India is a “backward country” in terms of religious freedom

Since October 13, at least five cases of violence have been reported in different areas, especially in Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh. Prayer services and buildings were targeted, and one family was prohibited from burying one of their members in the village cemetery. The police are in complicity with the aggressors. Archbishop of Bengaluru: “disconcerting” silence from government institutions and officials.

Delhi () – “I am aware” of the “overt and other more covert attacks” that have occurred in recent times against Christians in various parts of India, especially in Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh, as can be seen from the cases reported by the activists of the United Christian Forum for Human Rights (UCFHR). These are attacks that “are not limited only to aspects related to religion, but extend to religious, social and educational institutions, as well as burial places,” explains Bishop Peter Machado, archbishop of Bangalore and president of the Karnataka Bishops’ Conference (KRCBC), commenting on the escalation of sectarian violence against this minority, which affects both the practice of worship and symbols and buildings. “Intolerance, discrimination and hate speech hurt. The silence and sometimes the complicity of the government apparatus – adds the prelate – are disconcerting.”

The statement by the Archbishop of Bangalore refers to at least five cases of violence and violations of religious freedom documented by Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), between October 13 and 20, in different Indian states. The first episode occurred on October 13 in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, where the police broke up a prayer meeting due to a complaint filed by Sarvesh Singh, president of the National Gau Raksha Vahini. Singh, known for his controlling and abusive activities under the pretext of protecting cows, accused members of the group of forced conversions. In response, officers arrested a couple and detained several participants without conducting any preliminary investigation.

That same day, in the district of Jagatsinghpur, Orissa, some people linked to the Hindu nationalist movement Bajrang Dal attacked a Christian prayer meeting, again with false accusations of conversions and proselytism. They threatened to use violence and strip those present naked to humiliate them for their faith. In this case, police intervention prevented further damage, although the attackers did not receive any punishment and the victims remain vulnerable to further attacks. On October 17 in Dhamtari, Chhattisgarh, a family that was burying one of its members was attacked by some militants of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal, who opposed the celebration and burial of the body in the village graveyard. . Although they have been in the area for a long time, the Christians bowed to pressure to avoid an escalation and took the body to an area outside the village.

The last two cases occurred last week. On October 17 in Saharsa, Bihar, some VHP activists supported by local police disrupted a prayer meeting and confiscated religious symbols, Bibles and Christian literature. As a result of the raid, a pastor was detained for a few days. Finally, on October 20 in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, the police raided the home of a Christian family because neighbors had complained about alleged conversions that had been carried out under the pretext of prayer meetings. The attack, based on unverified accusations, led to the arrest of three family members.

“On the one hand, India wants to show itself as a country with a vision for the future and as the largest democracy in the world,” the archbishop of Bangalore continues, but “on the other, with the restrictions imposed on citizens in terms of freedom of creed and religion, it behaves more and more like a backward nation.” “No less – he continues – than 12 States have approved laws on freedom of religion that are actually anti-conversion laws, in contradiction with constitutional provisions, which is a symptom of a mentality more deplorable than the colonial one.” “The fact that even Karnataka, one of the most developed States of the Indian Union, continues to maintain an anti-conversion law approved by the previous regime, shows that economic development – concludes Msgr. Machado- has no relation to constitutional freedoms.” And it ends with the words of the national poet Rabindra Nath Tagore: “Allow, my Father, my country to awaken in that heaven of freedom!”