They are two sisters who live in the village of Sirsanal. Another woman accused them. The economic crisis and the proximity of the 2024 general elections are causing an increase in religious polarization, with hate speech targeting minorities.
Lucknow () – Two teachers from a Christian school were arrested for an alleged conversion attempt in the Sambhal district, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. They are two sisters, Rose Mary and Jessa, who live in the town of Sirsanal and work at a high school, CDM High School. The two women are also accused of breaking and burning images of Hindu deities.
The one denouncing them is a Hindu woman named Sunita, married to a Christian named William. According to the complainant, the two teachers entered her house and tried to convert her, but she resisted. Based on this testimony, the Sambhal District Police ordered the arrest of Rose Mary and Jessa under the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Conversion Law, which expressly states against conversions “through marriage”.
Local sources told that – twenty months before the general election in India and with ordinary citizens increasingly concerned about high inflation and rising unemployment – religious polarization is becoming a way of distracting people from reality. In the elections to renew the legislative assembly of Uttar Pradesh, held earlier this year, hate speech directly targeted minorities, putting their lives and property at risk. Right-wing extremists incited, promoted and justified hatred based on religious intolerance and caste, targeting Dalit Christians.
