The Hindu : National : Parivar activists stop bus carrying tribal Christians

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 11, 2004

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National

Parivar activists stop bus carrying tribal Christians

By Sunny Sebastian

JAIPUR, AUG.10. A group of Sangh Parivar activists on Monday forcibly stopped a Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation bus taking tribal Christians from Banswara to Ajmer near the Chittorgarh railway station alleging that they were being led to a conversion ceremony.

The bus, carrying a group of 28, comprising 10 women, six extension workers and regular passengers on their way to Ajmer, was stopped at Chittorgarh around 2.15 p.m. by the activists. The roadways bus stand at Chittorgarh came virtually under the siege as Sangh workers reached there in large numbers following a call by their leaders.

VHP and the Bajrang Dal men got into the bus and manhandled the passengers, including a tribal priest, Stephen Rawat, who is the director of the Banswara unit of the Udaipur-based Sampoorna Jeevan Vikas Samiti.

Later, following police intervention, the tribals escaped the fury of slogan-shouting men, but had to return to Banswara.

"This is tragic. A bogey of conversion was created to thwart even a no-religious activity. The attempt is to harass and intimidate the minorities so that they are deprived of their place under the sun," the Bishop of Udaipur Catholic Diocese, Joseph Pathalil, told this correspondent over telephone. It seemed it was all planned in advance, he added.

The scheduled camp at Ajmer was organised by the NGO, Catholic Relief Society (CRS) from August 9-13.

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