Emmanuel mission attack – an inside story
From our correspondent
With a dream of setting up a church in every village across India, Bishop MA Thomas started a Bible Institute in Kota in Rajasthan with five students in 1972. His tireless efforts began to bear fruit. By 2002 the institute had grown into 1,000 students. In 2003, there were 1500 students and another 900 were added the following year. In 2005, 6300 students registered their names and completed their courses. He continues to dream of getting 10,000 students graduated in 2006.
This phenomenal growth has provoked anti-Christian forces in the area. And they struck with vengeance on 19 February 2005. When a team of 290 students came from Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh by train, a group of anti-Christians entered the train and started to beat them. They snatched away their money and other valuables. The attackers carried sticks, iron rods, cycle chains, knives and swords. They dragged the students to the Railway police station. They accused the delegates of having come for conversion after receiving Rs 250 and a bicycle each. They asked the delegates to go back to Anantapur.
Once that was over, the attackers turned their attention to the students and staff of the mission waiting outside to receive the delegates. They first beat them up. Then they dragged 12 of them to a temple nearby and locked them from outside. They also took away their money, cell phones and other valuables. In the attack, two students received head injuries. Vinod who was crippled due to a motorcycle accident has a steel rod in his leg. He was kicked with boots and pushed to the ground.
The attackers also broke the glasses of the mission buses, punctured the tyres and beat up the drivers. They also took away their money and licences. Two of the drivers were taken to the police station. They filed a case against not only the students and others but also Bishop MA Thomas and his son Bishop Dr Samuel Thomas.
The Additional District Magistrate (ADM) threatened them saying he would not give them any protection unless the delegates were sent back. The Additional District Magistrate, the Deputy Superintendent of Police and other Police officers kept these people in their custody from 2.30 am to 8.30 pm. No one was allowed to visit them.
Meanwhile men and women along with their children, who had accompanied the delegates, were made to sit in the severe cold on the railway platform. In the evening when they cried for food, they allowed the organisers to give them food.
On 21 February 2005, 24 people came from Udaipur in Rajasthan under the leadership of Pastor Valu and his pregnant wife Christy. As soon as their bus reached Kota, the attackers pounced up on them. They pulled them out of the bus. Christy, who was nine months pregnant, begged them to spare her. “Don’t beat me. My child will die,” she pleaded. “Why should we spare your child? If the child lives, you will make him a Christian. So we don’t want the child to live,” they countered.
When she cried loud in pain, some from among the attackers intervened,” If we beat a pregnant woman, the case will be more severe.” Christy had to be admitted in a hospital in Kota for urgent medical care. They also beat up her husband Pastor Valu. They dragged all the delegates to the police station where the same police team was present.
The attackers took a young man from among them to a lonely place and beat him up. He could not even stand up when they later took him to the bus station. “If you come back to Kota again, we will kill you.” Somehow he managed to reach Udaipur and got himself admitted to the Medical College Hospital.
The police made the delegates sign papers in which they wrote, “These are Hindus and have come for conversion after receiving Rs 250 and a bicycle each.” The police filed cases against them saying they were terrorists and came to Kota to disturb the peaceful atmosphere in the town.
“Why have you filed a case against them if they have come for conversion,” Bishop Thomas questioned them. The delegates were forced to go back in the night itself. They warned them if they tried to come back to Kota, they would be beaten to death.
On 22 February 2005, 600 people came from Kerala by train. The authorities called Bishop Thomas and said they should not be allowed to come out of the railway station. Bishop Thomas said it was impossible, as they had come for graduation. The Authorities said they would not be able to give them any security. Bishop Thomas said, “If you don’t give security, we will go without security. If somebody attacks, we will not retaliate. If somebody kills us, I will be the first one to die.”
Finally the police relented and permitted the delegates to go to the mission compound by bus. No sooner had they left the station than they were stopped on the way and assaulted. They were taken to the industrial area where the same police team was present. They were questioned. When they said they were Christians, they made them to wait from 2pm to 6 pm. They threatened them with dire consequences and asked them to go back to Kerala. However by 6 pm they were released.
On 23 February 2005, about 1500 people gathered in Raipura and blocked the road to the meeting venue. The police asked Bishop Thomas to stop the meeting and cancel the graduation programme. Bishop Thomas said, “Either graduation or my funeral will take place on the same day”. The anti-Christians threw three petrol bombs into the camp, with just one exploding some time later.
On 24 February 2005, 24 people came from Udaipur under the leadership of Pastor Mangilal. The police forced them to come out and did not allow them to contact anyone at the mission. They threatened them first and then asked them to go back to Udaipur if they did not want to get killed. They took them to the railway station and asked them to return to Udaipur by train. As the morning train had already left, they could not go. Similarly two students who came for graduation from Piploda in Rajasthan were beaten up and forced to go back.
In spite of all their evil efforts, more than 4,300 people marched with caps and gowns for graduation. VV Augustine, National Minority Commission member, was the chairperson. Dr Brahma Dutt, Supreme Court Advocate and president of the All India Leper Association and Dr Sajan K George, President of the Global Indian Christian Association also spoke at the meeting. Dr Jimmy Epting was the keynote speaker.
While a few of the students were conferred with Doctorate in Divinity, Doctorate in Theology and Doctorate in Humanity, some of them were given Master of Theology, Bachelor of Divinity and Bachelor of Theology. The remaining received Certificates of Theology. And the students who were forced to go back and not permitted to come would receive the certificates in their own states. The service was conducted completely under the protection of police.