India Indian Christians face increased harassment at Christmas – attacks on children’s Christmas party, Jesus and Santa’s statues destroyed

Indian Christians were subjected to a large amount of harassment and attacks at Christmas.

In Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest state, a local leader of the nationalist militant organization Bajrang Dali accused schools run by missionaries of using Santa and gifts to lure children into Christianity. For example, groups burned Santa Claus statues in front of schools, according to a British newspaper The Guardian.

Incidentally, Hindu nationalists have accused Indian Christians of harnessing Christmas for conversion work. In recent years, India has enacted controversial anti-conversion laws that prohibit conversion through “use of force, adverse influence, coercion, and temptation”. They have been used as a reason for attacks on Christians and Muslims in particular.

Extremist organizations also demonstrated at a Christmas party at the Matridham Ashram, a spiritual center in Uttar Pradesh, where they demanded an “end of conversion” and “death to missionaries”.

Priest, father Anand said the attacks were a continuation of the discrimination faced by Christians.

“Every Sunday is a day of horror and trauma, especially for Christians in small congregations,” he told local media.

Christianity recognizes 30 million Indians, or about two percent of the country’s citizens. Harassment of religious minorities, especially Muslims and Christians, has increased in the country of the Hindu Nationalist Indian People’s Party (BJP) (Bharatiya Janata –party) to rise to power in 2014.

According to the Indian organization Persecution Relief, the number of crimes against Christians increased by about 60 percent from 2016 to 2019. For example, anti-Christian groups have attacked churches and schools, burned religious literature, and abused those involved in religious events, the U.S. newspaper said. The New York Times.

The situation is particularly precarious in northern India, where the prime minister Narendra Modin the position of the BJP led by the BJP members and police often show support for the perpetrators of the attacks.

In January, a group of men in the city of Indore attacked the worship and beat pastors and attendees. When police arrived, pastors and a group of senior members of the church were arrested instead of the perpetrators. They were suspected of violating conversion laws.

Hinduism extremist organizations also disrupted school festivities on Christmas Eve in Haryana, where they accused schools of “brainwashing children”. On Christmas Day, a statue of Jesus was demolished in the state and the church in the city of Ambala was vandalized.

In the state of Assam, Hindu protesters suspended worship at the Presbyterian Church and demanded that all Hindus leave the event. Protesters oppose the participation of Hindus in Christian events, fearing the impact of Christianity on Hinduism.

Most recently, conversion laws have been introduced in the state of Karnataka in southern India. Indian newspaper Times of Indian however, the law would not apply to Hindus or people returning from Christianity or Islam.