By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net
Mumbai: There was a 20 percent rise in attacks on Christians in India, Mumbai-based minority and human rights group Catholic Secular Forum (CSF) said in its annual report for 2015.
The report by CSF claimed that around seven pastors were killed while 8,000 Christians including women and children and 500 clergy and community leaders were targeted during 2015.
“In the last year, we could highlight at least 200 major instances of being targeted for being Christian and an equal number is estimated to be unreported. There is agreement among all those working on freedom of faith or religious liberty issues that 2015 is the peak so far,” reads the CSF report.
The report was released by Justice Michael Saldanha, retired judge of the Bombay and Karnataka High Courts.
Madhya Pradesh is on the top spot with 29 major incidents of violence against Christians reported from the BJP-ruled state in 2015.
The report further added that three nuns were raped or molested and many women stripped, two of whom were pregnant and lost their babies, besides hundreds being beaten up brutally.
The report considers Maharashtra as the Hindutva capital of India where a pastor was reported to be killed. It further focuses on conversion of Christians, “The reconversion to Hinduism pogroms continued unabated, but without media glare as we received reports from states like AP, MP, Assam, Kerala, Odisha, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, etc. In at least five districts of West Bengal, the VHP responded with a ‘Reverse Love Jihad’ where it promoted Hindu grooms getting married to Christian and minority women after conducting Shuddhikaran (purification) ceremonies.”
“Swami Narendra Maharaj claims to have recently re-converted around 1,800 tribal Christians back to Hinduism. In UP churches have been desecrated with a dog’s chain put around one of the statues, while reports of reconversions continued,” the report added.
The report also stated that 2015 saw significant rise in Hindutva ideology with increasing numbers of RSS shakhas in the country.
“The year saw the RSS consolidate itself in almost every sphere of activity, with the BJP – one of its 38 ideological affiliates – preparing to strengthen its hold on the country’s polity. It now has 51,330 RSS shakhas operating in 33,222 places. The Sangh Pariwar spread is near total with Kerala, having over 4,500 shakhas, the highest number in India, despite never having had a BJP government,” the report reads.