The Modi Effect the election of a hindu nationalist unleashes a wave of persecution against christians BY WILLIAM STARK As feared by many Christian communities across India, threats, social boycotts, church desecrations, assaults and forced reconversion led by radical Hindu nationalist movements have escalated dramatically under the rule of the Bharathiya Janatha Party (BJP) and their leader Prime Minster Narendra Modi. After being voted into power in May 2014, BJP s first 100 days in power have been marked with a skyrocketing of religiously motivated violence against Christians and other minorities. Over 600 instances of communal violence have already been recorded in Uttar Pradesh, just one of India s twenty nine states. Even more disturbing, almost all of these instances of communal violence were perpetrated by Hindu radicals against India s Christians and other religious minorities. Now, over 6 months since BJP s and Modi s rise to power, this explosion of persecution is showing no sign of slowing down. In fact, it s spreading. over 600 cases of violence against christians have been recorded in just one of India s 29 states in modi s first 100 days in office. BJP and Modi s Rise to Power On May 16, 2014, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), a po- litical coalition led by the Hindu nationalist Bharathiya Janatha Party (BJP), won a landslide victory in India s general democratic elections and formed the current national government. Narendra Modi, previously the Chief Minister of Gujarat and figurehead of BJP, was installed as India s Prime Minister shortly thereafter. Christian communities across India feared BJP s and Modi s rise to power because of their radical Hindu nationalist ideology whose followers believe that India is a Hindu nation and to be truly Indian an individual must be a Hindu. As Rev. Ronald John told ICC following the election results, The persecution of Christians will
increase under the BJP led government. Christians already are gripped with fear and concern [due to] the election results. Hindu nationalist groups will take advantage of the situation and use it to attack churches and members of the Christian community. In an interview with ICC in April, shortly before the elections, Pastor Devaraju told ICC what it felt like to be a pastor in one of India s most anti-christian states. Surviving as a pastor in India at the hands of Hindu radicals is every day a challenge. There is no guarantee that I will come home if I go out for gospel work, Pastor Devaraju said. That is how things were before BJP and Modi took power. Since BJP and Modi came to power at the center, India has been boiling with religious violence, ICC Representative in India put it bluntly. Attacks on Christians and other minorities have increased and many are in fear. Emboldened by the success of BJP in India s elections, Hindu radical groups are now increasing their violent activities against Christians and other minorities in a state of near impunity. Christians Communities Under Attack Under the new Modi-led government, Hindu radical groups are targeting Christians across India. Three of India s states that have been hit hardest by this explosion of anti-christian violence are Uttar Pradesh, where 600 instances of communal violence were recorded in BJP and Modi s first 100 days in power, Madhya Pradesh, where communal violence from Uttar Pradesh is spreading, and Chhattisgarh, where fifty villages encouraged by Hindu radicals passed ordinances that practically outlawed Christianity completely. Among the 600 instances of communal violence in Uttar Pradesh, a church in the village of Sahakarinagar was rampaged by a mob of Hind radicals belonging to the Bajrangdal, a local Hindu radical group. The attack took place while the Christians of Sahakarinagar were holding a Bible study on July 16. At around 2:30 p.m., twenty five Hindu radials stormed the church and beat the pas- India s states, including Uttar Pradesh (red), a center of persecution. Christians officially make up 2.3% of the country s 1.2 billion ( 28,500,000 Christians facing persecution) 28 Million
25 Hindu radicals stromed Pastor Paul s church and beat and beat the Christians with clubs. tor leading the Bible study and the Christians in attendance. The assailants used wooden lathies (clubs) and fists to beat the Christians, causing severe injuries for many of the victims. After attacking the Christians inside the church, the radicals climbed to the church s roof and destroyed the cross. After desecrating and destroying the cross, the radicals planted a saffron flag, a symbol of Hinduism, over the church. Rev. R. C. Paul (above), who has been in charge of the church since 1991, said, We were shaken and are very scared of the situation in the area. We are concerned for our safety, even going outside alone looks very dangerous at the moment. When Rev. Paul filed a complaint against the attackers, the police were initially cooperative. Twelve suspects were arrested in connection with the church attack and later two Bajrangda leaders were also arrested. Following the arrested, Bajrangdal activists staged a protest demanding the release of the people. Since then, the investigation into the church attack has stalled. http://georgandreassuhr.wordpress.com/2012/12/21/ infographic-some-facts-about-india/india-infographic/
In Chhattisgarh, a state southeast of Uttar Pradesh, an aggressive campaign by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), another Hindu radial group, led to the near outright banning of Christianity in over fifty villages. Over 50 gram panchayats (village councils) in Bastar has passed orders under Section 129 (G) of the Chhattisgarh Panchayat Raj Act banning all non-hindu religious propaganda, prayers and speeches in the villages, said Suresh Yadav, Bastar District President of the VHP. Several Christian and human rights groups have taken action against these ordinances. They are hopeful the ordinances will be thrown out by the courts in Chhattisgarh as a violation of religious freedom guaranteed in India s Constitution. In Madhya Pradesh, the state directly south of Uttar Pradesh, several forceful reconversion efforts have emerged through which Hindu radical groups are attempting to forcefully reconvert Christians from Hindu backgrounds back to Hinduism. This is something that has also become a major issue in Uttar Pradesh. Radicals belonging to groups like Shuddi in Uttar Pradesh are targeting Christian communities with violent and coercive reconversion practices in an attempt to make Christian free villages. BJP radicals hold up their trident knives (the trident is a BJP symbol MODI S FIRST 100 DAYS 600 Attacks 7,000 Victims In the village of Temni located in Madhya Pradesh, eight of nine Christian families were forced to deny Christianity and reconvert to Hinduism. The Christians were threatened with dire consequences and a social boycott by the village if they refused to reconvert to Hinduism. For many Christians in the village, this was a do or die situation and forced them into reconverting to Hinduism. Pastor Dhiraj Lal Durvey, who served as the local pastor in Temni, was forced to flee with his family after he resisted the radicals reconversion efforts. Leaving all of their possessions behind, Pastor Durvey and his family fled to another village more than 20 kms away. In the village of Kandra, another village in Madhya
Pradesh, Pastor Sravan Rahangdale of Alpha Bible Church was attacked on October 3 after refusing to make a donation to a Hindu festival. Upon his refusal to make the donation, Pastor Rahangdale and his family, who were with him, were beaten. Pastor Rahangdale and his family fled Kandra following the attack, but a false criminal case has been brought against the pastor. The radicals have claimed the pastor has violated Sections 294 and 506 of India s Penal Code because he hurt the sentiments of other religions when he refused to make a donation to the Hindu festival. Living as a Christian in this area is becoming increasingly difficult, me and my family are very scared of the situation, Pastor Rahangdale told ICC. There has been a sharp rise in hate campaign against Christians, said Dr. John Dayal, a member of the Indian Government s National Integration Council. This threat of purging Christians from villages extends from Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh to now Uttar Pradesh and the borders of the national capital of New Delhi. ICC s Response In response, ICC has been working hard to raise awareness, provide assistance and advocate for the Christian communities facing this new wave of persecution in India. This new effort has even included sending one of ICC s staff to Uttar Pradesh to investigate. Representative. On behalf of the members of the church, I express our deepest thanks and appreciation. This help means a lot to us. [Now] we know that we are part of the global Body of Christ. This has strengthened us as a church and me as pastor to continue to endure persecution. To get involved in projects assisting persecuted Christians in India, like Rev. Paul and his church, please consider donating to ICC Hand of Hope South Asia Fund. The assistance provided to the persecuted through funds like this is greatly appreciated and helps persecuted communities endure the persecution they are facing. In the coming weeks, ICC will launch a petition calling on India s government to put a stop to the attacks on Christians by Hindu radical groups. To get involved in this advocacy effort, please consider signing this petition and showing your support for India s persecuted Christians. Finally, ICC will release a report on ICC s staff s trip to Uttar Pradesh, the epicenter of this new wave of persecution. This report will give an on the ground view of how Christian communities in Uttar Pradesh have come under attack since Prime Minister Modi and the BJP s rise to power. After Rev. R. C. Paul s church in Uttar Pradesh was attacked and desecrated in July, ICC was able to assist Rev. Paul and his community by helping them repair the damage to their church, including the reconstruction of the cross on the church s roof. The assistance from ICC gave me and my church the motivation we needed during this time of persecution, Rev. Paul told ICC s India