The Hindu : Organised crimes cause for concern

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jan 18, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram

Organised crimes cause for concern

By G. Anand

ORGANISED VIOLENCE prompted by religious intolerance has become a cause of grave concern for the district police in the wake of the brutal attack on the 67-year-old American missionary, Joseph Cooper, and Pastor Benson Sam (37) of the Friends Bible Church by suspected RSS workers near a tribal colony at Koppam in the Kilimanoor police station limits on Monday.

Police sources say that a stand-off situation was prevailing in several Dalit and tribal colonies in the district owing to the opposition of organisations such as the Hindu Aikya Vedi and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to the activities of various Christian prayer groups in these areas. The allegation raised by the RSS is that the ``gospel groups flush with foreign funds'' are carrying out conversion campaigns among Dalit and tribal communities in the district.

However, Pastor Benson Sam says that there was no conversion drive at Puliyam. The 20-odd Vedar families at the tribal settlement there have been Christians for the past one generation. The Friends Bible Church has been active as a prayer group among the Christian families for the past three years. A mud walled thatched shed near the colony doubles as a church for the members of the group to congregate. Mr. Benson says that the group has at no point in time made any communally inflammatory speeches or suggestions that were insulting to the practitioners of other faiths. ``The attack came as a surprise for all of us''.

The Kilimanoor police are equally surprised by the turn of events. Says CI (Kilimanoor), D. Rajagopal. ``The police had no inkling that there was a potentially violent situation at Puliyam. Some of the families at the tribal colony practice both Hindu and Christian faiths. There has been no history of any rancor or communal discord,'' he says.

In fact, some of those arrested by the police in connection with attack on Mr. Cooper had been to Sabarimala recently with some persons associated with the prayer group, he says.

Meanwhile, the police have also raised concern about foreign nationals arriving on tourist or visit VISA taking part in missionary or proselytisation work in the district. ``Now we are more vigilant about VISA violations of this nature,'' an official says.

An official pointed out that the Protestant Baptist groups which set-up fellowship churches in rural areas are opposed not only by the RSS, but also by other organised Christian factions. ``The rivalry between various Christian factions for control over the laity has been a cause of friction in many tribal areas. The situation could be exploited by fundamentalist forces seeking to divide the society on communal lines,'' an official says.

Organisations such as the Kerala Dalit Panthers (KDP) and the Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP), which have a strong presence in several of the 254 odd colonies in the rural police district, are opposed to activities of both the RSS and gospel groups, police sources say.

The police are also concerned about reports that certain fundamentalist organisations were finding Dalit and tribal colonies a fertile ground to recruit un-employed and disgruntled youth as hard-core activists. Police are also concerned about un-confirmed reports that arms, such as swords and machetes, and throw down type country-made bombs are being stock-piled at certain colonies in the district.

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Organised crimes cause for concern