The Christian minority in India's southern state of Karnataka is experiencing an unprecedented wave of Christian persecution, with more than 1,000 attacks in 500 days, according to an independent investigation by a former judge of the Karnataka High Court.
It began on 14.09.08, when at least 12 churches were attacked in one day in the city of Mangalore in Dakshina Kannada district, said Michael Saldanha. "On 26.01.10, the day we celebrated Republic Day, attack number 1000 took place in Karnataka in the city of Mysore," said Saldanha. The number is based on information from faith-based organizations.
"Attacks take place every day," said Saldanha. The latest attack was on 17.03.10, when a mob of about 150 people, led by the Hindu extremist organization Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) and its youth wing, Bajrang Dal, stormed a funeral of a 50-year-old Christian identified only as Isaac, the Karnataka-based Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) said.
The mob pulled out the coffin, threw the body into a tractor and dumped it outside. They said his burial would have contaminated Indian soil, GCIC added.
The state government is to blame for the attacks, Saldanha said, as the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party had "surpassed Orissa." Karnataka Home Minister VS Acharya dismissed the survey's findings. "The claim that Karnataka has had more than 1,000 attacks is absolutely false," said Acharya "Karnataka is the most peaceful state in India and people are law abiding."
