By Sr Lini Sheeja MSC –
In a report by the Indian organization Persecution Relief, the crimes against Christians increased by 60% from 2016 to 2019. There were 330 incidents in 2016, 440 incidents in 2017, 477 in 2018 and 527 incidents of hate crimes in 2019. In 2020, 2021, 2022 toot, Christians have increasingly faced harassment around Christmas and saw a notable surge in attacks. Festive celebrations are disrupted, Jesus statues are smashed and effigies of Santa Claus are burned in a spate of attacks on India’s Christian community over Christmas.
A report released by the joint initiative of the United Christians Forum, Association for Protection of Civil Rights and United Against Hate revealed that at least 305 incidents of violence against Christians took place within the first nine months of 2021. This includes at least 32 incidents in southern Karnataka state.
Church Demolished
Little Flower Church, managed by the Syro-Malabar Church in Lado Sarai, New Delhi was pulled down on 12 July 2021, following an order from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). The Syro-Malabar priests have been running this church for the last 13 years and there was no such problem until the DDA claimed it was an illegal building. The whole Catholic Church was shocked and saddened because the authorities did not give any prior notice of demolition. The authorities came in the morning and asked the Church staff to vacate the place, then they demolished the entire church. If there was any issue, it could have been solved according to the law. Demolishing religious places is always painful.
Santa Claus Burned
In Agra, the city of the Taj Mahal, members of right-wing Hindu groups burned effigies of Santa Claus outside missionary-led schools and accused Christian missionaries of using Christmas celebrations to bait people. Accusing Christian Missionaries of using the Christmas festival as an opportunity to spread Christianity by resorting to gift-distribution spree through Santa Claus to attract children and the poor towards their religion, some Hindus on 25 December 2021 burnt effigies of the mythical character.
School Property Damaged
A Catholic school in central Madhya Pradesh state was vandalized by a mob of about 500 Hindu extremists, despite school authorities’ requesting police protection prior to the attack. The mob was armed with iron rods and stones, and chanted “Jai Shri Ram” (Hail to Lord Ram) while damaging school property.
Nuns taken to Police Station
On 10 October 2021, two Franciscan nuns waiting at a bus stop in Uttar Pradesh were stopped by Hindu groups and forcibly taken to a police station. The nuns were picked up along with a group of evangelical Christians, who had been accused of conversion for holding a routine Sunday prayer meeting. The two religious sisters were catching a bus, when they were forcibly grabbed by a group of radicals who took them to a police station along with another fifty Christians, accused of abusive conversion activities.
Jesus Statue Demolished
The 20-feet statue of Jesus was demolished by the Kolar district administration of Karnataka and was pulled down in violation of court directives. The district administration accompanied by nearly 400 policemen reached Gokunte village – which is just two kilometres from Andhra Pradesh border – in the wee hours on Thursday, 15 February 2022, to pull down the statue which had been existing since 2004. Except for the four families in the village, which has a population of around 600, the rest in the village follow the Roman-Catholic faith.
Sad Statistics
The report documented calls received on the United Christian Forum’s helpline. Till September 2021, the helpline recorded 305 cases across India. Of these, 288 were mob attacks, and in 28 cases, places of worship had been damaged. In 85 cases, police authorities did not allow congregations. A total of 1,331 women, 588 tribals, and 513 Dalits were injured in these attacks, the report said. Of the 305 incidents, 66 were from Uttar Pradesh, 47 from Chhattisgarh, and 32 from Karnataka. Most Rev Dr Peter Machado, Archbishop of Bengaluru, who released the report, feeling sad on the attacks on Christianity said, “We seem to have lost our humanity”.
Heart-Breaking
Christianity is India’s third-largest religion after Hinduism and Islam, just ahead of Sikhism with about 27.8 million adherents, constituting 2.3% of India’s population. The increasing number of attacks on Christians in recent months, who make up about 2% of India’s over 1.3 billion population, is heart-breaking.
Nothing prevented the martyrs in proclaiming God and in speaking the truth; not even death sentence. Let nothing prevent us in proclaiming God who came down and lived among us. Let nothing prevent us in speaking the truth. Our Redeemer was not spared. Our innocent God who came down to redeem us was mocked, tortured, whipped, given bitter vinegar to drink, his clothes torn, was nailed and finally crucified. Our Church from the time of its inception has been persecuted but never has it stopped growing. Hence not even the anti-conversion bill can stop our Church from growing. More the persecution, more the grace! More the suppression, more the growth! The recent attacks on Christians made the bishops, priests, sisters and laity to come to the streets, to the roads and to pray together by lifting our eyes to God. Nothing goes in vain in the lives of believers. Persecution never ends and so too the growth of the Church. Dear Christians, don’t be afraid even if you have to give up your lives for the one who called you to this way of life! Jesus never fails! Let no fire consume us! Let no weapon intimidate us! Let us not be afraid of the threats of any human beings!