Persecution of Christians in India: there is growing fear and hatred of Christianity in India, and all too often Christians cannot rely on law enforcement and government officials for justice. Note in this story the statement of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bangalore: “t is very sad, unfortunate and regrettable that the police is bowing under the pressure of a few outsiders and forcefully removed the statue of Lord Jesus.”
Although Christianity was brought to India by St. Thomas the Apostle, and therefore has been present on the Indian Subcontinent for nearly two thousand years, and there still exist Christian communities that St. Thomas founded, Hindu extremists claim that Christianity is an alien faith, imported from outside India and threatening to India’s traditions and culture.
The Order once again asks the government of India to move more energetically to combat the persecution of Indian Christians, and to affirm that they are full citizens of the nation and are entitled to religious freedom.
For previous ChristianPersecution.com coverage of the persecution of Christians in India, see here.
“India: Hindu leader threatens Christians with new wave of persecution,” by Anugrah Kumar, Christian Post, March 23, 2020:
The chief of a Hindu nationalist group has launched a nationwide campaign against “forcible” conversions to Christianity.
In a media interview, Milind Parande, the General Secretary of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, or World Hindu Council, claimed that Hindus were being forced to convert to Christianity and Islam.
“They (Christian missionaries) are destroying the ancient culture and indigenous religion of the tribals (aborigines),” Parande told the Times of India. “They are resorting to trafficking of their children. The VHP will not allow this heinous conspiracy to succeed.”
“Issues like love jihad, where Hindu girls are lured to marry Muslims, are also being brought back. Every year, we bring back at least 2,000 people who have got converted.”
Several Indian states have had draconian “anti-conversion” laws, termed as Freedom of Religion Acts, for decades but no Christian has been convicted of “forcibly” converting anyone to Christianity.
Most attacks on Christians are launched under the pretext of the alleged “forcible” conversion of Hindus.
According to India’s own population data, the conspiracy of mass conversions to Christianity does not hold up, says the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern. “In 1951, the first census after independence, Christians made up only 2.3% of India’s overall population. According to the 2011 census, the most recent census data available, Christians still only make up 2.3% of the population.”
Attacks on Christians have been on the rise since Narendra Modi of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party took office as prime minister in 2014.
“Since the current ruling party took power in 2014, incidents against Christians have increased, and Hindu radicals often attack Christians with little to no consequences,” noted Open Doors’ World Watch List, which ranked India as the 10th worst country for Christians.
“The view of the Hindu nationalists is that to be Indian is to be Hindu, so any other faith — including Christianity — is viewed as non-Indian. Also, converts to Christianity from Hindu backgrounds or tribal religions are often extremely persecuted by their family members and communities,” Open Doors added.
At least one Christian was attacked every day last year, according to Open Doors….
