The Sangh Parivar had its way once again. After staging a violent protest against Emmanuel Bible Mission in Kota, the Sangh activists successfully managed to send back a group of 290 students from Andhra Pradesh, who had come to attend the annual graduation service.

Tension prevailed in Kota city after activists of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Bharatiya Janata Party and Bajrang Dal descended on a train and beat up the students from Andhra Pradesh on 20 February 2004.

According to eyewitnesses, about 200 Sangh activists arrived at the railway station in the wee hours on 20 February and started raising slogans against the mission. The group, which had prior information, took the students to the police. The mob, led by senior BJP leaders, handed over the youth to the police saying they were Dalits brought to Kota for conversion. The youth were not able to speak any other language other than Telugu. “Our workers were thrashed and the tyres of three buses were deflated by the mob. The buses were kept outside the station to provide transportation to the youth, who had come from Andhra Pradesh for graduation,” said Bishop MA Thomas, the chief of the mission. Even the drivers of the buses were manhandled, he added.

The BJP government immediately despatched a four-member team to Kota to look in the allegations that the mission was trying to convert a large number of boys from Andhra Pradesh. Rajasthan Social Welfare minister Madan Dilawar had ordered a high-level inquiry into the matter.

Meanwhile several organisations condemned the attack on the youth from Andhra Pradesh. The All India Christian Council in a statement claimed that the students were proceeding to the annual Christian meeting organised by Emmanuel Bible Mission when they were attacked on a false claim that they were brought for conversion. The victims belong to the Bible College at Anantapur and its churches.

Awaaz, a forum for development of minorities, said the attack was a conspiracy of the Rajasthan government and fundamentalist forces. The National Congress of Indian Christians demanded the dismissal of the BJP government in Rajasthan.