Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Ahmedabad (Agenzia Fides) - An ancient Christian cemetery has been desecrated and destroyed by bulldozers in Sabarmati, near Ahmedabad, the state capital of Gujarat (western India). According to the Christians of the All India Christian Council (AICC) who today, February 1, take to the streets in Ahmedabad to protest against the "barbaric and disrespectful act", there are reasonable suspicions that the attack was carried out by radical Hindu groups, very active in the state. Given the serious episode, which dates back to the 26th of January, the AICC asks for the immediate resignation of the Prime Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, well-known militant leader in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and very close to Hindu extremist groups. Modi, says the AICC in a note sent to Fides, "does not protect Christians in the state. The rule of law is absent in Gujarat: the living, but also the burial places are not safe". The AICC also calls for the dismissal of the police chief in Sabarmati, S.D. Patel, for failure to fulfill his constitutional duties.
The scene that was presented to the AICC activists, who visited the cemetery, was upsetting: tombstones and crosses destroyed and heaped, a part of the field was devastated, another part of the cemetery was leveled by bulldozers and has become a car park. According to eyewitnesses, the trucks and bulldozers acted "under the pretext of cleaning". The ecumenical cemetery of Sabarmati dates back to the British period. The area was granted to the faithful of seven Christian denominations present in Ahmedabad (Catholics, Methodists, some Pentecostal groups) before 1947.
Samson Christian, of the AICC, has vehemently condemned the incident underlining the responsibility of the local government of the BJP and noting that "in Gujarat there is a serious problem: the contempt for the feelings of religious minorities". The AICC immediately submitted a formal complaint to the local police in Sabarmati, against "antisocial elements". But, for the inertia of the police, the organization was forced to repeat the complaint yesterday, January 31, informing the highest office, demanding investigations and results. Today thousands of Christians of all denominations, will manifest publicly in front of the City Hall in Ahmedabad invoking guarantees, rights, protection, respect and religious freedom. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 01/02/2012)
