Persecution of Minorities in Democratic India

February 2, 2009
Posted by
The Voice of the Martyrs
Categories
Christian Persecution

We have found an interesting article about India that you may want to read in full.  Here is the part that specifically deals with Christian persecution.

No democracy can long survive which does not accept as fundamental to its very existence the recognition of the rights of minorities.” (Franklin D. Roosevelt)

There is a debate going on in India whether 2008 was the worst year experienced by India since 1947 or not. It will not be an exaggeration to say that 2008 was the worst year in terms of persecution of minorities though it is not the only worst year in this respect. History has seen many such years, which were hard for minorities but most significant were the years 1984, 1992 and 2002.

One of those minorities in India, is Christians, here's what the article says about Christians.

Christian minorities are also not safe in India. Hindu groups are running an anti Christian campaign for several years. There have been multiple incidents of such violence since the BJP began its rule at the center in March 1998. From 1964 to 1996, 38 incidents of violence against Christians were reported. In 1997, 24 such incidents were reported. Since 1998, Christians in India have faced a wave of violence. In 1998 alone, 90 incidents were reported. In June 2000, four churches around India were bombed. In Andhra Pradesh, church graves were desecrated. A church in Maharashtra was ransacked. In September 2008, two churches were partly damaged in Kerala. The Times of London called September 2008 violence as the worst anti-Christian violence in India since its independence.

Since August 2008, supporters of the Hindu militant groups Vishwa Hinud Parishad and Bajrang Dal in Orissa have attacked Christians, many of them tribal minorities or Dalits. According to the Roman Catholic Church in India, 300 Christian villages have been destroyed in Orissa, 4,400 houses burnt, 50,000 people made homeless and 59 Christians killed and 18,000 injured. Churches and schools have been destroyed and in one particularly brutal attack a nun was seized and raped while local police stood by without intervening. Churches have also been attacked in six other states, largely in the south, but even in Delhi Christians have been threatened.