New Delhi, April 20, 2023 (PPI-OT):A delegation of Christian leaders from Delhi called on the Indian President, Droupadi Murmu, in New Delhi and briefed her on the rise in atrocities against the community. The delegation comprised of Archbishop Anil JT Couto, Bishop Subodh Mondal, Bishop Paul Swarup, Dr Michael Williams and Mrs Tehmina Arora. The delegation members apprised Droupadi Murmu about the steep increase in the incidents of violence against Christian, especially in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. They also presented to the Indian President a Memorandum detailing the persecution of the community members.
On the 19th February, 2023, about 22,000 concerned Christians of Delhi had gathered together in a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar to seek government’s intervention to ensure justice and peace for Christian community across the country. Various Christian leaders had drafted and signed the memorandum on that day and had sought time to meet with the President to present the same. The memorandum presented to the Indian President said the United Christian Forum (UCF), a group that monitors atrocities against Christians in India, has recorded 598 violent incidents against Christians in 2022 from 21 states among the 28 states and 8 federally ruled territories in the country. In the first three months of 2023, the UCF has reported 187 verified incidents of faith-based violence against Christians.
The incidents of violence include intimidation, mob violence, brutal assault, vandalism of sacred places of worship, sexual violence, closure of churches, social ostracization, denial of burial for the departed, and false reports under anti-conversion laws. The states of particular concern are Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, and Jharkhand. The memorandum highlighted the recent series of attacks in the tribal-dominated southern region of Bastar in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, against tribal Christians over allegations of religious conversions.
The memorandum urged the federal and state governments to protect the Constitutional rights of the Christian community, its freedom to practice and propagate the faith, and to live with dignity and without threat to lives and property. It further called to strengthen human rights monitoring mechanisms and set up national and state redressal mechanisms to address targeted violence against minorities. The delegations also sought speedy closure of false cases against Christians, reconstruction of illegally demolished churches across the country, strict action against vigilante mobs, and compensation for individuals and institutions who are falsely targeted for their religious identity.
Droupadi Murmu admitted that she has read reports about the targeting of Christians. She recalled the tragic loss of Graham Staines, an Australian missionary who was brutally murdered along with his two young sons by Extremist Hindus in 1999. She said the Staines were her neighbours and expressed regret in her inability at the time to avert the tragic loss. Droupadi Murmu recalled her days in Jharkhand and Odisha and recounted the service of the church, the nuns and other members of the Christian community there. She applauded the Christian community’s service in the area of healthcare and education.
Droupadi Murmu assured the delegation that she would follow up and initiate action that is within her powers to ensure that police and law enforcement complacency, unwarranted arrests, and harassment of Christian families, and the attacks on institutions, as highlighted in the memorandum, is addressed.
It is to mention here that Christians, who make up 2.3 percent of India’s 1.4 billion population, are facing increased persecution from Hindutva groups ever since the fascist Bharatiya Janata Party assumed power in 2014. The Indian Supreme Court is hearing a public interest litigation filed by the Christian leaders and organizations seeking directions to the federal and state governments to end the rising persecution of Christians, their priests, and institutions.
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