Very new communities in the Gurugram district in the crosshairs. The demonstrations of the movements linked to the BJP precisely at a time when the Minister of the Interior ensured “attention” to the president of the Episcopal Conference, Msgr. Thazhath during a meeting in Kochi.
New Delhi () – Some Hindu groups of the Hindu nationalist right have threatened two Catholic temples of the corresponding missions in the archdiocese of Delhi. And it is precisely the same local Church whose cathedral Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited last Easter.
The last episode took place on Sunday, June 4, at the Catholic mission temple of San José Vaz, in Kherki Daula, in the Gurugram district (Gurgaon). Archdiocese spokesman Shashi Dharan informed the website MattersIndia The 10 am English-language celebration had just ended when a group of 20 to 25 people arrived on bicycles and cars, wearing saffron scarves and carrying tridents and swords. They threatened and beat the priest and two Catholics who were talking to him. The extremists gave two weeks to close the church.
The temple opened in 2021 on rented land near Manesar, an industrial hub in Haryana about 60km south of New Delhi, serving some 40 Hindi-speaking and 25 English-speaking Catholic families. Dharan explained that the owner of the property asked the archdiocese to vacate the property because he had received threats from Hindu radicals.
A few days earlier, a delegation from the archdiocese had traveled to Farrukh Nagar, another town in the Gurugram district, because the police chief had summoned them to discuss a claim made by some village leaders regarding a temple that had been built in 2020. to care for seven Catholic families. The heads of five villages were present, who questioned the church delegation about the opportunity to build a temple there. About 300 people belonging to Hindu nationalist right-wing groups also attended the police station.
In this climate charged with tensions – from Manipur to Hariyana, passing through Madhya Pradesh – Msgr. Andrews Thazhath, Archbishop of Trichur and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), met that same Sunday in Kochi, Kerala, with India’s Home Minister Amit Shah. The meeting was cordial and lasted about half an hour. The archbishop – reports a CBCI note – expressed the concern of Indian Christians about the challenges and problems they face in some parts of the country, citing in particular the attacks in Manipur. The minister for his part illustrated the results of the mission in Imphal and assured his efforts for peace. When Mgr Thazhath cited some specific incidents, such as the ongoing bullying against schools in Madhya Pradesh, he replied that he will investigate the matter and do what is necessary for the good of the country.
(with the collaboration of Nirmala Carvalho)
