ICC Note: Indian Christians have faced increased persecution ever since the Prime Minister Modi and the BJP took power, on their Hindu-nationalist platform, in 2014. The country has seen a drastic decline in religious freedom. Religious minorities in the nation, including Christians, live in a state of fear.
06/23/2018 India (One News Now) – Christians in India are observing a sobering four-year anniversary of a change in power under a Hindu nationalist platform – one that has resulted in a dramatic decline in religious freedom.
Four years ago, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) rose to power following the national elections. Ever since 2014 – when that change occurred – statistics show that there has been 232-percent increase in the number of reported incidents of persecution against Christians.
William Stark, who serves with the persecution watchdog, International Christian Concern, asserts that the shift in power is nothing to celebrate for Christians, but rather something to lament, as the four-year anniversary to them is nothing more than a remembrance of four years of pain and suffering.
“The past four years under the BJP and Modi rule have been extremely difficult for Christians,” Stark contends.
Stark told OneNewsNow that India wants to increase their economy and international trade, so he sees this as a great opportunity for the United States to help bring about change by applying some economic pressure on the Hindu nation.
“If we make our business dealings contingent upon human rights standards, that will change what’s going on in India,” the Christian leader asserted. “The moment they start violating that – and it bites them – India will start to change, but so far, we haven’t pushed that ball forward yet.
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For interviews with William Stark, ICC’s Regional Manager, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: press@persecution.org
