A Mumbai-based Christian rights group has claimed that there were more than once a day incident of violence against Christians throughout 2015 claiming the lives of seven pastors and affecting over 8,000 Christians.
The Catholic Secular Forum (CSF) in its annual report "Indian Christian Persecution - The CSF 2015 Report" released recently alleged that was "a minimum of 365 incidents—including murders, vandalism of church and worship places, armed attacks and arrests, rape and assault on pregnant women according to the reports available," it noted.
However, Joseph Dias, the group's director and the General Secretary of Catholic Secular Forum (CSF) exclaimed that "such incidents are miniscule compared to the actual ground zero reality, where they work." The report sheds light on the fact that most persecution goes unreported as the Christian activists do not want to antagonize those in powers or out of fear of repercussions.
The CSF chaired by former Bombay and Karnataka High Courts Justice Michael Saldhanha alleged that over the years India has seen a rise in Christian persecution and reached its peak thus far. It is no co-incidence that the rise in persecution increased since the election of the present government and in all those states where the present government's party BJP is in power.
Open Doors World Watch list now ranks India on 17th, against 21st a year ago in the list of countries according to the severity of persecution against Christians, has clubbed India with countries like Egypt, Myanmar, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, etc where the level of persecution is "very high".
However, the incidents reported on CSF's report are higher than those on Open Doors causing more concern for the Christian community in the country.
"Murders have almost doubled from last year's four or five cases. What is alarming is the geographical spread of the violence. In 2014, we had reports of violence from only 18 states, but in 2015 we have reports from 23 of India's 29 states," Dias remarked.
At least seven pastors and one evangelist are reported to have paid with their lives for their Christian faith. A crèche in a Delhi Catholic Church was set ablaze. The cross has often been a target especially in Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Haryana, Telengana, West Bengal, etc.
A number of cases of burning and throwing Bibles on the streets have come to light. Statutes of saints were desecrated in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Goa. Kerela saw derogatory posters in Catholic shrine and cemeteries. Vandalism of Church property was seen in states like Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
Even so the nuns were attacked and raped in states like West Bengal and Chhattisgarh. Cases of pregnant women being beaten so badly as to lose their unborn child were reported in Punjab and Telengana. In Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh , women believers were stripped and attacked brutally. In most cases even children were not spared.
Religious extremists armed with trishuls, swords, rods and sticks are known to have targeted Christian congregations in States like Bihar, Assam and Central India. The year also saw cases where Christian burial was refused and the corpse was cremated as per Hindu rituals.
In Kandhamal and near-by districts of Odisha, a bandh call was given by Hindutva elements and road blocks were set-up preventing Christians from going to church. In other states prayer service and even carol singing groups were attacked.
Community schools and service centers were no exception to attacks or 'robberies' which do not occur in institutions owned by other faiths. Among these are – Holy Child Auxilium School (Delhi), St. Augustine Social Service Society and St. Joseph's Church (MP), while a bomb exploded at the Assembly of God School in West Bengal.
Christian schools were asked to put up pictures/statues or Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of learning. Yoga and Surya Namaskar is and are sought to be made compulsory in many schools ruled by BJP governments. The RSS wants to set up a model school in every block before 2017. It plans to start 7 lakh gurukuls and schools that promote the Indian (read Hindu) way of thinking. It has trained more than 1 lakh handpicked local youths to be sent village- level model schools.
The rise of Narendra Modi as prime minister has given hope for India a place among the developed in the comity of nations, but with its vast majority of Hindu citizens and the world's second largest Muslim population, Christians are reduced to a micro-minority of 2.3 percent and persecuted by all faiths because of their non-violent nature.
