page_title: 2008 attacks on Christians in southern Karnataka
section_title: Background and cause
hierarchical_section_title: 2008 attacks on Christians in southern Karnataka / Background and cause
caption_attribution_description: English: A photograph of Bajrang Dal members protesting outside the gates of St. Aloysius College, Mangalore. The college had taken a holiday the previous day in protest of the atrocities being committed against the Christians in Orissa.
context_page_description: The 2008 attacks on Christians in southern Karnataka were a wave of attacks directed against Christian churches and prayer halls in the Indian city of Mangalore, and the surrounding area of southern Karnataka, in September and October 2008 by Hindu organizations, the Bajrang Dal and Sri Ram Sena. The attacks were widely perceived by Christians in southern Karnataka to be punishment from the right-wing Hindu nationalist organisations because Christians had been outspoken about Christian persecution in Orissa, and after the murder of Swami Lakshmanananda, a Hindu monk, allegedly killed by the local Christian community. Additionally, because the New Life Fellowship Trust, a fundamentalist, non-denominational Christian Church, was alleged by the Bajrang Dal to be responsible for forced conversions of Hindus to Christianity.
  Several isolated incidents against Christians were reported from 17 August onwards. On 29 August some 45,000 institutions across India participated in a "prayer for peace and communal harmony" in response to the ongoing anti-Christian violence in Orissa.
context_section_description: Mangalore has long been a major Christian centre in India. In 1526, under the viceroyship of Lopo Vaz de Sampaio, the Portuguese took possession of Mangalore and Christianity began to spread via their missionaries. Many Christians migrated to South Canara from Goa. The Mangalorean Catholics were persecuted by Tipu Sultan during his reign between 1782 and 1799 and many were forcibly converted to Sunni Islam. On 24 February 1784, Tipu rounded up 60,000 to 80,000 Mangalorean Catholics and transported them to Seringapatam. They were held there in captivity for 15 years, until the British defeated the Mysoreans at the Battle of Seringapatam on 4 May 1799, with Tipu being killed in action during the battle. Only 15,000–20,000 of those Catholics taken captive in 1784 survived. In the latter half of the 19th century, Protestant missionaries began working in Mangalore and surrounding communities, and the Vicariate of Mangalore was established in 1853. Mangalore, noted for its many churches and the strong representation of Catholics, was at one time known as the "Rome of the East". However it is also noted as a pilgrimage centre for Hindus, given its numerous Hindu temples and shrines. Between 1991 and 2011, the percentage of Christians living in India reportedly dropped from 2.7 per cent to 2.2 per cent, a declining figure which has been linked to ongoing difficulties facing Christians in a predominantly Hindu nation. In 2008, an estimated 320,300 Christians were living in the Dakshina Kannada district.
  Several explanations of the cause of the September 2008 attacks have been postulated. Many Christians believe that the attacks were a direct response from right-wing Hindu organisations who were targeting the people of Mangalore and the surrounding area because they had been outspoken about persecution of Christians in Orissa. St. Aloysius College, a Jesuit institution in Mangalore, and some other 2000 Christian schools in Karnataka, went on strike for varying periods between 29 August and 5 September prior to the attacks, protesting against anti-Christian persecution in Orissa, contrary to the orders of the government who stated that they were to be regular work days. Primary and secondary education minister Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, responding to the shutting down of the Christian educational institutions in Karnataka, had directed the public education department to issue show-cause notices to schools that had objected to the violence against Christians in Orissa. A Christian institution in Shimoga had reportedly received a notice from the education ministry of Karnataka during the strike saying,  "The VHP and Bajrang Dal have conducted a protest against the closure of schools and criticised your action. They have submitted letters requesting action against you for this. In this context, you are asked to show cause as to why action should not be initiated against you for using religion as an excuse to announce a holiday and as to why permission to run your institution should not be withdrawn." State Home Minister V. S. Acharya explained the reason for the notices, "All Christian institutions are grant-in-aid institutions of the government and they should have had the courtesy to inform us before declaring a holiday. Their decision to act unilaterally cannot be tolerated." The education minister was backed by the State President D. V. Sadananda Gowda, who issued a statement in which he stated that Christian education institutions had committed a crime by declaring holiday without obtaining the state government's permission. However, the Indian National Congress (INC) condemned Hegde's statement to take action against Christian education institutions and the leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, Mallikarjun Kharge, stated that "The minister's statement is not proper. It may lead to law and order problem in the State." Bajrang Dal proponents protested with banners outside the St. Aloysius College gates and across Mangalore on Saturday 31 August, the day after the college had closed for a holiday, chanting slogans su
caption: Activists belonging to the Bajrang Dal protested outside the gates of St. Aloysius College on 29 August.
exif: {}