Latest news from ChristianAggression.org http://www.christianaggression.org 2011-07-04T23:13:47+01:00 text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=NEWS&id=1309835627 In her police complaint, Priyalatha has charged Shantaraju, pastor of Bethel Church and Bethel Student Centre, with having sex with young girls and getting them to abort S Shyam Prasad Pastor Shantaraju with a minor girl whom he is said to have sexually abused A city pastor has been accused by his own wife of being a paedophile and of misappropriating church funds. The charges against K Shantaraju, the 45-year-old pastor of the Bethel Church and Bethel Student Centre in Siddhartha Nagar, Jalahalli West, are being probed by the police after a complaint was filed by his wife Priyalatha at Gangammanagudi police station on Wednesday. Priyalatha said she deferred filing a police complaint against her husband all these years because she thought it fit to first raise the issue with his superiors. She also believed she could prevail upon him to mend his ways, but having failed she has now provided the police with photos which show Shantaraju in various poses with an alleged minor girl. “The children who were brought to the centre for the purpose of education are being used for illegal activities. Minor children are being used for sexual activities in the centre. He has sexual relationships with many girl children. I have witnessed these activities. When questioned, he threatened to kill me and my two children,” Priyalatha says in her complaint. Priyalatha has been married to Shantaraju for 15 years ago. After the death of her father-in-law Moses, her husband inherited the Bethel Church and Bethel Student Centre and she alleges that her husband has been misusing donations from abroad that the centre and church receives. Shantaraju, who claimed that he has been separated from his wife for 11 years and is fighting a divorce case, denied all charges. “The whole thing is a plot to gain control over the trust and its properties. We used to receive Rs 2.5 lakh per month to provide for 275 children. She has made these allegations to the donors and donations have stopped in the last few months. She has brainwashed my mother and brother and they are also making false claims against me,” Shantaraju told Bangalore Mirror. “Our second daughter is just seven years old; now explain that,” said Priyalatha, in a curt response to Shantaraju’s claim that they had been separated for 11 years. Shantaraju also alleged that the photos were taken in 2005 and that his wife has manipulated them to show him in bad light. “The girl is 21 years old now and not a minor. My wife is trying to cheat the law with old photos. I have been called by the police now and I will show them the real facts. I am a trained pastor and my only aim is to continue the good work of my father in helping poor children,” Shantaraju said. Priyalatha clarified that the photos have been in her possession after she came across an unexposed roll of film two years ago. Suspecting something amiss, she got them developed and printed. Gangammanagudi police station’s inspector S D Chabbi confirmed the complaint and said that a FIR has already been registered and investigation is on. “I do not want to pass any comments on the issue and we are still investigating the matter. There has been no arrests made. There are two parties, Shantaraju on the one side, and his wife, mother and brother on the other. The wife has complained to donors and they have stopped funding the organisation. We also came to know that they is a marital dispute between them and they are still fighting a divorce case. We are humans first and do not want to make arrests and then investigate,” Chabbi said. The couple has two daughters and Priyalatha revealed that they have been sent to Hyderabad for their safety. In her complaint, Priyalatha mentions that she is living in a shed in the compound of the centre along with her mother-in-law Shantamma and brother-in-law Vinay Kumar Mathew. Priyalatha rubbished her alleged interest in getting hold of church property. “His allegation against me of trying to gain property is the latest to hide his sins. He started having an affair with this girl when she was just 14. She got an abortion at the age of 16. In front of me they have lived together. Of course, she is a major now. Other minor girls were also abused by him and had abortions. Their parents are afraid to come forward for fear of spoiling their lives. My own daughter who is 15 years old now has gone into depression after seeing his affairs with minor girls,” she explained. This is not the first complaint against Shantaraju. An anonymous letter sent to the Karuna Bal Vikas, an organisation in Chennai that funds the Bethel Student Centre, earlier this year had accused Shantaraju of sexually exploiting minor girls in the centre. This letter also had photos of Shantaraju while on excursions with female students. Priyalatha’s advocate RLN Murthy said that a complaint has also been given to the city police commissioner’s office. “A pastor should be a model to society. Ordinary people look up to him. The allegations here are of a very serious nature. It also calls for keeping a check on dubious institutions which are using foreign donations for nefarious activities,” Murthy said. text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=NEWS&id=1309541857 Guntur (AP), Jun 30 (PTI) A local pastor was arrested for allegedly murdering a teenager after she became pregnant with his child, police said today. The victim, identified as Monica (17) from Nadendla village in the district was working as a cook for the pastor, S Ajay Babu for the past one year. Babu became intimate with the girl after his wife left him and the girl allegedly became pregnant with his child. She was brought to a government hospital with 90 per cent burns where she succumbed to her injuries yesterday, they said. The pastor was arrested after the family members of the girl lodged a complaint. He allegedly set her on fire to avoid the matter from coming to light. text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=NEWS&id=1302113283 Social welfare department officials on Sunday busted an alleged religious conversion racket in Haleyangadi gram panchayat limits in Mangalore city police limits. The officials raided ‘Ebenezer prayer hall’ run by a couple, KJ Joy and Elizabeth, without a licence following complaints of child labour being used on the premises. However, policemen, accompanying the raiding party, ended up cracking a religious conversion racket allegedly run by the couple. Five children, including four girls, were confined to the hall. One of girls had been allegedly raped by Joy. Locals stormed the prayer hall and assaulted Joy. However, the police prevented the situation from going beyond their control. Both Joy and Elizabeth were arrested. The couple had been running the ‘prayer hall’ on the pretext of rehabilitating destitute children. The locals alleged that the five children had been kidnapped by the couple. The police said they were looking into all angles. The rape victim said she was goaded every day by the couple to convert to a different religion. The rescued children were sent to the child protection centre. Cases of wrongful confinement of minors, physical and mental abuse of the children and running a prayer hall without permission of the authorities and polluting the area have been registered against the couple. text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=NEWS&id=1297274417 Bangalore, Feb 2 (PTI) In the backdrop of the JusticeSomashekhar Commission Report, noted Kannada writer MChidanandmurthy today called for introduction of a bill tocurb "religious conversion by fundamentalists" during thecoming session of the state legislature. Opposing conversions that took place by offering monetaryinducements, he alleged that it was often vulnerable sectionsof people that had been targetted. He cited the examples of states like Gujarat, Orissa andMadhya Pradesh where such a bill had been introduced and urgedthe state government to follow suit text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=NEWS&id=1295634765 New Delhi: The Supreme Court, while upholding life imprisonment for Dara Singh and Mahendra Hembram, main accused in the killing of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons in Orissa's Koenjhar district in January 1999, also came down heavily on Christian missionaries for indulging in forceful conversions. The bench of justices P Sathasivam and BS Chauhan observed that there cannot be any justification for interference in someone's belief while decrying forceful conversions. While delivering the verdict in the murder case on Friday the court observed that investigations reveal that Staines was involved in conversions and there are materials to suggest that the missionaries were indulging in forceful conversion in the area. Dara Singh's lawyer SS Mishra said that the missionaries were indulging in forceful conversions and his client just wanted to threaten them and not kill Staines. "There are materials which suggest that forceful conversion was there. However, so far as the material for conviction is concerned Supreme Court maintained the judgement of the High Court. There is no direct evidence, no one had seen crime done by accused. It appears that they had gone to threaten and teach them a lesson and not kill Staines," said Mishra. Staines and his two sons, Philip (10) and Timothy (6) were burnt to death while they were sleeping inside a van outside a church at Manoharpur village in Koenjhar district of Orissa on January 22, 1999 by Dara Singh and Mahendra Hembram. Both Singh and Hembram have been sentenced to life in the case. text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=NEWS&id=1293988239 Ten months after the sex tape allegedly involving Nithyananda and cine star Ranjitha hit the internet, the actress finally broke her silence on Friday. Addressing a packed press conference, the actress denied all the allegations against her. “It’s not me in the video,” said Ranjitha. “I was scared, I was threatened, blackmailed, and that forced me to abscond.” The actress said she had been hurt by the allegations. “I was scared to face anybody, so I had moved out of the country; I came only for the CID inquiry. I was in the US all this time. I have registered a complaint with the magistrate's court in Ramanagara,” she said. But then came the bombshell. Ranjitha said a Christian missionary was behind the episode. “I was being blackmailed and threatened by the accused and also by another man who belongs to a Christian mission,” said the actress. “I want to live, so I shall not name them. If the CM of Tamil Nadu promises to protect me, I shall reveal the names.” text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=NEWS&id=1292585320 The Sri Lankan Catholic Church, the Catholic Radio Veritas based in Phillipines, the Tamil Catholic hierachy and its priests have been the main links of the global network of the Church to protect, promote, provide succor and cover to the internationally banned Tamil Tigers. Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj is somewht different. This catholic priest comes from the diocese of Kottar, Tamil Nadu. He has made a name for himself and become a "crorepathy’ ( Rs. 10 million is one crore) with plenty of political pull in Tamil Nadu politics to back the Tamil Tigers. He has learned the art of mixing politics with music to raise funds for the Tamil Tigers. In his music, politics and fund raising he has managed successfully to exploit the suffering of the Tamils in Sri Lanka to collect millions for the Tamil Tigers. Fr. Jegath Gaspar RajFr. Jegath Gaspar Raj Tamil Tigers and the Church consider Fr. Gaspar Raj as their latest pop priest. ‘It is a story of rags to riches and from obscurity to political connections and fame," said an Indian commentator. Political observers state that Fr. Gaspar Raj was responsible for bringing the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister to come closer once again to the Tamil Tigers, banned in India. Fr.Gaspar Raj sudden rise to prominence began when he joined the Tamil language broadcasting division of Veritas Radio broadcasting to Asia. This radio runs program in Bahasa (Indonesia), Mandarin, Bengali, Sinhala, Burmese, Tamil, Filipino, Telugu, Hindi, Urdu, Kachin, Vietnamese and Karen languages. For sometime the Tamil Tigers left him alone but renewed their connections in recent months. He is now seen as the conduit through which millions of Indian rupees flow into the hands of the movers and shakers of the Tamil Nadu and Indian politics in general. Father Gaspar Raj is the founder of the Tamil Maiyam, a non-profit organization. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi is the coordinator. Joinlty they organized the “Chennai Sangamam” (a cultural extravaganza) in the city which has drawn flak for its Tamil Tiger links. The Jaya TV, (which has AIADMK chief Jayalalitha's patronage), which is opposed to the Tamil Tigers, telecast a 30-minute program on 04 March focusing on Fr Gaspar Raj sharing the platform with Nachimuthu Socrates, one of the senior fund-raisers for the Tigers. The TV program highlighted that Socrates was among the eight arrested by the US Federal agents in August last year. American authorities have accused him of plotting to buy surface-to-air missiles for the Tamil Tiger rebels by bribing the US State Department officials. One of objectives was to bribe US officials to get the banned Tamil Tigers struck off the list of US terrorist organizations. The program had also raised uncomfortable questions about Father Raj playing an important role in the state-sponsored Chennai Sangamam. The channel also questioned the ‘Government Order’ that had given Kanimozhi access to unlimited funds for her cultural programs. Does Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj was born into a low-middle class Catholic family in Nagarkovil, located in Tamil Nadu, India. He was in the early days a parish priest in a remote village in the Kanniyakumari district. Later he joined ‘Radio Veritas’ as director of the Tamil service, roughly during 1995 -2001. He began working for Radio Veritas on a monthly salary of US $200.00. His accumulated assets have earned him the title of a ‘Crorepathy’ today. As stated earlier, he shot into the limelight through Radio Veritas. It is a non-stock, non-profit organization tasked to "proclaim the message of God's love to the peoples of Asia. RVA is committed to proclaim the message of God's love to the people of Asia by producing human development and Catholic evangelization programs, in cooperation with recognized production centers and transmitting these programs via short-wave and related means of electronic media. This station is also used by the Church to promote its brand of politics. The Sri Lankan government has earlier protested against it bias in promoting Tamil Tiger politics. Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj was with the Tamil section of the Veritas radio, broadcasting a half hour slots daily in the morning as well as in the evening. As this radio is a shortwave broadcast, many in Tamil Nadu do not listen to this radio broadcast. The radios in many houses in Tamil Nadu do not have the shortwave. But Sri Lankans have direct access through shortwave radio connections. Veritas also had direct access to Jaffna through the Catholic Church. The Tamil Catholic priests in Jaffna who had the privilege of moving freely in war zones of Jaffna fed Radio Veritas with pro-Tiger versions of events. Veritas used to receive the news reports from the Jaffna Bishop’s House for broadcast. The news carried in the Veritas Tamil service usually lasts for about 5 minutes but it had a powerful impact on the Sri Lankan Tamils. The censorship imposed by the Sri Lankan government also helped the Tamil service of Radio Veritas to gain a considerable following in Jaffna. It was at the height of the ethnic conflict that Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj became the Director of the Veritas Tamil service. He began his career at Veritas by announcing that he is not for the Tamil Tigers but subsequently he shifted his stance under pressure from the Tamil Diaspora flooding him with letters and e-mails. He was also impressed by the impact Veritas had on the Sri Lankan Tamils. Once he realized this he came out openly supporting the Tamil Tigers. His new political line made him a popular public personality. During this time, Fr. Chandirakanthan, leading Tamil Tiger propagandists from the Jaffna University visited Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj at Veritas in Philippines. They became good friends. This also led him to establish close contacts with Tiger leaders. He has told all this at public meetings. In the meantime Fr. Chandirakanthan left for Canada and settled down there. This gave an opportunity for Fr. Gaspar Raj to establish relationship with the Tamil Diaspora in Europe, North America and Australasian countries. Tigers decided to make use of Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj for collection of funds as he was an able orator. He was also a colorful figure with his unusual (Cossack) dress for a Catholic clergyman. Seeing his potential Tigers arranged visits for him in several European capitals. He was invited to collect funds for the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization, banned in some countries as the arm of the Tiger fund collections. In the meantime, he arranged the rebroadcast of the Veritas Tamil programs in the then popular TRT Tamil Alai Radio, and used it to build a formidable link between himself and the Tamil Diaspora. During this time the Tigers were running their own Radio IBC in Europe. Fr. Gaspar Raj announced that Veritas radio as well as the TRT Radio would jointly run programs for the collection of funds for the welfare of the Eelam Tamil orphans. Tigers have never engaged outsiders to collect funds from the Tamil Diaspora or welcomed welfare schemes put to them by others. When the Tiger leaders in Paris vehemently opposed this move of Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj, he was forced to contact Tiger leaders in Vanni for the approval for his proposal to collect funds appealing through the airwaves. Even S.S. Kuhanathan, who continuously resisted the Paris, based LTTE leaders, joined hands with Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj in the hope that he might be able to establish contacts with the Tiger leaders in the Vanni. Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj and Kuhanathan appeared in the TRT Television and appealed through TRT Radio to raise funds for the Tamil orphans in the Vanni. TRT, however, was very cautious about raising funds with Fr. Gaspar Raj and insisted that he collects his funds in a separate bank account as this appeal for funds had nothing to do with the TRT organization. Then Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj opened up a bank account in his name in Credit du Nord bank in Paris and channeled the funds into that bank account. It is estimated that Fr. Gaspar Raj's appeal led to a collection of nearly a million of dollars. According to a source in the Paris, his Paris bank account alone collected a little over US$ 600,000. However the appeal for funds continued in TRT TV and Radio urging Tamil Diaspora to send in their donations not only to Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj’s the bank account in Paris but also to his bank account in Manila. Later it transpired, according to TRT Radio and TV broadcasts, that the moneys sent to Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj’s Paris Bank account was subsequently transferred to his Manila bank account. So far Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj has neither disclosed the total amount of money he received on behalf of the Tamil Orphans in Vanni nor announced how much he has paid out of the total collection to the Tamil orphans and to whom he has given that money. In the meantime, TRT Radio and TV stations were acquired by the Tigers and at the same time Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj left Veritas Radio and went back to reside permanently in Tamil Nadu . In another appeal launched in Canada on 14 January 2001, through radio stations in Toronto, Canada, it is reported that he collected around US $ 500,000.00. All these funds were raised selling the plight of the Tamils orphans to the Tamil Diaspora in Canada. With his oratorical skills he was successful in convincing the Tamils in the Diaspora to part with their money for Tamil orphans. He spent most of his last three years at Veritas overseas campaigning for funds. After settling down in Tamil Nadu India he launched Tamil Maiyam in 2002. He is the Managing Director. It is located in the St. Thomas Building, Santhome Communications Centre in Mylapore, Chennai 600 004. Tamil Maiyam is a ‘80-G tax- exempted charitable organization. Tamil Maiyam was founded in Chennai, India, in July 2002 by Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj and his friends as a non-profit organization to promote Tamil arts, literature and culture with special emphasis on Research, Creative productions and Publications. It also claimed that it aimed to bring the fruits of modern science to the ordinary Tamils and create a platform for Tamils living in various parts of the world to interact and work together for the betterment of Tamil language and Tamil society. The Board of Trustees are: Rev. Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj Managing Trustee, Tamil Maiyam, Fr. Lourdu Anandam, Ms. Akhila Srinivasan, Mr. K. Pandia Rajan, Mr. Jerard, Mr. Joseph Enok, Ms. Latha Pandiarajan Ms. Kanimozhi-, Mr. Arun Veerappan and Fr. Vincent Chinnadurai. Subsequently he launched Goodwill Communications Limited (GCL) to produce and provide program for the Tamil television industry. The company was formally launched at a function which was chaired by writer Sujatha. Fr Jegath Gaspar Raj, the chairman and managing director of Tamil Maiyam, is also the managing director of GCL. Throgh these insitutions and with the funds collected in the name of the Tamil orphans he has managed to buy his way into the political establishment in Tamil Nadu. One of Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj's project was to present a musical rendition of the Tamil literary classic, Thiruvasakam Thiruvasakam, a collection of hymns in praise of Lord Shiva couched in heart-tugging phrases in ancient Tamil by the 7th century poet Saint Manickavasagar, is believed to provide a spiritual experience to those who recite it. Dismayed by the neglect of such rich Indian literature, Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj, a theologian and Founder-Chairman of Tamil Maiyam, decided to do something about it and the result was this project Thiruvasakam conveys the supreme love for Siva in an obvious rhythm of words, with pleasing sound. It is contained profound statements on love. The verses are in simple style and are easily readable and sung by the very common people and at the same time the thought contents in them are understandable only by scholars of Siva Sitthanta doctrine, and most particularly by the religious experiences. Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj approached Ilayaraja, the maestro in music, and he in turn seized the opportunity. The music was recorded partly in India (Chennai and Mumbai) and partly at the over 100-year-old Budapest Symphony Orchestra, Hungary. The album has six songs including a unique 18-minute composition that alternates between Tamil and English lyrics, sung in choral style. Thiruvasakam has the voices of Ilayaraja, his daughter Bavatharini and Benny Diggs. Over 300 musicians, including 140 instrumentalists and 60 chorus singers were involved in making this album. It is said that Ilayaraja has not taken any remuneration to produce the album, but holds 50 per cent of its rights. The other 50 per cent is with Tamil Maiyam. The total cost of the project is Rs 1.4 crore, of which 70 per cent funding has come through high cost debt. A total of Rs 1.1 crore has been spent on production. Unfortunately Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj failed financially in this Thiruvasakam project. ‘Thiruvasakam’ by maestro Ilayaraaja, the first ever Indian Symphonic Oratorio was launched for sale on June 30, 2005 at the Music Academy, Chennai, according to Tamil Maiyam. The funds for this project were raised by the Tamil Maiyam. The total cost of the production is Rs.110 Lakhs of which Rs.35 Lakhs came in as donations and Rs.75 lakhs as borrowings from individuals and banks. Tamil Maiyam is non-profit 80-G exempted charitable organization. TIS-Foundation USA played a crucial role in mobilizing funds. The album was presented to the president of India Dr.Abdul kalam on June 17, 2005 at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan by Ilayaraaja accompanied by the Tamil Maiyam team. Dr. Abdul Kalam listened to the Oratorio song in the presence of Ilayaraaja and complimented it as ‘Great, a real contribution to the Indian music and culture’. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh received Ilayaraaja along with Vaiko and the Tamil Maiyam team on June 18 in New Delhi. While complementing the ‘Thiruvasakam’ effort he unde4rlined the fact that culture is the core strength of our land. Ilayaraja and the delegation also met with the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister L.K Advani respectively and presented the album. In a press release issued by the Tamil Maiyam, Fr. Gaspar Raj says that this is the first music that transmits eastern music seamlessly into a western Symphonic singing. In the meantime one Dr. Vee has disputed Fr. Gaspar Raj false Symphony claims. Fr. Gaspar Raj started his Thiruvasakam project with the title ‘Thiruvasakam in Symphony’ for soliciting funds. In US was titled ‘Thiruvasakam in Symphony USA’. The official web page for the US activities of Thiruvasakam in Symphony. [index.html/www.tis-usa.com]. Rev.Fr. Gaspar Raj’s Tamil Maiyam website home page also projected his project as ‘Thiruvasakam in Symphony’. All newspapers including “The Hindu” [June 6, 2005] praised this project as ‘Thiruvasakam in Symphony’. But Ilayaraja explained in his interview to “Ananda Vikatan’, a Tamil language weekly, that he did not render Thiruvasakam in symphony and clarified that he had employed the musical form Oratorio in the Thiruvasakam project. Misled by unethical marketing many innocent buyers still believe that Thiruvasakam is now rendered in symphonic music. . It is an accepted norm in music that vocal renditions are not a part of symphonic music. A Symphony is purely a composition for instruments, and very rarely voices are added as in the case of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony (Ode to Joy) in the fourth movement. In some of Mahler’s Symphonies voices are added. Western Music does not have a musical form called ‘symphonic oratorio’. Symphony and Oratorio are two different musical forms. After Ilayaraja’s interview clarifying that he did not render Thiruvasakam in Symphony, Rev.Fr.Jegat Gaspar Raj changed the label of his music in his Thiruvasakam project from ‘Symphony’ to ‘Symphonic Oratorio’. While announcing a project “Mozart meets India”, Tamil Maiyam founder Rev.Fr.Jegath Gaspar Raj had called his Thiruvasakam project as "Thiruvasagam - Symphonic Oratorio" [18 March 2006 News Update Service, The Hindu and Deccan Chronicle 19 March 2006]. Rev.Fr.Gaspar Raj producer of the Thiruvasakam project had misled music students of India that Symphonic Oratorio was a Western Musical form and Ilayaraja had used that form to render Thiruvasakam. Being a Catholic priest with a background in Western music, he should have known that Western music does not have a musical form called ‘symphonic oratorio’. As a producer Fr.Jegat Gaspar Raj failed to do proper ground work for his project, misled Ilayaraja to undertake this miguided project and misused Ilayaraja’s musical fame to gather funds and market this product cheating innocent buyers most of whom bought this product believing it to be ‘Thiruvasakam in Symphony’. It is unfortunate that the Indian President, Prime Minister and other VIPs had become victims by felicitating this project, a black mark in the history of Indian music. Dr. Vee wrote an email letter “Subject: India's First Symphony?” on August 20, 2006 to the Members of Parliament, protesting against the error of the President and Prime Minister in felicitating “Mozart meets India” as a symphony. The defects are related to the confusion in the musical forms employed, music interval, wrong choice of vocalist and musical aesthetics. Rev.Fr.Jegat Gaspar Raj’s Thiruvasakam music project involved two different kinds of music, Western Classical and Carnatic. Western Classical and Carnatic music have different kinds of music intervals. In Western music, keyboard and fretted instruments follow equal temperament. Violinists and vocalists unaccompanied by equal temperament instruments in Western Music may follow just intonation. The intervals of Carnatic music will be different from these. Hence any music project involving Western Classical music and Carnatic music must take into account these differences and work out a compromise. Then the musicians must be trained in this scheme. Recording must start after completing these formalities. Ilayaraja’s Thiruvasakam does not appear to have followed these procedures. Brochures accompanying such projects must explain these procedures. A computer based objective investigation will bring out all these shortcomings, a valuable project for music research students. The next shortcoming in this project is the employment of Ilayaraja’s voice, which suits well for folk and film music. [eg.’Thenpandi Seemaiyele’ in ‘Nayakan’]. But his voice will not be suitable for classical music like Carnatic music. For spiritual chanting of Thiruvasakam, voice of experienced Othuvars [a special category of persons trained in chanting Saivite devotional text] will be good. For musical rendering of Thiruvasakam, voices of well-trained and experienced Carnatic vocalists will be good. The voice of Ilayaraja does not belong to either category. Also this project failed to follow the traditional musical way of handling the Tamil words in Thiruvasakam. Instead of conceding these defects in his project, Rev.Fr.Jegath Gaspar Raj had blamed the Tamil lyrics of Thiruvasakam for the failure of his product. [Asian News Service- Chennai, March 20, 2006; 18 March 2006 News Update Service; The Hindu and Deccan Chronicle 19 March 2006]. This means he had proceeded with his project without realizing the music potential of the Tamil lyrics of Thiruvasakam and hence had used Ilayaraja’s voice for singing the Tamil lyrics thereby damaging the music richness. Without realising his mistakes, Rev.Fr.Jegath Gaspar Raj had blamed the Tamil lyrics of Thiruvasakam for the failure of his project. Apart from these, there are problems related to finer aspects of musical aesthetics of Western Classical Music and Carnatic music in such projects. Rev.Fr. Gaspar Raj had recently announced a new project called ‘Mozart meets India’. He had claimed that it would be India’s first symphony. [Indo-Asian News Service - Chennai, March 20, 2006, New Indian Express, 19-3-2006]. He had not revealed who would be its composer. He had called it as ‘orchestral symphony’. His previous project also started with the title ‘Thiruvasakam in Symphony ‘. Rev.Fr. Gaspar Raj supported Ilayaraja’s claim of composing India’s first symphony in 1993. After misusing the words symphony and ‘symphonic oratorio’, Fr.Gaspar Raj started misusing ‘Mozart’ in his current project ‘Mozart meets India’. He said: “The compositions do not directly correspond or relate to the creations of Mozart. The title is more allegoric as we consider Mozart the greatest composer of symphonies.”(The Hindu- Aug 2,2006). Also he had identified it as “a global symphonic soundtrack based on six Carnatic ragas, Kapi, Sindhubhairavi, Panthuvarali, Sankarabharanam, Bilahari and Hamsanandhi," (The Hindu- Aug 2,2006). Is the above mentioned word ‘symphonic’ “more allegoric” as it may not ‘not directly correspond or relate to’ the six Carnatic ragas? From the above, there can be only two possible conclusions. Either Rev. Fr. Jegat Gasper Raj does not know what is symphony, or he just misuses the words ‘symphony’ and ‘Mozart’ to get funds and market his product, unaware of the damages to the aesthetics of the music field and especially to music education in the process. Unfortunately for Fr. Gasper Raj, Thiruvasagam did not attract the Sri Lankan Diasporas attention and subsequently it was financially a debacle. He was heard lamenting that if he could have made Tamil music maestro Ilayaraaja to direct and sing Tigers songs he could have reaped a few crores as profit. When he failed to win the support of the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora he tried to win over the support of the Brahmins, but he again failed miserably. When he was openly supporting the LTTE he criticized Thuklak editor Cho Ramasamy as well as N.Ram of The Hindu. But when he returned later to win over the support of the Brahmins he failed to win over his erstwhile adversaries. In the meantime, when DMK under the leadership of M. Karunanidhi, managed to win back the power in the last elections, Fr. Gaspar Raj moved fast to win the favour of the new Tamil Nadu regime. He won by using Ms. Kanimozhi one of the Board of Trustees and coordinator of the Tamil Maiyam . Ms. Kanimozhi is the daughter of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and the leader of the ruling party DMK. She is also poet and also run `Karuthu', an organization run by her and Karthi Chidambaram, Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's son, to espouse freedom of speech, and expression of views. It is said that Karuthu is a non-political organization. Karuthu does not have an opinion on its own; nor does it reflect collective opinion. This is a forum for people to express their opinions in a decent manner. Karuthu is not constrained in any manner by religion, caste, and creed; nor is it shy of any subject. Politics, philosophy, contemporary understanding of history, social issues and all matters may be discussed here. One may also take a contrary view. The only requirement is that there should not be any personal attack. This was the time LTTE wanted to make thei presence felt in India again. Tamil Tigers were getting disenchanted with Vaiko – V,Gopalasamy, the leader of the Marumalarchchi Dravida Munnetra Kalgam (MDMK). LTTE leadership, after a lapse of a long period of time, contacted Fr. Gaspar Raj who in turn proved himself as an indispensable person by organizing the meeting of the TNA parliamentary group with the Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and on the following day the meeting of TNA MPs with Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India. Political sources claim that millions of Indian rupees changed hands from the Tiger coffers for the arrangement of these meetings. - Asian Tribune - text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=NEWS&id=1287509624 Beltangady, Oct 18: The personnel of Venur police station have registered cases against three persons, based on a complaint received against them. The three reportedly visited a family, derided Hindu gods, and induced the family members to convert. It is said that three men, A M George, Ruby Thomas, and M S George, visited the home of Ramesh in Babottu, Tenka Karandoor village in the taluk at around 11.30 am on Saturday October 16. “They explained about the salient features of Christianity, made insulting remarks about Hindu gods, and urged us to get converted into Christianity. They also offered inducements by way of various facilities for this conversion,” Ramesh said in his complaint. It is gathered that the three men named above, who are from Kerala, presently reside in Beltangady. text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=NEWS&id=1284923026 Child sex abuse, and other church failings, lead Belgians to formally renounce religion. BRUSSELS, Belgium — Faced with ever-more harrowing revelations of child sex abuse by Roman Catholic clergymen, Belgians are turning in record numbers to apostasy — formally breaking with their religion through a process of “de-baptism.” “It has increased enormously since the cases of child abuse. It keeps going up,” said Bjorn Siffer, deputy director of Flemish Humanist-Secular Society. “We know from the bishops' secretaries that they can’t cope with all the requests they are getting for de-baptism.” Siffer says 80 people ditched Catholicism during a single “de-baptism day” in Antwerp in June and a similar number dropped out of the Church in an event earlier this year in the western city of Kortrijk. A secular organization in Belgium’s French-speaking south says 869 people have used its help to sever links with the Church so far this year, compared to 380 for the whole of 2009, and just 66 two years ago. "The pedophilia cases play a part, but it’s more that people have had enough of the positions which the Catholic Church has taken on issues like abortion, contraception and homosexuality," said Daniel Leclerq, a coordinator at the Federation of Friends of Secular Morality. Belgium was shaken by the revelation in April that the Bishop of Bruges Roger Vanhegheluwe, one of the country’s best-known clergymen, had sexually abused his own nephew for 13 years, starting when the boy was just 5 years old.Leclerq said many people were also influenced to leave the church because of the decision by Pope Benedict XVI last year to lift the excommunication of Bishop Richard Williamson, who has described Jews as enemies of the Church and denied the existence of the Nazi gas chambers. The country was further shocked over the weekend when a Church inquiry commission published the often graphic testimony of hundreds of people who stepped forward to say they had been abused by priests in their youth. “None of us was prepared for the severity of some of the accounts of abuse that we were given,”said Peter Adriaenssens, the child psychiatrist who headed the inquiry. “All of us at one time questioned our faith in God, the Church and humanity.” Widespread suspicions that the Church authorities covered up such crimes intensified after newspapers last month published transcripts of meetings between Vanhegheluwe’s victim and Cardinal Godfried Danneels. Texts show the former head of the Church in Belgium trying to persuade the man, now in his 40s, to hold off on going public with his accusations. The Catholic hierarchy has hit back, claiming the papers edited the text to carry out a “character assassination”of the cardinal and denouncing police searches of Danneel’s home and other Church properties. However, there’s no doubt that many Belgians have had their faith severely dented. “With these cases of pedophilia, the Catholic Church no longer enjoys the same esteem among many people,” Cannon Herman Cosijns, episcopal vicar of the Brussels diocese, told French television last month. “It will come back, but this is a difficult time.” The secular organizations deny that they are taking advantage of the child sex scandals to encourage people to leave the Catholic Church or any other religion. But they do make it easier by offering downloadable forms on their websites. Once the forms are filled in and returned, the organizations will send them on to Church authorities who will strike the apostates off the baptismal register. Those who end their affiliation with the Church are no longer excommunicated, but they cannot be married in the church or have a Catholic funeral. This nation of 10 million remains a mainly Catholic country, but the Church’s influence is declining. The Flemish Christian Democratic party’s defeat in 1999 elections ended generations of its political domination in the Dutch-speaking north. Since then, the country became a pioneer in legalizing same-sex marriages and euthanasia. A poll released in January found 60 percent described themselves as Catholics, compared to 72 percent in 1980 and 68 percent in 2000. The number of practicing Catholics declined from 46 percent in 1980 to 14 percent this year, according to the poll in the daily Le Soir newspaper. While there are countless lapsed Catholics, those who officially renounce the religion are a small but growing minority. Eric Lorio is one who decided to take that extra step. “I left the Catholic religion years ago when I was a young adult and became an atheist, but last year I found out that the Church still considered me as one of theirs, and I wanted to be taken off their lists,”said the Brussels-based psychologist and management coach. “I found the points of view of the Catholic Church had become more and more conservative, hostile to certain lifestyles and I decided to pull out,”added Lorio, who has set up his own website to promote discussion on the issue. Christine Mironzcyk decided she would formally abandon the faith of her Polish immigrant parents after she became a grandmother. “My son was never baptized and neither is my granddaughter, so I thought it was time to join them,”said Mironzcyk, who is president of the Federation of Friends of Secular Morality. “It’s a very personal action, a very powerful act … I’m glad to have done it.” text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=NEWS&id=1284222739 NEW DELHI: Promising proper education, pastors are trafficking children from the north-eastern states to Tamil Nadu and Karnataka with an oblique motive to get grants from churches and abroad, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights said in a damning report to the Supreme Court. Inquring into recent rescue of hundreds of children trafficked from the NE states and housed in Homes illegally run by pastors in the southern states, NCPCR found that girls were even asked to give massage to the directors of these Homes and molested. Analysing the situation in a detailed report, NCPCR said insurgency coupled with the virtual absence of government officials at the sub-district and block level to address the education, health and developmental problems have made the entire north-east an easy hunting ground for middlemen to lure out children from parents in the name of providing them proper education. \"All-out effort are being made by pastors and other category of persons who are reaching out to source areas through middlemen for getting children in order to obtain financial support from churches within the country or donations from outside,\" the NCPCR said in response to a direction from the apex court to inquire into the incidents. The source areas for the pastors are Tamnglong, Senapati, Chandel, Bishnupur, Churachandpur and Imphal in Manipur, North Cachar Hills in Assam and Meghalaya. The destination states are TN, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. \"The main reason for children being sent out by the poor parents to far off places in southern states is due to their high expectation of quality education for their children which is not available at their own places,\" the Commission said. The other main reasons for the parents agreeing to send their children far away were no easy access to schools; lack of basic infrastructure such as road connectivity, power and hospitals; insurgency and lack of a sense of security among parents to send children walking to schools; poor financial status of parents preventing them from putting children in boarding schools; and absence of governance in sub-district and block level to address education, health and developmental problems of vulnerable families. This provides a perfect opportunity for middlemen to exploit the situation and is being taken advantage of by pastors. But, the children get caught between the devil at home and the deep sea in the Homes in southern states, NCPCR said. \"Mostly these children from north-east who are brought to TN and Karnataka are put in Tamil and Kannada-medium schools for study. It is not easy for these children to have education in the languages which are not spoken in their states,\" the Commission said. Apart from giving a series of recommendatory directions to the NE states to improve the educational and health facilities, NCPCR asked the Union HRD ministry to supply data about the number of schools and hostels in the north-east currently occupied by the armed forces. While asking the HRD ministry to open Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas and model schools in the affected areas, the Commission said the Union home ministry must ensure that \"the para-military forces vacate the schools and hostels occupied by them and submit an action taken report within two months to the SC\".