Picture: Falun Gong practitioners conducting their morning exercises at Nehru Park on Tuesday. It is banned in China.

Statesman News service

New Dehli, Oct. 24. - A small board saying "Falun Gong" and a bunch of pamphlets stacked neatly on the footpath. Two foreigners performing exercises with smooth and elegant movements, and two elderly Indians following suit, albeit gawkily.

People strolling through Nehru Park in the crisp early morning air gaped at the rare sight, probably unaware that it cannot be witnessed anymore in its homeland - China - at least publicly.

Today was the second day of their presence in Nehru Park and the numbers had gone down a bit - "probably due to Diwali," guessed one of those who did not let the festival affect his determination to attend.

This is not the first foray of Falun Gong into the country - they had stayed in Dehli for three weeks in June. "We had workshops which were attended by over 100 people. But I do not know how many of them continued," said Mr Anders Eriksson, a Swedish member.

One of the first practitioners here, Mr M S Ramachander, is among a group of four-five persons to have persevered over the past five months. "Our group was quite regular coming to Nehru Park. But they have not turned up today, maybe because of Diwali," said the retired government official.

The second group of Falun Gong "missionaries" has a long term plan to establish their presence more firmly. "This time, we to stay here for three-and-a-half months, conducting workshops," said Mr Eriksson.

In their brief stint, they have already been visited by a member of the "Indian Secret Service. We understand that it is a sensitive issue vis-a-vis China," said Mr Eriksson, a Swedish practitioner. "He could not understand why we had come all the way spending our money to teach something which is absolutely free," he added.

FALUN: All about spiritual values

With a membership of over 100 million in China, the Falun Gong had started to attract the wrath of the Communist government when an official report pointed out that its popularity exceeded the 60 million membership of the Communist party.

According to Falun Gong literature, between July 1999 and July 2000, over 5000 people in China were sent to the labour camp and "at least" 24 have died due to "inhuman treatment while in police custody."

In the first three months of the crackdown, over 35,000 practitioners were arrested," a booklet said...

...The latest convert to the Falun Gong fold - a retired government officer, Mr M L Khurana, had no inkling of its tumultuous existence in China. "Really? I had no idea. But why," asked a perplexed Mr Khurana.

"People are willing to stand up for it because it means so much to them. Maybe, the Communist government feels threatened by the spiritual values that are awakened in a person due to Falun Gong," explained Mr Eriksson.