Thousands of Indian Christians protest against persecution
Around 3,000 Christians from various denominations have demonstrated near the Indian parliament in New Delhi, expressing concern against intensifying incidents of persecution across the mainly Hindu country.
The Delhi-National Capital Region Christian Fellowship organized the demonstration on Oct. 26 at the Jantar Mantar—an area near the parliament allotted for public rallies and protests in the capital, UCA News reported.
“A staggering 585 incidents targeting Christians were recorded so far this year till September,” said Michael William, president of the United Christian Forum (UCF), a Christian rights group that tracks violence against Christians in India.
The UCF said it recorded a total of 733 incidents of violence against Christians for the whole of 2023, an average of 61 incidents a month.
Still, the UCF said it had not included atrocities against Christians in the northeastern state of Manipur, where tribal Christians have been subjected to 17 months of communal violence that claimed over 230 lives, most of them Christians.
William said repeated pleas to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other government departments, such as the Home Ministry and the national minority commission, have proved futile.
Organizers said in a statement that the demonstration aimed to attract government attention to Christians’ “deep anguish” over the “targeted violence” they face.
“The targeted violence and hostility appear to be suspiciously more in states ruled by the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP),” the pro-Hindu party that supports Modi, the statement noted.
Minakshi Singh, general secretary of Unity in Compassion, told UCA News that Modi “speaks of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas [collective efforts for inclusive growth] but the rising incidence of violence against Christians is an unhappy situation.”
Singh’s Christian group is based in Uttar Pradesh state, where the pro-Hindu party has been in power since 2017.
As India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh records the most violence against Christians, with 156 incidents recorded till September this year, said UCA News.
The central state of Chhattisgarh, where mostly indigenous Christians are attacked for their faith, is second on the list with 127 incidents, according to UCF.
And the news agency noted that 11 Indian states, mostly BJP-governed, have enacted sweeping anti-conversion laws.
International Christian Concern on June 28 reported that the trend of a “weaponized government and citizen mob violence” against India’s Christian minority had grown worse in recent months, and believers continue to live in fear that they will be the next victims.
“Last week, multiple house church prayer meetings were cut short by police raids, resulting in several arrests. The accusations were predictable — the arrested parties were ‘forcing’ the conversions of Hindu citizens, although no evidence exists to support the arrests,” said Concern.
This article was originally published on https://www.ecumenicalnews.com/article/thousands-of-indian-christians-protest-against-persecution/61182.htm
