Christmas vigilance urged in Nepal amid anti-Christian hate

Christians in Nepal have been advised to be on alert this Christmas season following a few months of anti-Christian incidents in the Himalayan nation, Christian leaders say.

“There is a sense of fear and insecurity rippling through the Christian community amid Christmas celebrations. We feel exposed to hostility for being Christian,” said Father Lalit Tudu, parish priest of Assumption Cathedral in the capital Kathmandu.

“The right to practice our faith peacefully is threatened to some extent,” said the priest of the largest church in the country.

Tudu said 12 parishes covered by the Vicariate Apostolic of Nepal in the Hindu-dominated nation are asked to take extra security measures during the Christmas season.

“Local administrations and security agencies are supportive of providing extra security to organize” Christmas services, he added.

Those attending services are asked not to bring any bags or packets as part of the security measures to avoid the possibility of sneaking in explosives. The cathedral has also installed security cameras on its premises.

Christians have faced some violent incidents since August after a video went viral on social media, claiming to show members of an indigenous community eating beef in a village near Dharan town in eastern Nepal.

Hindus form 80 percent of the some 24 million people in Nepal, making it a de-facto Hindu nation. Nepal was the world’s only Hindu kingdom before it became a secular democratic nation in 2006.

Orthodox Hindus, who consider cows a representation of their mother goddess, abhor eating beef.

The allegation of beef-eating by the indigenous community, many of them Christians, led to radical Hindu groups attacking at least seven churches and some members of the Christian community in different parts of the country.

The Hindu right-wing Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP or National Peoples’ Party), in collaboration with Hindu groups also held rallies and protests demanding the reinstatement of Nepal as a Hindu kingdom.

Following the August violence, local officials alerted Tudu to a “possible bomb attack” on his church. Since then the church, which had been attacked twice in the past, and other Christian institutions are on high alert, he said.

On May 23, 2009, members of a Hindu fundamentalist group bombed the church killing three Catholics and injuring 14 people attending a prayer meeting.

On April 18, 2017, the cathedral was damaged in an arson attack.

“It is unfortunate to witness the growing trend of negative sentiments towards religious minorities, particularly Christians,” said Reverend Tanka Subedi, the former co-chair of the Religious Liberty Commission.

Subedi said the hate and intolerance against Christians in Nepal is influenced by the policies of the ruling party of neighboring India, the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“Hindu gurus from India are coming to Nepal and holding mass rallies to incite hate against Christians,” he said.

According to the US Department of State’s 2022 International Religious Freedom Report, Indian right-wing religious groups fund political parties to turn Nepal officially into a Hindu nation.

“It is a matter of worry for all religious minorities to hear leaders of ruling political parties in Nepal talking about the need to re-consider secularism in public forums,” he added.

Nepal’s 513,000 Christians form less than two percent of its population, according to the 2023 national census.

In 2006, when the country became a secular nation, Christmas was declared a national public holiday. However, since 2018, Christmas holidays have been reserved for only Christians.

“Christmas is a time of joyful celebration and we should celebrate it with joy and not fear,” said Father Silas Bogati, vicar general of the Vicariate Apostolic of Nepal.

This article is originally published on  https://www.ucanews.com/news/christmas-vigilance-urged-in-nepal-amid-anti-christian-hate/103673