CHANDIGARH: Terming the torching of churches, raping of nuns and killings of innocent christians as a 'cultural terrorism" unleashed by Hindu extremists, the Dal Khalsa held the Indian government responsible for miserably failing to protect the lives and properties of the minority community.

In a hard hitting statement, the party vice-president Manmohan Singh Khalsa, general secretary Dr Manjinder Singh and political secretary Kanwarpal Singh urged the United Nations to intervene as despite the public outcry and recoomendations of National Commission for Minorities to ban Bajrang Dal, the approach of the Indian government has been totally biased.

 "Though the prime minister and the UPA chairperson belong to minority community, the response of the state machinery is being driven by prejudice". As elections are drawing nearer, there were fears that violence against minorities would escalate, they observed. The connivance of the RSS and VHP was visible as their militant wing Bajrang Dal leader Mahendra Kumar supported and justified the attacks on churches.

The worst anti-Christian violence in India since independence has reminded the horrors and agonies of Sikhs and Muslims who suffered the worst kind of genocides in 1984 and 2002 in the hands of Congress and the BJP respectively. The leaders condemned the attempts made by certain so-called Hindutva elements directing christian refugees not to return to their homes unless they converted to Hinduism.

Urging the Amnesty International and the Asia Human Rights Watch to seek explanation from the Indian government for failing to curb the violations of the human rights, they said the silence of the international community especially the West was unfortunate and ridiculous.