Village head threatens to demolish house church in Gujarat

A village head in Gujarat has threatened to demolish a house church in Gujarat creating tension between Hindus and Christian villagers.

Vasantbhai Somabhai Chaudhary, head of Hindoliya village in Surat district's Bardoli Taluka area, on October 4 sent a notice to Rameshbhai Chaudhary accusing him of forcible conversion and ordering him to demolish his house where Christians meet for prayer, Bible study and worship, Compass has reported.

According to the complaint filed by Rameshbhai Chaudhary in the High Court of Gujarat, local police are colluding with the village head and are also harassing him.

At a hearing on October 12, Justice S.R. Brahmbhatt asked the police department to inform the court should the Christian complainants be subjected to further harassment from local police and villagers in Hindoliya village.

Rameshbhai Chaudhary and a guest, Bipin Joseph Mehta, a non–resident Indian from the United Kingdom, on October 6 had filed a complaint in the High Court against the Bardoli police station and the village head of Hindoliya after the police refused to file their complaint, according to Samson Christian, joint secretary of the All India Christian Council (AICC).

The AICC leader explained that the trouble started on September 28, when two officers of the Bardoli police station barged into Rameshbhai Chaudhary's house during a Christian meeting. The police arbitrarily searched the house to see if any "conversion activity" was taking place, Christian told Compass.

Those attending the four–day meeting, which started on September 26, were Rameshbhai Chaudhary, Mehta, another guest from Italy (a Catholic identified only as Luigi), and 28 local tribal Christians. After the meeting was over, the policemen took Mehta and Luigi to the police station.

According to Christian, a police inspector identified only as Chavda accused the two visiting Christians of coming to India to convert Hindus. He also threatened that he would stop them from leaving the country and confiscated their passports.

On September 29, local newspapers accused the two visiting Christians of indulging in illegal conversion activities, but Mehta and Luigi attended the meeting at Rameshbhai Chaudhary’s house as scheduled. At about noon, however, inspector Chavda and other officers stormed the meeting – ordering Mehta and Luigi to stand on a table – and ransacked the house, searching through all literature in the house, Christian recalled.

"Soon after this, about 15 people, including extremists and reporters, also arrived and told the tribal Christians that their conversion out of Hinduism was deplorable," Christian said. "They also threatened them."

Sensing trouble, the police again took the two Christians to the police station, where they were told not to leave the village without permission. The extremists also followed them to the station and again threatened them, Christian said.

The inspector also called the 28 tribal Christians to the police station and took their statements, "which created a sense of insecurity among them," he said.

After the intervention of the AICC, the inspector returned the passports to Mehta and Luigi on October 2, Christian said.

"AICC demands legal action against the police officials who harassed the Christians of Hindoliya village and the village head who ordered demolition of the house church," Christian said, adding apparently the minority Christian community has become the target of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Gujarat, which is preparing to incite Hindu sentiment against Christians before state assembly elections in November 2007.

Meanwhile, Hindu fundamentalist outfit, Vishwa Hindu Parishad's (VHP) Surat unit secretary, Utkarsh Patel has warned that the meeting was organized to convert Hindus to Christianity, and that 25 families had already been converted. "We have already got hold of the affidavits filed by a couple of families who said they had been converted without their consent. We will meet the district collector and demand proper action in the entire issue. We will demand that the Italian be sent back, as also the NRI," he said.