By Shreyasi Singh
There has been a steep rise in violence committed against Christians by Hindutva groups, which have largely been unnoticed by the media. On October 21, the Association for the Protection of Civil Rights, United Against Hate, and United Christian Forum jointly released a fact-finding report highlighting the series of attacks on churches and hate speech against Christians across India.
The report records at least 305 incidents of violence against Christians in the first nine months of 2021, but only 30 FIRs have been registered so far in these cases. The report mentions that September alone recorded 69 such incidents, followed by 50 in August, 37 in January, 33 in July, 27 each in March, April, and June, 20 in February, and 15 in May.
On analysis, at least 1,331 women, 588 tribals, and 513 Dalits were injured in these incidents, and in about 23 incidents, places of worship were damaged. On 85 occasions, restrictions were imposed on people to carry out religious ceremonies. Each of these incidents was horrifying, and the report delves deeply into the nature of the offenses committed in light of the alleged facts.
First on the list is the attack of October 3, where a Hindutva mob of 250-300 persons barged into a Roorkee Church and attacked people, destroyed CCTV camerias, and vandalized the church premises. The report states that there were only 12 present in the church for prayers when the attack occurred and also contains the testimony of victims of the attack.
One victim stated in her testimony: “I had never seen those men. They held me tightly while the women abused and attacked me and the man stole my phone and molested me”. Another victim testified that the mob was armed with sticks and iron rods, and was angrily chanting religious slogans like “Jai Shri Ram” and “Har Har Mahadev”.
The mob alleged that the church was illegal and built on private property. However, the report mentions that the pastor’s family shared their land sale deed agreement with the fact-finding team to clear any doubts about their ownership of the property. Further, the family has reported suspicious activity to the police at least four times before the mob attack but it was ignored by the authorities. Roorkee Police refused to entertain them and provide security to the church.
Further, during the time of the incident, police authorities were called to inform of the attack, and notably while the Civil Lines police station was less than a kilometre away from the church, the police team arrived a full hour after the violent mob dispersed on its own after the attack. The team noted that “prima facie the attack looked like it was meticulously planned to build a fake narrative of conversion.”
As per the report, not only was the formal complaint filed by the victims not addressed by the authorities, but a counter FIR was lodged against the pastor’s family and they were booked under several serious sections of the Indian Penal Code, including Sections 153A (promoting religious disharmony), 395 (dacoity), and 120B (criminal conspiracy).
The fact-finding report contains briefs on 89 attacks against the Christian community. Many of these are shockingly capricious and tyrannical.
In a case from Ghazipur, UP which occurred on August 10, a pastor and his family were denied their fundamental right to access clean drinking water by forbidding them access to hand pumps, along with restricting entry to the church building. The report mentions that all of this was on the basis of false accusations and social opposition by a group of villagers.
In a case at Azamgarh, UP, on August 31, a pastor was arrested after local extremists, along with the police, came in civil dress to a religious meeting saying they want to know more about Jesus. After 15 minutes, the pastor was taken into custody. In another incident at Azamgarh, police arrested a pastor while he was conducting a private prayer meeting on September 9 on the basis of an anonymous complaint.
Two notable incidents occurred in Mau, UP. The first was an attack by a Hindutva mob who claimed to be Bajrang Dal activists and from the Hindu Yuva Vahini, on October 10. They lodged an FIR alleging that a pastor and six others were involved in “converting people to Christianity and insulted Hindu deities using abusive language,” and forced the Christian worshipers to the police station.
The couple in whose house the worship took place pleaded that no forcible conversions were taking place and that the worship in his house had been a regular one. The pastor, too, can be heard in a video stating that the prayer meeting was for the health and wellbeing of everyone, and was open to anyone to attend. Following this, the seven were booked under the Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance, 2020.
In Mau, UP, two nuns were attacked by a mob at a bus stand on Oct 12. They were accused of conversion, were thrashed, and dragged to the police station. One of them said that it was more shocking for her that no policeman intervened when the mob attacked them. The other victim mentioned that even the police asked them ‘are you converting?’
In Chhattisgarh too, there is a steep rise in violence against Christians. The Guardian reported that “in some villages, Christian churches have been vandalised, in others, pastors are beaten or abused.” Chhattisgarh, according to the report, has the second-highest number of incidents against Christians.
Hindu extremists allege that Christian pastors and activists are luring and allegedly converting people through coercion, specifically targeting the tribal communities and poor, lower-caste Hindu families by offering cash payments, free medical assistance, and foreign trips, funded by foreign donors. While there is no evidence to support such claims, “anti-conversion” rallies have been held across Chhattisgarh in the past month.
The report refers to the August 29 attack by around 100 people on three churches in the district of Kawardha. Further, Chhattisgarh is one of nine Indian states that already have draconian laws regulating religious conversions. Those wishing to change their religion are required to gain permission from the local district magistrate, and anyone carrying out forced conversions can be punished with a three-year jail sentence. The report mentions two recent cases of physical violence, vandalism, and false accusation in Chhattisgarh.
A closer look at the cases documented by the fact-finding report presents a common thread running through them. Nearly all the attacks are committed by Hindutva groups on the pretext of patriotism and containing unruly elements of anti-nationalism in the State.Another notable feature is the unwillingness of police authorities to act against the perpetrators who are Hindu religious extremists. In fact, the report lists multiple instances where the police authorities have themselves pushed for such violent acts and supported the violent Hindutva mobs. Mere submission of an FIR against the pastor or church, in general, has led to restraint on accessing the church premises and performing prayer rituals. (IPA Service)
Courtesy: The Leaflet