TWO Christian organizations and a few others have come forward to file a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court of India seeking directions to stop the continued violence against Christian minorities in various states of the country.
Rev. Dr Peter Machado of the National Solidarity Forum, Rev. Vijayesh Lal of the Evangelical Fellowship of India, and others filed a PIL in the top court, seeking directions to the government to come down against the fringe elements that foment trouble and unleash attacks against Christians.
The BJP-led central government has, however, denied an increase in the violence against Christians and termed the media reports in this regard as ‘unfounded’ and ‘baseless.’
According to the United Christian Forum (UCF), the most hate crimes against Christians in 2022 took place in Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand. UP registered 121 hate crimes, Chhattisgarh had 85 crimes, Jharkhand (39), Karnataka (27) and Tamil Nadu (26).
In a recent incident, hundreds of tribals armed with sticks and iron batons marched into a church in Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh and vandalized it. A police officer and 20 other policemen were injured in the attacks.
A man who was dressed as Santa Claus was thrashed by a mob in Vadodara, Gujarat a day before Christmas.
A group of Christians who were distributing Bibles and chocolates as part of their Christmas outreach were attacked in Bengaluru.
A church in Mysuru was vandalized by a mob in late December. They also damaged a statue of Jesus Christ.
The attacks against Christians have increased in the recent past after several states passed the anti-conversion bill. Article 25 of the Constitution of India guarantees the freedom to openly practice, profess and propagate one’s faith without disturbing the public order. However, most governments led by the RSS backed BJP give no credence to the rights of Christians, media and public welfare groups have alleged.
