From late 1997 to early 1999, a wave of attacks against Christians occurred in and around Dangs district in southeastern Gujarat in India. The attacks reportedly started at the end of 1997, before peaking during the Christmas of 1998 after the anti-Christian rallies in the Dangs District by the Hindu Jagaran Manch. The attacks included assaults on and killings of Christians, attacks against Christian schools, institutions and shops, damages, demolition and burning down of prayer halls and churches mainly by members of the Bhartiya Janata Party, Vishva Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal and Hindu Jagran Manch.
Human Rights Watch reported that from 25 December 1988 to 3 January 1999, at least 20 prayer halls and churches had been damaged or burnt down and Christians and Christian institutions were attacked in Dangs and its surrounding districts and at least 25 villages had reported incidents of burning and damages to prayer halls and churches all over Gujarat.
Human Rights Watch reported that the majority of the incidents of violence occurred in 1998, the same year that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took control of the state.
Background
Around 90% area of the Dangs district is covered by forests and 97% of the population in the district is tribal. The District was also called the "Cherrapunji of Gujarat" and "Kashmir of Gujarat" due to the negligence by the government of the state. The district also lacked electricity, roads and clean drinking water. The district is reported to be one of the most underdeveloped district in the state. The Missionaries were the first to start developmental works in the area from the early 20th century, which resulted in a steady growth of Christian Population.Christianity and the Adivasis of Gujarat - David Hardiman - University of Warwick When more tribal voters converted to Christianity, they became targets for the right-wing groups.
Many incidents of attacks steadily started from November 1997 with assault, killings, distributing provocative pamphlets and hate speeches against Christians mostly by the Hindu Jagran Manch (HJM), Bhartiya Janata Party, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal. On 25 December 1997, The Vishva Hindu Parishad organized an anti-Christian Rally in the village of Pipalwada, near the dang district. This was followed by a series of anti-Christian rallies in all districts of southern Gujarat by Bajrang Dal, VHP and Hindu Jagran Manch which continued for months. The messages of all the rallies were similar, the message is that the Hindus need to protect themselves from the deceiving acts of the missionaries and to "teach them a lesson".
On 25 December 1998, The HJM organized an anti-Christian rally in Ahwa town of Dangs district. More than 4000 people actively participated in the rally and shouted anti-Christian slogans under full police protection. Human Rights Watch reported a series of attacks began on Christians, their places of worship, Christian houses and schools, and shops owned by Muslims and Christians after the rally.
The investigations carried out by the Human Rights Watch, the Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee and the committee to Protect Democratic Rights (CPDR) reported that the attacks were started because of the hate campaign by Sangh Parivar groups since the beginning of 1998 by giving out hate pamphlets and organizing provocative rallys. The Human Rights Watch noted that a majority of the incidents of violence in 1998, the same year that the Bharatiya Janata Party took control of the state.
Attacks The Human Rights Watch reported that more than 20 Churches and prayer halls were destroyed or burnt down, many people were physically assaulted, tied up and beaten while the angry mobs took over and attacked their homes from 25 December 1998, to 3 January 1999, in the Dangs district and its surrounding districts. The Organisation reported that Churches and Christian buildings in at-least 25 villages in Gujarat were burnt down or destroyed during the ten days. One report recorded 108 incidents of attacks against Christians from April to August 1998 in Gujarat.
The United Christian Forum for Human Rights recorded 32 registered cases of violence against Christians from 1964 to 1996, 15 cases in 1997 and 90 registered cases in 1998.
Retired Judge of the Bombay High Court Justice S Suresh carried out an investigation and revealed that the attacks reportedly started around November 1997 when a priest in Kudas village was beaten up on 11 November 1997 and when 24 Christians from Umerpada were incriminated in false cases on 14 November 1999. On 26 December 1999, people celebrating Christmas were stoned and harassed the entire night in the Dagadpada Village and were later sent to jail.
The attacks slowly started occurring all over 1998 before peaking during Christmas.
On 20 February, worshippers in a prayer hall were physically assaulted with sticks by the village heads and the police during their prayers in Divan Tembrum. On 5 March, members of the VHP brought two blind persons to a Pentecostal church, demanded them to be healed, then went on to desecrate the stage, amplifiers and microphones in the church and assaulted the participants. On 15 April, witnesses reported a crowd of about 400 people which included the VHP, the police, and members of the local BJP government used iron bars and tractors to demolish the St. Antony's Catholic Church and several other affiliated buildings in Naroda. The crowd also destroyed the icons and stole the donations from the donation box. In May, Christians attending a convention event were attacked in Jorsod. On 21 June, a prayer hall was burnt down late at the night in the Singhana Village. On 26 June, a prayer hall was burned in the Lahan Kadmal village at about 8:30 p.m. On 29 June, a prayer hall in Umerpada was attacked by attackers who failed to set it on fire. In July, a prayer hall was damaged in Dholidod, a prayer hall in Bobkhal was attempted to burned down and several Christians were attacked during their prayers in Padalkhadi. On 8 July, according to witnesses, local VHP leaders dug out a Methodist man's corpse from a cemetery in Kapadvanj and dumped the body near his church. On 16 July, the Jesuit Priest run Shantiniketan High School was broken in and stoned in Zankhvav. The School's playground was also ploughed by a tractor. On 18 July, a church was burnt down and the local Christians were harassed in the Bhapkal Village. On 23 July, Hindutva activists along with a revenue official allegedly attacked tribals in a prayer hall with sticks and later false cases were filed on the victims. On 9 August, RSS members demolished a church in Ahmedabad. On August, Christian families were beaten up at Morjira and Jamniamal. On November, Several prayer halls were burnt down in Subir, Kamath, Borigouda, Lahancharia and Nirgudmal. On 4 November, a church in the Borigautha Village was attacked, its surrounding structures were set on fire and Christian tribals were robbed. On the same day a church in the village of Gadhvi was burnt down. On 11 November, several Christians including a sick woman were beaten up and several Christian families were forced to go through a "reconversion ritual" in the Unai-hot springs in Dahunia village of the Dangs district. The head of the village council prevented the Christians from taking water from the village well and from working in any government projects. The village head also banned the Christians to have their livestock graze with the livestock of others. On 14 November, a prayer hall in Lahancharia was partly burned. On 4 December, more than 35,000 Christians rallied in the streets of Ahmedabad protesting against the attacks on the Christians in Gujarat and other parts of the country.
The ten-day violence in the Dangs District
On 15 December, The Hindu Jagran Manch started to distribute provocative pamphlets against the Christians of the Dangs district, calling people for its rally in the Ahwa town of the Dangs district on 25 December. The local dailies, Sandesh and Gujarat Samachar also carried on the message about the upcoming anti-Christian rally by the HJM, previously these newspapers together with the NavGujarat Samay carried out a series of provocative articles against the Christian priests.
On 25 December, more than 4000 people actively participated in the rally mostly HJM activists from outside Ahwa, they shouted anti-Christian slogans in-front of the watching police. The rally started at around 11:30 am and the participants circled around the town, shouting provocative slogans against Christians along the Christian institutions celebrating Christmas. The district collector Bharat Joshi was also present in a convocation at the center of the town by the participants, later on that day. The Citizen's commission reported slogans like "Hindus Awake, Christians flee" were used during the rally.
The rally climaxed at about 5 pm at a local school ground where another round of hate speeches openly calling for violence against the Christians were going on. After the rally the HJM crowd pelted stones at several tribal Christians who were mostly women at a market, injuring three women and a child. Instigated by the speech, the HJM crowd split into two groups, one group went to a nearby CNI Church which resulted in violence as the tribal leaders stood up to protect it and ended with police intervention. The other group which was a mob of about 120 went to the Dheep Darshan high school and pelted stones which damaged the window panes and the roof of the boys' hostel. Another mob at 8 p.m arrived at the Navjyot High School in Subir, the mob first destroyed the school's jeep, Christmas decorations and beat up two priests and then went on to attack and burn a building where the food grain for the students was stored. Later, several other mobs went on to attack and damage several Shops owned by Muslims and Christians.
On the night of 25 December, the rally participants began destroying churches and prayer halls and attacking Christians at the villages surrounding the Ahwa town and some were forcibly taken to the Unai hot springs for a re-conversion ritual. According to witnesses, about 800 men armed with tridents set fire to a church in the Jamlapada village and also attacked and looted several houses On the same day a mob of about 200 people attacked and looted the house of a Tribal Christian. Around midnight, a mob of around 50 people attacked a tribal Christian in Galkund and allegedly robbed another man in Jamalpada. A mob of 200 people demolished and burnt a Church in the Gadhvi Village and the same group allegedly set fire to another church at the Jamalapada village.
A mob pelted stones against the Christian houses and churches at about 12:30 a.m damaging the roof tiles. A mob of around 60-80 people damaged the roof tiles of a Church in Nagalkhadi at about 8 p.m. A large mob set a church on fire before trying to demolish it in Padalkhaid.
On 26 December, a mob of 500 armed with tridents, iron bars and heavy-sticks set fire to a church on Waki, a tribal Christian and his family members were assaulted in Galkund. On the same day at about 12:30 a.m, a mob pelted stones on several Christian houses in Divan Temrun Village. A mob attacked and made serious damages to several Churches in the villages of Karadiamba and Bahdun. On the same day six churches in different areas of the Dangs district were demolished.
On 27 December, tribal Christians were tied up and beaten in the villages of Dongiamba and Pipayambal. On the same day, Churches in the Villages of Raochand, Baripada, Mulchond, Barda and Lahankadmal were set on fire. Several Prayer halls and Churches in the village of Karenjpada, Shivbara, Pipaldaghad, and Sepuamba were also attacked and left badly damaged.