Right-wing outfit Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) staged a provocative demonstration outside a local church in Fatehpuri Colony in Haryana’s Rohtak city.
On January 5, during a Sunday prayer meeting inside the church, the organization members organised a havan and kirtan, Hindu religious rituals, accompanied by dancing in front of the church. They accused the church of engaging in religious conversion.
They alleged that the Christian community members invite vulnerable Hindus to such prayer meetings and then attempt to convert them by promising money and healing from illnesses.
A video of the incident that surfaced on social media shows VHP members donning saffron attire gathering to perform religious rituals directly in front of the church premises and dance while singing “Hum kersiya lehraye ge, mandir wahi banaye ge“.
In yet another incident, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Anshu Tuteja vacated a church building and converted it into the Shri Ram Community Centre in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh.
He painted a swastika (Hindu religious symbol) on the entry door of the church with saffron colour to announce the seizure of the religious premises. This action follows Tuteja’s threat on December 29 to demolish the church if it was not vacated within three days.
Christian leaders appeal
More than 420 Christian leaders and 30 church organizations issued an urgent appeal to the President of India Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for immediate intervention to address and stop the violence and hostility towards Christians across India.
The appeal was made on December 31, following an alarming 14 incidents of violent threats and disruptions targeting Christian community members during Christmas celebrations throughout the country.
Speaking on the escalating targeted attacks, the leaders expressed deep concern over what they described as a growing wave of intolerance and persecution, which has left the Christian community of India in distress condition.
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