Aggression against Christians.

New Delhi -- In a huge continent with 22 million or so Catholics sprinkled among over one billion people, it is difficult to gauge the general situation of the Catholic Church in India. In recent years Hinduism had developed more aggressive factions on both federal and state levels, mainly, it seems, in reaction to Muslim extremism. But the same nationalism has also turned against Christian influence.

During 2005, random attacks against Christians continued. In December 2004, police blamed Muslim extremists for an attack against St. Francis of Assisi Church in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Fanatics broke down the door, smashed windows, and destroyed the statue of St. Francis. In the same month, extremists burned down the Church of Matha Mary in the village of Pusnar in the state of Chattisgarh. The same church had been robbed two months earlier.

Also in December of 2004, the Diocese of Jagdalpur reported that 36 tribal natives who had converted to Christianity were expelled from their village by local rebels known as Naxali. The Naxali, themselves mostly Dalit and Adivasi (untouchables) who say they fight for landless farmers, are In fact Maoists who use terror to attain their revolutionary ends.

In January and February 2005 alone, there were 19 reported attacks against Christians. In the spring, In Bihar state, two separate attacks within 5 days of each other occurred against two convents. In the second incident, the intruders attacked the nuns, ransacked their rooms, and took what money they had on hand. One of the nuns was hospitalized with serious head and chest injuries and a broken rib.

During 2005 three priests were killed in India. On September 3, Fr. Matthew Nellickal, 65, Vicar-General of the Tezpur diocese, was brutally murdered in the northeast state of Assam. Fr. Mathew Uzhuthal died in May as the result of multiple stabbing wounds he had received nineteen days earlier when he was assailed in Patna by a young man with a long criminal record. In this case it seems the murderer was a lapsed Catholic. Fr. Ignazio Bara was killed on September 12 when he tried to intervene during an attack by Hindu extremists on Catholic villagers in Simdega.

On December 5, after priests objected to the activities of a local gang, a mob desecrated the Eucharist before setting fire to pages of the Bible, wrecking the church furniture and stealing chalices at the Jalalkhali Catholic Church in West Bengal.

Following a meeting between the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Catholic bishops and lay leaders in May, the federal government sent a letter to the country's states asking them to take measures to stop attacks against Christians. The ruling Congress Party promised that a law providing for compensation for victims, speedier investigation to identify perpetrators, and harsher punishments will be presented to Parliament. Some, however, say that without concurrent programs to improve the economic and social development of less fortunate citizens, the violence will continue (Sources: Zenit, Nat. Cath. Reg.).