Christmas fair attacked in Madhya Pradesh

(December 21, 2009) An attack on a Christmas fair in central India’s Madhya Pradesh state has spread panic among Christians in the state, says an organizer of the event. Thugs chanting Hindu slogans torched representations of biblical scenes at a fair in the town of Gwalior on Sunday. The police have arrested one of four men they named in connection with the incident. According to fair coordinator, Raju Francis, the group evoked the names of Hindu deities and started damaging the biblical artworks depicting scenes from the life of Christ. The Catholic layman told UCA News that local Christians had held the two-day fair before Christmas for eight years on public land near a market. "Everything went well on the first day," he said. On the second day, the troublemakers not only spoiled the fair but sent panic through the Christian community in the state, he said. Archbishop Leo Cornelio of Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, said the attack "is a matter of serious concern for Christians especially when we are preparing to celebrate Christmas." The prelate has sent a three-member fact finding team to Gwalior, headed by Father Anand Muttungal, spokesperson of the Catholic Church in the state. The archbishop has asked the team to submit its report in two days. He said he would in turn submit the report to the state government and seek protection for Christians and their institutions, especially during Christmas Eve midnight Masses. Christians, who form less than 1 percent of the state's population, have experienced sporadic violence since the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)) came to power in December 2003.