Indian Christians Promote Law Against Religious Violence
14 Dec 2011 – by Kristin Gobberg
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A group of Christians
in India initiated a national prayer campaign urging
lawmakers to address a pending bill that seeks to curb
violence targeting religious minorities, reported Fides, the
Vatican missionary news agency.
Members of the All India Christian Council, an
organization that promotes religious freedom for all
minorities, particularly Christians, launched the initiative Dec. 12 to raise awareness of the “Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence Bill.”
John Dayal, general secretary of the council, told
Fides the bill is urgently needed “to put an end to hate campaigns and to restore confidence in minorities.”
Proposed earlier in 2011 by the National Advisory
Council, the bill has yet to reach parliament but has
gained support from many religious minority groups and
citizens of India.
According to the council, the law aims to provide
justice for victims of religious violence, target hate
speech, censor violent behavior by extremist religious
groups, and hold law enforcement officials accountable
for not stopping or abetting the violence.
In India, inter-religious fighting has become a
major issue and in the past four years close to 4,000
violent acts against religious minorities occurred,
according to Fides, based on statistics released by India’s bishops.
Tags: India Interreligious Indian Christians Persecution