Right-wing Groups Accuse Christmas Celebrations Of Being 'used Up', Attacks On India's Christian Community Escalate

Illustration of Christmas in India. (Wikimedia Commons/Ministry of Culture)

JAKARTA - India's Christmas celebrations have been disrupted, with statues of Jesus destroyed and statues of Santa Claus burned in a spate of attacks on India's Christian community.

Amid growing intolerance and violence against India's Christian minority, who make up about 2 percent of India's population, several Christmas events have been targeted by far-right Hindu groups, who accuse Christmas celebrations of being used to force Hindus to convert.

In recent years, Christians have increasingly faced abuse around Christmas, but this year there has been a marked spike in attacks.

In Agra in Uttar Pradesh, members of a far-right Hindu group burned a statue of Santa Claus outside a missionary-led school and accused Christian missionaries of using Christmas celebrations to lure people in.

"When December comes, Christian missionaries become active in the name of Christmas, Santa Claus and New Year. They attract children by making Santa Claus distribute gifts to them and attract them to Christianity," said Regional Secretary General Bajrang Dal Ajju Chauhan, one of the right-wing Hindu group leading the protests, citing The Guardian Dec. 27.

Meanwhile in Assam, two protesters in saffron, the distinctive color of Hindu nationalism, entered a Presbyterian church on Christmas Eve and disrupted the celebratory worship process, demanding that all Hindus leave the building.

"Let only Christians celebrate Christmas. We are against Hindu boys and girls participating in Christmas events. It hurts our feelings. They dress up in church and everyone sings Merry Christmas. How will our religion survive?" one of the men, in a video that was filmed during the disturbance.

Illustration of Christmas in India. (Wikimedia Commons/Ministry of Culture)

Later, Indian security forces arrested the two men involved in the attack.

In Haryana state, on Christmas Eve, evening celebrations at a school in Pataudi were disrupted by members of a right-wing Hindu vigilante group. Storming into the school chanting slogans such as "Jai Shri Ram", now a loud cry for Hindu nationalism, they claim that the festive event, which includes Christmas carols and dances and Bible teachings, is used for 'religious conversion under Christmas clothing' .

In addition, they also accused Christian groups of "brainwashing children through drama and speeches to accept Christianity." In the same state, the day after Christmas, a statue of Jesus was torn down and the Church of the Holy Redeemer in Ambala vandalized in the early hours of the morning.

Separately, a Christmas event held annually at the Matridham Ashram in Uttar Pradesh was also targeted by a Hindu vigilante group, who stood outside shouting slogans such as "stop conversions" and "missionary murdabad", which means "death to missionaries". .

Speaking to local media, Father Anand, a priest at the ashram, said the protests showed an increase in attacks facing Christians in India in recent months, as accusations of forced conversion from Hindus to Christians had run rampant and anti-Christian hysteria had begun to grow in the country. all over India.

"This is symbolic of what is happening because these people have impunity, and that creates tension," Anand criticized.

"Every Sunday is a day of terror and trauma for Christians, especially those belonging to those small churches," he continued. The Christmas attacks are just the latest example of incidents of violence against Christians, part of a growing atmosphere of religious intolerance towards non-minorities. -Indian Hindus, i.e. Muslims and Christians, under the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

Since the BJP came to power in 2014, attacks on Christians have increased. According to a report by the organization Persecution Relief, crimes against Christians increased by 60 percent from 2016 to 2019.

In Chhattisgarh State, the BJP has raised the issue of alleged forced conversions, holding dozens of rallies. In the same state several pastors have been viciously attacked and many church services must now be conducted in secret for security reasons.

This month, the Karnataka State government became the latest to pass a controversial "anti-conversion" law. While it doesn't explicitly mention Christians, its provisions against "unlawful conversion" have been used in other states to target Christian priests and those states have seen a spike in attacks, with 39 Christian hate crimes this year.

To note, according to a report released in October, there were more than 300 documented attacks against Christians across India in the first nine months of 2021.