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On January 2, a mob armed with sticks pounced on a Catholic church in a village in central India. They destroyed the parish and even beat up the policemen who were trying to control them. The incident was just one of the most recent examples of violence perpetrated against India’s minority Christian community. Several experts say that attacks like these have increased thanks to Hindu nationalist rhetoric throughout the country.
They vandalized a statue of the Virgin Mary, beat up police officers and chanted slogans: on 2 January, a mob gathered in the Narayanpur region of the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh to attack a Catholic church.
Hindutva extremists riot as they attack a Catholic Church in central India and even assault police officers. Watch them toss the cops. pic.twitter.com/kXwcmi58mO
—Pieter Friedrich (@FriedrichPieter) January 4, 2023
At least 11 people were arrested two days after the attack on the church, including the party leader of the local district belonging to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), known for its Hindu nationalist and right-wing ideology, as well as his predecessor.
The attack on the church followed a series of threats and acts of violence against the Christian community in the region, belonging mainly to the Adivasi tribal minority, which left more than 1,000 people from 40 villages displaced throughout the month of December. of 2022.
Location: Narayanpur, Chattisgarh
An extremist mob vandalized a church over allegations of religious conversions.
Over the last three weeks, dozens of anti-Christian attacks have been reported in the region, forcing thousands of Christians to flee their villages. pic.twitter.com/v8tvqCNXiI
—HindutvaWatch (@HindutvaWatchIn) January 2, 2023
Tensions have increased in the region between Adivasi tribes who have converted to Christianity and those who follow Hinduism or traditional religious practice. Locals say this tension was stoked and organized into violent attacks by members of the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu nationalist organization.
“This violence suddenly escalated from mid-December”
Irfan Engineer is the director of the Center for the Study of Society and Secularism. He went to Chhattisgarh in December to help with an investigative report on violence against Christians in the state.
“Indigenous Christians are a very small minority in the towns in that area. And therefore they are powerless. They do not retaliate when faced with threats of violence so as not to escalate and worsen the situation. They simply leave the towns,” he details.
Engineer explains that “this violence suddenly escalated since mid-December. They were given three options. The first option was to reconvert to indigenous practices, customs and traditions. The second option was to leave the town. The third option was to face the violence.”
“People went to the police station and complained to the police that they had been kicked out of their villages. Nothing was done. They had nowhere to go,” he concludes.
The Observers’ investigative team reported that at least three Christians were forcibly converted to Hinduism, while others who refused were beaten, had their homes raided and were displaced from their villages.
These incidents constitute an increase in violence and attacks against Christian minority groups, particularly in states run by BJP leaders. Another church in Karnataka was vandalized on December 27 and a man dressed as Santa Claus was mugged in Gujarat on December 20.
Rhetoric against conversion
The current wave of anger stemmed from suspicion that Narayanpur’s Christian community had been converting local Hindus. Conversion has been a hot topic for the BJP, particularly in the Chhattisgarh tribal communities.
At least 10 BJP-led states have passed anti-conversion laws since 2018, making conversion to Christianity or Islam illegal. But critics like Engineer say this goes against India’s constitution, which claims it is a secular state and promises freedom of religion.
“It is up to each person to choose the religion they want. Indian law, the Indian Constitution, gives this freedom to every citizen to convert and follow whatever religion they want to profess, practice and propagate,” he explains.
Members of the BJP and affiliates of other Hindu nationalist groups have also complained that some tribal communities continue to benefit from scheduled tribal benefits despite converting to Christianity or Islam. Despite these claims, there is no law preventing tribal communities from maintaining their status while practicing other religious beliefs.
“Political elites use religion to mobilize political support”
Experts say attacks like these have been on the rise since 2014, when the BJP came to power in India. Crimes against the Christian community increased 60% between 2016 and 2019, according to a report by Persecution Relief, which monitors violence against Christians in India.
“There are many reasons for inter-religious violence in India: economic, historical and linguistic. However, the main one is political. Political elites use religion to mobilize political support, hatred and violence give this type of violence. mobilization a faster and easier path,” says Ashok Swain, a professor of peace and conflict research at Uppsala University in Sweden.
“Attacks against Christians occur throughout the year, but increase during Easter and Christmas. The increasing number of attacks in the states of Chhattisgarh and Karnataka during this Christmas period should also be seen as these two states will be up for election soon. The research shows that attacks against minorities have helped the Hindu nationalist party BJP to win more electoral support,” concludes the teacher.
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