INDIA - School books with offensive Christ pictures seized

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INDIA - School books with offensive Christ pictures seized

Published Date: February 19, 2010



GUWAHATI, India (UCAN) — Police in Shillong yesterday [Feb. 18] seized copies of a school book that has pictures of Jesus Christ holding a cigarette in one hand and a beer bottle in the other.

The police registered a case against the book’s New Delhi-based publisher and supplier following complaints from St. Joseph Girl’s Higher Secondary School in the Meghalaya state capital, a predominately Christian town.

The Congregation of Our Lady of Missions manages the school.

The offensive pictures of the Sacred Heart of Jesus appear in the cursive writing practice book meant for grade one. The picture is printed in the cover as well as in an inside page, said Shillong archdiocesan chancellor Father John Madur. The inside page introduces the alphabet “I” with the word “idol.” The picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is given as an example of idol. He said parents and teachers were shocked and the school withdrew the book “at once.”

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Violence over Christ caricature

Published Date: February 22, 2010


Police patrolling Batala town when curfew was imposed

A curfew imposed in Punjab’s Batala town following violence over Jesus caricatures two days ago was lifted at today (Feb. 22) afternoon.

Suspected Hindu radicals reportedly attacked three churches after a general strike called by some Christians turned violent at Batala in Gurdaspur district on Feb. 20.

Christians were protesting pictures showing the Sacred Heart of Jesus with a beer can in one hand and a cigarette in the other appearing in Jalandhar, another city in Punjab, earlier in the day.

Father Michael Anikuzhikattil, parish priest of Gurdaspur, told UCA News that a general strike was in force in Gurdaspur district on Feb. 21. According to him, “the objectionable posters” hurt Christians, who form 25 percent of the district’s population.

The priest said more than 1,000 Christians attended a meeting with the district officials earlier in the day.

Father Peter Kavumpuram, the local diocesan spokesperson, said that as soon as the posters appeared, a Catholic delegation led by Bishop Anil Couto of Jalandhar met authorities to seek action against those responsible.

The government took two days to arrest the culprits. Police yesterday [Feb. 21] arrested Pritpal Singh, an Ayurveda doctor responsible for putting up the poster. His accomplices were arrested today.

Father Kavumpuram said Catholic and other established Churches, did not organize protests following the administration’s assurances. They urged people to keep calm and accept the incident as part of their Lenten penance, Father Kavumpuram added.

However, other smaller Christian sects ignored the plea and organized protest marches in various parts of Gurdaspur.

They met at a Methodist church in Batala and went to the local administration office to submit a memorandum. On their way, someone in the group shouted slogans against a Hindu radical group and that triggered violence. The Christian protesters looted shops and destroyed some motorcycles.

Police and local people beat up this group.

Then, a Hindu mob attacked two churches and burned another, all belonging to Protestant Churches. The police arrested many Christian youths.

Father Kavumpuram said as soon as the Hindu radicals retaliated, leaders of the Christians protesting fled the scene.

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[Wolves in sheep’s clothing comes to mind . . .]

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Meghalaya plans anti-blasphemy law

Published Date: February 23, 2010

Meghalaya state plans to introduce an anti-blasphemy law in the wake of Christian outrage against a school book picturing Jesus with lighted cigarette and bear bottle.

Ampareen Lyngdoh, Meghalaya’s education minister said the proposed law “will help the government take action against” people who publish such books, reported Reuters news agency today.

Police in state capital Shillong on Feb. 18 seized copies of the book from St. Joseph Girl’s Higher Secondary School in the city. The book–the cursive writing practice book meant for grade one–has pictures of Jesus Christ holding a cigarette in one hand and a beer bottle in the other.

The police registered a case against the book’s New Delhi-based publisher and supplier following complaints from the school in this Christian majority state.

Lyngdoh said “absence” of such a law makes officials unable “to take action against publishers who commit such offences, which leads to public outrage.”

Christians across the state have condemned the incident and demanded the government pass a law to monitor all school books for offensive content before they are circulated.

The Shillong unit of Indian Catholic Youth Movement in said the “publication of the picture has deeply hurt our religious sentiments.”

It in a statement said the publisher has “violated the provisions of Constitution of India.”

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Arrest warrant against Christ picture publisher
Shillong: An arrest warrant has been issued against the publisher who published school text-books carrying an objectionable picture of Jesus Christ.
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“We have obtained an arrest warrant against the publisher from chief judicial magistrate court here. A police team will soon leave for New Delhi to arrest and interrogate him,” DSP Vivek Syiem told PTI.
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“A case under Section 295 (A) of the IPC has been registered against Skyline Publication for hurting religious sentiments. The offence is non-bailable,” he said.
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The publisher will be arrested for the offence under 295(A) of the IPC which is ‘deliberate and malicious act intended to hurt the religious feeling of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs’, the DSP said.
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‘Smoking Christ’: Publisher blames Web

Published Date: February 24, 2010



The publisher of the school book that pictured Jesus Christ with a beer can and lighted cigarette said the image was downloaded from the Internet and used by mistake.

Police in Meghalaya state capital Shillong seized copies of the book from St. Joseph Girl’s Higher Secondary School in the city on Feb. 18. The book-the cursive writing practice book meant for grade one-had pictures of Jesus Christ holding a cigarette in one hand and a beer bottle in the other.

A court in Shillong on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant against Inder Mohan Jha, the director Delhi-based Skyline Publications, which published the book. The warrant follows a police petition that sought his arrest for publishing objectionable picture.

But the image was result of an “human error,” Jha, 40, said, according to a report in Indian Express newspaper on Wednesday.

He said an agency tasked with the layout and contents of the book made the mistake. “They seem to have lifted an offensive photo off the Internet,” he added

More . . .

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No need for blasphemy law: Bishops
Published Date: February 26, 2010



Indian bishops meeting in Guwahati have disagreed with Meghalaya state government’s reported move to enact an anti-blasphemy law in the state.

The Church disagrees with the move as the Indian Penal Code has provisions to punish those who “hurt the religious sentiments of people,” said the bishops, according to Church news agency Fides.

Meghalaya contemplated introducing a law to check blasphemous activities in the wake of Christian outrage last week against a school book picturing Jesus with lighted cigarette and bear bottle.

Ampareen Lyngdoh, Meghalaya’s education minister said the proposed law “will help the government take action against” people who publish such books.

But the bishops maintained such a law could be distorted and manipulated by fundamentalist groups, as occurs in some Islamic nations, the Vatican-based agency said.

The bishops said they are “deeply offended by the blasphemous image of Christ used on school books” and later on posters in Punjab. They also supported the legal actions both the state governments have taken.

With these comments sent to Fides, “the Indian Bishops have spoken officially on the case of the dissemination of a blasphemous image of Christ,” the agency said.

Some 160 bishops of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, gathered for their Feb 24- March 3 biennial meet, have not issued any public statement on the issue.

But Fides in its Feb. 25 report said it has learnt “from the conference” that the bishops have welcomed the withdrawal of the textbooks and legal proceedings initiated.

The bishops have welcomed the apology issued by the publisher, saying an “oversight and human error” of the book designer, who downloaded the picture from the internet caused the mistake

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