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Herald Malaysia
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Herald Malaysia
Indian Christians endure daily doses of religious fanaticism
At least two attacks against Christians are recorded every day in India, says anti-persecution watchdog May 22, 2025 Activists and members representing the Christian community display placards as they take part in a peaceful protest rally against what they claim is an increase in hostility, hate, and violence against Christians in various states of the country, in New Delhi on Feb. 19, 2023. (Photo: AFP) About 100 Christians who gathered for a regular weekly worship at the Full Gospel Church on the outskirts of the central Indian town of Jabalpur last Sunday never imagined they would be accused of illegal religious conversion, a charge punishable by jail terms and fines. The simple prayer meeting ended in chaos after a group of right-wing Hindus stormed the church in Madhya Pradesh state and threatened legal action against the pastor and others leading the service. The intruders also questioned whether those present were really Christians and accused the Protestant minister of staging a mass conversion of people from tribal groups and the Dalit community, a socially disadvantaged group. The hardliners proclaimed themselves as 'warriors empowered to protect the Hindu religion' and warned of stern action against Christians if they staged such gatherings in the future. 'We lodged a complaint with the local police against these activists,' said Atul Jacob, a local Christian leader. 'As the police did not act upon our complaint, we also called on the Superintendent of Police, the top police official in Jabalpur district, seeking action against them, but to no avail', Jacob told UCA News. The incident was one of many similar cases that occur almost every day in various states across India, especially those governed by the pro-Hindu Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP, which seeks to make India a Hindu theocracy, is the ruling party in most of the 11 Indian states, including Madhya Pradesh, that enacted strict anti-conversion laws. These laws are often exploited to target minority faiths, mostly Christians and Muslims, rights activists say. On the same day as the Jabalpur incident, in Adarsh Nagar, in northern Chhattisgarh state's Kawardha district, Hindu hardliners disrupted a Sunday prayer gathering and attempted to assault the pastor and others after accusing them of converting Hindus to Christianity. They left only after police arrived, but before they did, they warned the Christians not to organize such gatherings again. 'These kinds of attacks on our prayer meetings are nothing new,' said Pastor Moses Logan, president of the All India Christian Welfare Society based in Chhattisgarh, a hotspot for Christian persecution. 'The total failure on the part of police to take action against the perpetrators of such crime leads to more trouble for Christians who are numerically insignificant,' Logan told UCA News. He said local media often publishes fake news based on allegations by Hindu groups without verifying or cross-checking, which does 'great disservice' to the community. 'Such fake media coverage has tarnished the image of Christians among ordinary people who look at us with suspicion,' he added. Christians also face other forms of discrimination, such as ostracism and refusal to bury their dead in their villages, he said. 'These illegal actions against Christians could end if the government upholds the constitution and strictly enforces law and order in the state', Logan added. Christians make up just 0.27 percent of the population in Madhya Pradesh and less than two percent in Chhattisgarh state. It's a similar situation for Christians in other BJP-ruled states, including Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state with over 200 million people. In fact, Uttar Pradesh is often ranked as the worst place for Christian persecution for recording the highest cases of anti-Christian violence. Eight Christians were remanded in custody for alleged religious conversion in Uttar Pradesh's Barabanki district on May 18. They were arrested after a leader of a right-wing Hindu group, Bajarag Dal, filed a complaint with local police accusing their regular Sunday prayer gathering of being a religious conversion activity. 'What we see is police acting upon the complaints from right-wing Hindu activists without bothering to conduct a probe to ascertain whether there is any truth in the complaints,' a Church leader told UCA News on condition of anonymity. 'This year alone, more than 100 Christians have been arrested and jailed in Uttar Pradesh on alleged conversion charges,' said the Church leader who is offering support to the arrested Christians. 'When people gather for a simple prayer meeting with their Christian neighbors or friends, there is no guarantee they will escape a conversion case being leveled against them,' he said. 'In Uttar Pradesh, a prayer gathering in house churches or a Christian home has become synonymous with religious conversion,' he added. Uttar Pradesh has the toughest anti-conversion law in India. A person can face up to 20 years in jail if found guilty of illegal religious conversion. India records at least two attacks against Christians every day, according to the United Christian Forum (UCF), a New Delhi-based ecumenical Christian body that records persecution against Christians through its toll-free numbers and other contacts. It has recorded 245 incidents against Christians, mostly for allegedly violating anti-conversion laws, since the beginning of the year. Out of 28 states in India, anti-Christian violence was recorded in 17 this year, the forum
Herald Malaysia
13-05-2025
- General
- Herald Malaysia
Sri Lankan priest shapes next generation of artists
Artist and sculptor Samantha Thushara has crafted dozens of statues and trained over 200 students from various faiths May 13, 2025 Sri Lankan Catholic priest Samantha Thushara (center) conducts a workshop for his students at Gampaha, Western Province, Sri Lanka. (Photo supplied) By Quintus ColombageWhen he is not busy with pastoral engagements, Fr Samantha Thushara can be found in his bustling art studio, located behind the stone facade of Holy Cross Church in Gampaha, Sri Lanka's Western rising early in the morning to returning to bed late at night, the 53-year-old, soft-spoken priest remains busy with chisels and mud as an artist, sculptor, and art teacher. 'Art is a bridge. It unites us despite our differences, allowing us to share common human experiences,' he told UCA News in a recent interview. Thushara has created dozens of paintings and life-sized statues of religious and globally renowned personalities and trained over 200 art students, including Christians, since has been conducting training workshops for both young men and women in Gampaha and the nearby Kimbulapitiya priest says he not only teaches them paintings or sculptures but also 'sculpting their lives.'Over the past few years, Thushara and his students have crafted statues of Jesus, Mary, and Catholic saints, as well as global icons such as Aristotle, Mahatma Gandhi, Karl Marx, William Shakespeare, Abraham Lincoln, Che Guevara, and Martin Luther King Jr. They have also created Buddha statues for temples and public places across Sri livesLiyana Arachchige Kalhara is among the 30 students currently undergoing their training. The 23-year-old Buddhist said the training made him familiar with sculpting instruments, allowing him to cast figures like St. Michael the Archangel and Mahatma Gandhi. "Fr Thushara transformed my mindset. Now I prepare thoroughly, read more, and do my art with greater understanding and discipline," Kalhara told UCA News. Sigithi Harshika, 29, from Halpe, Katana, Western Province, completed a training course under the guidance of Thushara. She now runs her own art workshop. 'I've had to pause taking new orders because demand has grown so much,' Harshika told UCA News. Harshika's latest artwork included Stations of the Way of the Cross for a church. She employs several assistants to craft statues and said she is grateful to the priest for paving the way for self-reliance. Fathima Hasna, a Muslim student from Udugampola in the Western Province, said that the priest's work is not limited by the boundaries of religion. A lifelong passion Thushara was born in 1972 in the seaside town of Maggona in Western Province as the youngest of five children. The town is home to Sinhalese-speaking Maggona ethnic people who are believed to have migrated to present-day Sri Lanka from the eastern Indian state of Odisha in the 13th century. Thusara's family belongs to the ethnic group. He was attracted to art in his childhood and pursued the passion after entering the seminary for priestly formation. Thushara was ordained a diocesan priest in September 2000. Priestly life offered him opportunities to pursue his passion for art, he acknowledged. The priest first studied at the Vibhavi Academy and the Colombo Academy of Art. Then he moved to Italy for specialized training in sculpting. There, he earned a diploma in the Sacred Art School of Firenze and a master's degree from the Accademia di Belle Arti of Florence. Thushara said his training in Italy allowed him to work with renowned European sculptors, but he remained focused on Sri Lankan culture and traditional faith practices. 'My soul is always here,' he says. Crossing boundaries Over the years, the priest oversaw the crafting of 150 life-sized statues, six church altars, and Buddha statues, including one he created for the Narammala Punyawardena Temple. Among the artist-priest's most notable works are 25 figures he created for All Saints' Church in Borella, a suburb of the capital, Colombo. Those include a cinematic visualization of the crucifixion of St. Peter. Sarath Chandrajeewa, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Visual and Performing Arts, says the priest's emphasis on traditional artwork is laudable. "In a world where our statues are losing value to corners being cut and to fiberglass, he restored integrity and discipline to the sacred art," Chandrajeewa said. Apart from being an artist and arts teacher, Thushara has made strides to uplift the lives of people in Uchchimune, a fishing village in the Northwestern Province. He trained 30 impoverished Catholic fisherwomen in sculpting, candle-making, and rosary-making. The training enabled these women to earn a stable income and lift their families out of poverty with their newfound livelihoods. Wijith Rohan Fernando, a senior lecturer in Christian Studies at the University of Kelaniya, states that the priest empowers village youth by providing them with skills, self-expression, and dignity through meaningful and creative labor. While his student Kalhara carefully carves an angel's wing, he glances at his guide with humility and gratitude. "He is not just a teacher. He helps us do better than we ever thought we could do," Kalhara
