Christmas celebrations: Mounting attacks on Christians across the country

Various incidents of attacks on Christian facilities, including churches, were reported in the last week in various parts of the country where involvement of Hindu rights wing groups have come to fore.

Karnataka: Church vandalized 

Two days after the event of Christmas, a church was vandalized allegedly by members of some Hindu right wing group in Karnataka’s Mysuru on Tuesday. The statue of Jesus Christ was desecrated, according to police. The police said that the attack took place in St Mary’s Church at Periyapatna. The accused, who are on the run, had also broken the back door and entered the church.

“We are scouting for clues from the CCTV footage recorded by nearby cameras. Prima Facie looks like it is theft, as they have made away with money, and also with one collection box that was placed outside the church,” said Seema Latkar, Superintendent of Police, Mysuru, reports NDTV. However, this is not a single incident where festivals of religious minorities have been attacked by politically-allied outfits in the recent past.

Gujarat: Santa beaten

In another attack on Christian festivity, Hindutva mob on December 20 beaten up a man who dressed up as Santa Claus in a residential colony in Vadodara in Gujarat. The victim, Shashikant Dabhi, dressed up as Santa Claus entered the Avdhoot society in Makarpura where Christian families were celebrating the Christmas fervour. Even as Dabhi was distributing chocolates to people and wishing everyone a ‘merry Christmas’, a group of people attacked him. Four people were injured in the clash. Following Dhabi’s complaint, police said that the investigation is underway.

UP: Held for converting Hindus into Christianity

Two people were arrested in Rampur and Ballia on charges of allegedly inciting people to convert to Christianity, police said on Monday. In Rampur, pastor Paulus Masih was arrested for allegedly luring some people belonging to a Scheduled Caste to convert to Christianity in Sohna village under the Patwai police station limits on the occasion of Christmas. Additional Superintendent of Police Sansar Singh said SHO, Patwai, Harendra Yadav arrested the priest on a complaint by Rajeev Yadav of the same village. In Ballia, one person identified as Ram Niwas of Titauli village under the Sikanderpur police station area was arrested for trying to get Dalit community members to convert to Christianity police said. There was no disturbance in the area as the police promptly acted on the complaint.

Attacks in Uttakarkhand

A group of at least 30 young men, armed with sticks, attacked a Christmas programme at Purola village in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district, alleging that forced conversions were being carried out there. The incident took place last Friday. Pastor Lazarus Cornelius and his wife Sushma Cornelius, who were assaulted allegedly by members of some Hindu group, were among the six individuals afterwards detained by the police who were later freed.

Attacks in Chhattisgarh                  

Hundreds of Christians were displaced from their native villages in Chhattisgarh that continue to witness mounting attacks against the minority community. According to a report by Scroll, on December 18, hundreds of Christian Adivasi protestors gathered outside the district collectorate in Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh, to demand that the administration ensure their safety. In their complaint submitted to the police, they alleged they had been beaten up and forced to leave their villages because of their faith. However, the villagers alleged that similar incidents took place across 20 more villages and nearly 40 such similar incidents happened over the past three months. The attacks were reported in the villages of Borpal, Modenga, Palna, Gohda, Aamasara, Modenga, Kongera, Mainpur, Kibai Balenga, Puswal, Kokdi, Kulhad, Khargaon and Shantinagar, among others.

Santa’s effigy burnt

A purported video, being shared widely across social media platforms, shows a group of people from a Hindu organisation burning an effigy of Santa Claus effigy to chants of “Santa Claus Murdabad” (Death to the Santa Claus) on Christmas eve, according to the Outlook.  It shows men and women clad in saffron carrying flags printed with the ‘Om’ symbol. A man, carrying the Santa effigy on his shoulder, also slaps it a few times. Although the time and place of the video have not been confirmed , it shows men and women clad in saffron carrying flags printed with the ‘Om’ symbol.