Daily Times

Since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government came to power in India, persecution of minorities has increased to an alarming extent. Minorities’ leaders from all sections of Indian society including Christians and Muslims believe that violence against minorities has been triggered by the BJP’s fundamentalist approach. Anti-conversion laws are pushed to be introduced by some ruling parliamentarians.

In the 1.3 billion population the number of Christians is 63 million. As a secular state the Indian Constitution, Chapter III, Fundamental Rights, article 25 says: (1) Subject to public order, morality and health and to the other provisions of this Part, all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice and propagate religion.” Contrary to the constitutional provisions, BJP-supported fundamentalism and extremism have added much to the miseries of Indian Christians. Since 2014, attacks on Christian churches and population manifest that the Modi government is least concerned about rights of minorities in the so-called secular state. It is obvious that the Indian prime minister (PM) was groomed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the right wing Hindu nationalist organisation. In one of India’s state-run television interview in 2014, Mohan Bhagwat, the head of the RSS claimed that the Indian PM Narendra Modi was once a full-time RSS worker. However, in his speeches two years ago, the Indian PM emphasised that his government would give “equal rights and respect to all religions.” But two years of his government proved that most of his promises were mere political imagery, and were not a proof of his role as a fair national leader.

The increasing Christian persecution in India has compelled local Christian leaders to raise their voice against state-supported violence. A Christian priest, Reverend Dr Richard Howell of the Evangelical Fellowship of India said, “Political Hinduism has arrived and majoritarian persecution has begun… Every week there are three to four incidents of mobs attacking Christians.”

In certain states, local anti-conversion laws exist but Hindu fundamentalists want these laws to be passed by the Indian parliament, Lok Sabha. During Modi’s regime, more than 300 incidents of Christian persecution have been reported. A report published in an international journal stated: “At least 134 incidents of violence against Christians in India were carried out in the first half of 2016 alone, compared with 147 incidents in all of 2014 and 177 in 2015.” The report further says that most of these incidents occurred in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

The Evangelical Fellowship of India’s Religious Liberty Commission (EFIRLC) stated: “Local units of the Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Akhil Bharatiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram and other Hindu extremist splinter factions affiliated with the RSS were the groups most often behind the violence.”

In June this year, the Indian PM visited the USA where he had to face several questions from international human rights groups over the increasing Christian persecution under his government. The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission had a hearing during Modi’s visit to the US where three US Congressmen and several other human rights activists questioned the Indian government for the increasing Christian persecution in India. The Congressmen clearly mentioned “intimidation, discrimination, harassment and violence experienced by Muslims and Christians in India.”

Not only in particular states, Christian persecution is being reported from almost every state. Tamil Nadu is notoriously known as the centre of Christian persecution. In this state, several churches and Christian priests were attacked during church services. In southern states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka a number of incidents of Christian persecution occurred in the last two years. In recent months, in one of the districts of Madhya Pradesh, a blind Christian couple was invited to pray for a sick person, and when they arrived, a Hindu extremist mob surrounded the house. They wanted to kill the couple but the police arrived to control the situation; however, Hindu extremists submitted a complaint against them that the couple was converting Hindu families to Christianity in the name of physical healing. The police arrested the blind couple and put them in jail.

Earlier this year, in an Orissa district, as Christians were going to church for prayers, they were ambushed and beaten by a Hindu mob in the presence of the police. Another sad incident occurred in the recent past when in Chhattisgarh, Hindu fundamentalists attacked a church, and tried to burn the priest and his pregnant wife. They set the church building, copies of the Holy Bible, and Christian books kept in the church on fire.

Open Door, a UK-based Christian Human Rights Organisation reported: “More than 350 Christians were physically attacked; at least nine Christians were killed for their faith, and at least three women were raped in the reporting year. Attacks mainly come from Hindu extremists, although extremist Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists and Maoists have all targeted Christians. The Indian government, now led by Hindu nationalist party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is turning a blind eye to attacks against religious minorities, allowing Christians to be attacked with impunity.”

The present day BJP leadership believes in Hindutva, a Hindu way of life and hegemony. “Coming Home” is the slogan of this government, and Hindu leaders backed by the RSS are working hard to bring everyone living in India to Hinduism. The present wave of persecution gives the perception that only Hindus can live peacefully in India. Historically, Hinduism was not related to any particular religion. Hinduism was a combination of different faiths and creeds, but dramatically, Hinduism has been shifted to Hindutva leaving little space in the country for people of different faiths. India takes pride to be the biggest democracy in the world, but restrictions on the population of certain faith groups are exposing the real face of Hindutva.

The Indian ministry of minorities’ affairs offers several programmes such as scholarship schemes, Scheme of Interest Subsidy on Educational Loans for Overseas Studies for the Students Belonging to the Minority Communities, Seekho aur Kamao and Jiyo Parsi. But the concerned ministry does not mention in its website that the rights of minorities will be protected according to the provisions mentioned in Chapter III of the Indian Constitution. It is becoming difficult to understand whether India is a secular country or working on Hindutva.

The writer can be reached at Kaleem.dean@mail.com