Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
New Delhi (Agenzia Fides) - For Indian Christians the law is "right and necessary" while for the Hindu extremist groups it is "the fruit of an international conspiracy to attack the Hindu believers". As local sources of Fides report, the debate on the proposed law against inter-community violence (called "Communal Violence Bill") which aims to prevent attacks on ethnic or religious minorities inflames in India. The law, passed in recent weeks by the National Advisory Council, will be discussed in the summer session of Parliament's work, in July. The document gives the central state extensive powers of intervention to prevent and stop acts of mass violence and abuse of religious minorities, ethnic or cultural, regardless of the authorization of the individual states of the Indian Federation (see Fides 27 and 30 / 5 / 2011).
The radical Hindu groups have launched a campaign to delegitimize the bill in an attempt to shelve it. Subhas Couhan, leader of the radical movement "Bajrang Dal", speaking to an audience of activists gathered in Orissa - the state that was the scene of anti-Christian violence in 2008 - said that " the law obeys external powers, it is the result of an international conspiracy that will hit the Hindus ". " The law - he continued - interferes with the powers of individual states and therefore constitutes an attack on the federal policy of the country, "announcing an intensive awareness campaign across the nation to stop the measure.
Fr. Joseph Babu Karakombil, spokesman for the Episcopal Conference of India, explains to Fides that "all Christian communities, Muslims, non-governmental Organizations, human rights associations, moderate Hindus groups, are in favor of this law ". "The law – he remarks - is the result of a debate that lasted several years. It is intended to be a deterrent for new mass violence against minorities. It is a strong and effective instrument to prevent inter-community violence, since it obliges the central state to act. Looking at the history of India in the last 50 years, we believe that it is a right and necessary law. In many cases - like the attacks on Christians in Orissa, or on Muslims in Gujarat - the central state watched or intervened very late because it could act only at the request of individual states ".
The spokesman of the Episcopal Conference said that "the law also serves to weaken the political complications that occurred in those cases. It provides an additional tool: an independent national body to monitor the situations of tension " . "We believe it is a law to help build social peace and harmony in inter-religious India. Also – he concludes- protects all minorities: Christians, Muslims, Dalits, and also Hindus in seven Indian states where they themselves are a minority "(PA) (Agenzia Fides 06/07/2011)
