ICC Note:
Christians and Muslims in India’s capital joined together in protest recently demonstrating against rising intolerance in their country. For Christians, 2015 was the worst year for Christians in India’s independent history. According to the Catholic Secular Forum, Christians were attacked 365 times. Among those victims were Christians living in the Bastar District of India’s Chhattisgarh state where Christianity has been legally ban since June 2014. Despite this rise in intolerance and persecution, the government has done little to stop this tide of terror.
9/14/2016 India (Christian Daily) – Christian and Muslim leaders in India have united to speak out against the increasing hate crimes against religious minorities in the country and find ways to address the issue.
The National Council of Churches, which holds around 30 Protestant and Orthodox churches in India, has brought together 50 Christian and Muslim leaders for a consultation on hate crimes on Sep. 5–6 in New Delhi. The religious leaders talked about the problems concerning freedom of religion under the administration of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vatican Radio details.
Father Z. Devasagaya Raj, who serves as the secretary of the Indian Catholic bishops’ conference for Dalit and indigenous groups, highlights the violence that religious minorities in the country are currently facing. He says these groups are struggling with “physical, symbolic, and structural violence” at the hands of local Hindu extremists.
“Every Indian should have the right to practice and promote their religion peacefully,” Fr. Raj asserted.
Since Modi sat in office, several of his ministers have spoken out against Muslims and have asked them to leave India. An anti-Muslim riot erupted in Uttar Pradesh in June, killing three Muslims and injuring 30 others. In a separate incident, an orthodox Hindu mob attacked a Muslim family and beat a father to death for allegedly eating beef, as Hindus view cows as sacred creatures.
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