this very badly. He should have kept his silence a little longer now that the truth is coming out. The bishops and aaptards must be celebrating secretly or may be openly !

 

[doppelganger]

The soul is satisfied - Modi has broken his silence (stupidly). It's almost like an admission of guilt.

Actually I have a different view. Have tagged you on the same. We are heading for social reforms. Big time. He is a man in a hurry.

You do not even have to read in between the lines.

 

[Diggy]

I see a more sinister angle to this . Could it be a plan of some NGO's and 'secular forces' to help defeat BJP in Delhi ?

off-course it was , everyone knows those attacks were inside job of either NGOs or AAP . They are going to pay a heavy price for it in coming days . Makes me remember the story of 'shepherd & lion' where the shepherd use to raise false alarms of he being attacked by the lion to play prank on the villagers , one day to his horror the lion actually attacks him and mauls him to death while no one turns up to help him .

 

[SarthakGanguly]

there is this rumour that english media is influenced by christians

It's BS. If our country was a Christian majority country or the population was anti Christian, they would have painted them in very bad light. Our media is run by salesmen. Very very efficient and ruthless salesmen.

Actually I have a different view. Have tagged you on the same. We are heading for social reforms. Big time. He is a man in a hurry.

You do not even have to read in between the lines.

I hope you are right. I sincerely hope so.

Right. Modi timed this very badly. He should kept his silence now that the truth is coming out. The bishops and aaptards must be celebrating secretly or may be openly !

20 more years. India will witness what the Left has been fearing as a 'Fascist Hindu' rule.

 

[doppelganger]

I hope you are right. I sincerely hope so.

What better way to cut the earth from beneath the Church than to be a good boy and listen to the President of the USA?

Is there a more powerful man in the world today?

I believe Indian secularism is fundamentally different to that of the French.

But I believe we will have to go French before we can be fully Indian.

 

[SarthakGanguly]

What better way to cut the earth from beneath the Church than to be a good boy and listen to the President of the USA?

Is there a more powerful man in the world today?

Holy F!!!

 

[doppelganger]

Holy F!!!

Lets wait and watch .....

 

[vsdave2302]

This is the reason why I support Ghar wapsi. Imagine a horrible situation when Christian population becomes 10%. Literally Christian priest shall start interfering in all state matters and fabricate many of such fake incidents to defame country and create pressure on civilian government. After all they have done all this and lot more like mass burning of women in last 2000 years.

 

[SarthakGanguly]

Lets wait and watch .....

Actually when I think about it, the last time Modi called for protecting all faiths, hundreds were killed in retaliation. He tried his best to stop it, true, but it happened.

This is the reason why I support Ghar wapsi. Imagine a horrible situation when Christian population becomes 10%. Literally Christian priest shall start interfering in all state matters and fabricate many of such fake incidents to defame country and create pressure on civilian government. After all they have done all this and lot more like mass burning of women in last 2000 years.

Our support is immaterial. Reconversion back to Hinduism/Sikhism/Buddhism/Jainism/etc should be supported by the Government and it needs to be given incentives. Say a family converts to Buddhism in the North East from Presbitherian denomination - and they will get a monthly allowance of Rs.10000 pm from the State.

We already provide (constitutionally illegal) separate electorates. So this can be accommodated as well. In a Five Year Plan, close to 90 to 92% Dharmic strength should be reached.

 

[vsdave2302]

Actually when I think about it, the last time Modi called for protecting all faiths, hundreds were killed in retaliation. He tried his best to stop it, true, but it happened.


Our support is immaterial. Reconversion back to Hinduism/Sikhism/Buddhism/Jainism/etc should be supported by the Government and it needs to be given incentives. Say a family converts to Buddhism in the North East from Presbitherian denomination - and they will get a monthly allowance of Rs.10000 pm from the State.

We already provide (constitutionally illegal) separate electorates. So this can be accommodated as well. In a Five Year Plan, close to 90 to 92% Dharmic strength should be reached.

Fully agreed . With such hostile minorities in country, I feel scarred abot the future of my Children.

 

[Ryuzaki]

How dare Firstpost write in favour of BJP?Sanghi sponsored terrorists

 

[Echo_419]

Actually when I think about it, the last time Modi called for protecting all faiths, hundreds were killed in retaliation. He tried his best to stop it, true, but it happened.


Our support is immaterial. Reconversion back to Hinduism/Sikhism/Buddhism/Jainism/etc should be supported by the Government and it needs to be given incentives. Say a family converts to Buddhism in the North East from Presbitherian denomination - and they will get a monthly allowance of Rs.10000 pm from the State.

We already provide (constitutionally illegal) separate electorates. So this can be accommodated as well. In a Five Year Plan, close to 90 to 92% Dharmic strength should be reached.

Somehow i agree with you