TOPIC: Christians and Muslims Under Attack in India

Christmas is usually a time of celebration for the worlds Christian communities. Festive fun, family time and relaxation are the western staples of the Christmas holidays. Yet for Indian Christians, it has been a time of intimidation, persecution and violence. Effigies of Saint Nicholas were burned, statues of Jesus were smashed and churches vandalised in a series of attacks on the Indian Christian community.

 Hindu Extremists Target Minorities

 Christians in India make up around 2.3% of the population, with these communities scattered throughout the nation. Now this small community is under attack, largely due to a rising ethno-religious nationalism incited by Hindu radicals, with the subtle encouragement of the ruling BJP. Christmas celebrations have been targeted this year and in several recent years, with the accusation that Christians were using the festivities to force Hindus to convert. As a result, attacks soared this year. In Uttar Pradesh, right-wing Hindu nationalist burned effigies of Santa Clause outside of Christian schools in retaliation for the purported conversions. Ajju Chauhan, the regional general secretary of the area accused Christian missionaries of luring children to Christianity, through the distribution of gifts and the appeal of Christmas celebrations. Similar types of intimidation have been mirrored elsewhere, with Hindu nationalists in Assam breaking into and disrupting a church service on Christmas night, demanding that all Hindus should leave the building. Again, in Uttar Pradesh, another Christmas event was targeted, with Hindu vigilante groups shouting phrases such as 'missionary murdabad', which means 'death to missionaries.'

The attacks on Christians in India are only the most recent examples of discrimination against minority communities within the nation of 1.4 billion people. Under the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) attacks on both Muslim and Christian minority groups have been on the rise. A report by the organisation 'Persecution Relief' found that crimes against Christians have increased by 60% from 2016-19. Bibles have been set alight, Christian schools disrupted and churches vandalised. Now the persecution is becoming more organised, with the government of Karnataka state the latest to pass a controversial 'anti-conversion' law. This adds fuel to an already burning fire, creating a legal justification to clamp down on the marginalised Christian groups. Indeed, the Muslim population has suffered similarly discriminatory measures. Just recently, a video emerged of Hindu nationalists in a northern, Muslim populated area, demanding the creation of an explicitly Hindu state in India. They referred to the massacre and expulsion of Rohingya Muslims from neighbouring Myanmar as an example of the types of actions the government should be taking. 

Thus, for both Christian and Muslim minorities it is a trying time in India, as a time of celebration is twisted into an environment of fear. 

Image Credit: Gurinder Osan / AP