An Easter morning service in Rangvasa village, Madhya Pradesh was violently attacked by a group of fifty Hindutva vigilantes last year. The priest and his wife were taken into custody and accused of forced conversion. This was one among the countless incidents of violence against Indian Christians in 2021 alone reported by Christian rights bodies. According to a report by the United Christian Forum 486 attacks on Christians were recorded in 2021 which is a 75 percent rise from 279 in 2020. However the rise in frequency of anti-Christian violence in India can be traced back to the 80s.
Violence against Indian Christians has been reported to have increased significantly since the Bharatiya Janata Party came into power at the centre for the first time in 1988 after which hundreds of incidents have been reported every year. The second time the Hindu Nationalist party came into power at the centre saw another rise in anti-Christian violence. According to a report by the All India Christian Council, attacks on Christians in India went up by twenty percent in 2016 and an attack was recorded every 40 hours on an average. The Persecution Relief reports a sixty percent increase between 2016 and 2019 pointing to the ever-worsening situation of religious minorities in recent years.
While the frequency of anti-Christian violence reported can be clearly linked to political developments at both state and central level, the sharp rise in frequency in the past few years is unprecedented and alarming. Apart from violent attacks on individuals, vandalism of churches and Christian educational institutes by large mobs has become a common occurrence. Anti-conversion bills passed by several states have given Hindutva mobs a free hand to prey on religious minorities under the pretext of stopping religious conversion while the establishment unabashedly sides with and protects the vigilantes.
A report formed by the joint initiative of the United Christian Forum, Association for Protection of Civil Rights, and United Against Hate presented data on state wise distribution of anti-Christian violence in the first nine months of 2021. Out of the 305 cases, Uttar Pradesh led with the highest number of incidents (66). Chhattisgarh and Karnataka came second and third. Odisha, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Telangana, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Assam and Himachal Pradesh were other states where instances of attacks were reported.
Being privileged enough to reside in one of the places yet to be taken over by Hindutva forces, there is no promise of a future without the tyranny of the majority as the poison spreads unchecked. Growing up as a Christian in Modi’s India is bearing witness to the disturbing rise of Hindutva politics while being relatively shielded from hatred and violence as compared to Muslims who the Hindutva machinery identifies as primary targets. However, just as swiftly as militant Hindutva made its way from the fringes to the mainstream of Indian politics, Christians are increasingly direct targets of violence and discrimination across India. At a time when the Muslim population faces institutionalized discrimination, denial of education and violent attacks it is most necessary to stand in solidarity and resist the tyrannical forces that threaten the life and dignity of all religious minorities and oppressed castes in our country.
Kiran Palathingal
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