A delegation from the All India Christian Council (AICC) submitted a report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on March 21 concluding that the Rajasthan state government was harassing Christians due to pressure from the BJP. The delegation concluded that the Rajasthan government machinery, including the justice, law and civil administration systems, was “overwhelmed by political pressure from the BJP” and that Dilawar, the state minister for social welfare, was behind attacks on Christians in Kota. “BJP’s members roam free offering large sums of money for the murder of Archbishop M.A. Thomas and his son, while the state machinery merrily strangulates his orphanages and schools by summarily rescinding their registrations without even giving enough time to respond to a show cause notice,” AICC Secretary General John Dayal reported.

7 – Islamic Violence Hits Classrooms in Nigeria

Educational institutions became the new battleground for Islamists in Nigeria bent on spreading their religion by force. Christian teachers and students in high schools and universities suffered. At the Government Day Secondary School in Bauchi, capital of Bauchi state, on February 20 Muslim students attacked English teacher Florence Chuckwu after she confiscated a Quran that a student was reading during her lesson. With her dress torn and blood gushing from her head, Chuckwu was locked in the principal’s office to keep her from being killed in the ensuing riot. By the end of the day, more than 20 Christians were killed, and two churches were burned along with many houses belonging to believers. Chuckwu’s whereabouts are unknown. At the Government College in Keffi, in the northern state of Nasarawa, a Christian high school teacher went on trial in October for blasphemy after he disciplined a Muslim student. English and history teacher Joshua Lai was charged with blasphemy against the prophet of Islam, Muhammad, and for “public incitement, rioting, and mischief,” after he disciplined a Muslim student for arriving late to class. Muslim students attacked Christian students and teachers and burned four houses, including Lai’s home. Alerted by Christian students of a plan by Muslim students to behead him that night, the teacher and his son fled their home. Police caught up with Lai in Abuja, and he was remanded to prison custody for eight days before being released on bail.

In Sokoto, students, teachers and officials at the School of Nursing and Midwifery in the northern Nigeria city in February condemned a student to death by stoning for “blasphemy.” Ladi Muhammed, 22, went into hiding. A friend had rebuked her for being a Christian after overhearing her telephone conversation that led her to mistakenly conclude that Muhammed’s mother was Muslim – making Muhammad an “apostate.” In fact Muhammed was raised mainly by her mother, a Christian living in Kebbi state who was divorced from a Muslim when Muhammed was very young. The ensuing argument led to Muhammed supposedly making “blasphemous” statements and an interrogation by school officials. School personnel judged her and were taking her to a sharia court for confirmation of the death sentence when Muhammed escaped. The following morning, Muslim students went on a rampage, burning down the house of the administration officer for allowing her to escape, and Christians living near the school were also attacked.