Hindu extremists intensify attacks on Emmanuel Mission

Kota – Hindu militant groups have intensified their attacks on Emmanuel Mission, threatening to shut it down, in the wake of the protests against the controversial book, Haqiqat, which reportedly contains disparaging remarks against Hinduism.

The fundamentalists have also laid siege, in regular intervals, on Emmanuel Hope Home in Kota which houses over 2500 orphans and abandoned children, imperiling the lives of not only the children, but also the staff members, including, eight American volunteers who are feeding and caring for the children.

A Rajasthan Hindi language newspaper has also quoted an extremist leader identified as Mr. Agrawal offering a reward of US $ 52,000 to anyone who will capture and behead the mission founder, Bishop MA Thomas and his son, Dr. Samuel Thomas, president of Hopegivers International. Agrawal is reportedly an influential member and leader of the Hindu radical outfits, the Shiv Sena and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Local police officials and government authorities in Kota have also expressly joined hands with the Hindu extremist groups, taking a series of illegal actions recently, like freezing bank accounts held by the Christian ministries and preventing Hopegivers and Christian leaders in Rajasthan from offering protection along with educational and medical services to abandoned children.

On February 28, the police revoked, without due process or hearing, all the operating licenses of Hopegivers–supported bookstores, churches, hospitals, leprosy and HIV–AIDS outreaches, orphanages, printing presses, schools and other institutions. Rajasthan’s government has also recently threatened to cut off electricity and water to the Hopegivers’ orphanage and hospital in Kota.

All of Hopegivers’ Kota bank accounts have been frozen and two of the business administrators of the mission and orphanage were arrested and have now been held for over three weeks without charge. As a result, the hospital, orphanages and schools managed by the ministry in Kota and throughout Rajasthan are operating on a cash basis and living day–to–day.

“Of course,” says Hopegivers President Dr. Samuel Thomas, “none of these actions are legal. The terrorists and hate groups have taken the law into their own hands, and, sadly, we have lost confidence in the local government to control them.”

Meanwhile, thousands of Hopegivers sympathizers and supporters have mobilized worldwide prayer in response to the shocking civil and human rights violations that have been committed against Christians in Rajasthan.

Human rights activists and Christian advocacy groups have also begun a letter–writing campaign to India’s central government in New Delhi asking for emergency protection of the children and staff of Hopegivers’ 65 schools and 13 orphanages in Rajasthan.

“We are asking friends of human rights to fax and write letters today asking for investigators to begin examining what is going on in Kota,” said Michael Glenn, Executive Director, COO, who is in the Washington, DC area calling on American friends of Indian officials to help speed an intervention in the crisis.

According to Hopegivers, the Kota officials have also shown lack of sympathy towards the orphans on the street refusing to provide them with any security.

“Some militants would rather see 100 million children living on the streets of India than to see us care for 10,000 in the name of the Lord Jesus,” said Dr. Samuel Thomas.