Report on persecution of Christians off the mark

The article in The New York Times titled 'Arrests, Beatings, and Secret Prayers: Inside the Persecution of India’s Christians' on December 22 is unfortunate and misleading.

It is a fact that India is one of the earliest civilisations. Today, we are also proud to be the largest democracy. Freedom of speech, religion, association and more are celebrated tenets of life in India. Close to 80 per cent of the country is Hindu. Roughly 15 per cent are Muslim and 2.3 per cent are Christians. The percentage of Christians has remained steady since Independence, hence their absolute number has grown, along with the increase in India’s overall population.

In the spirit of not taking a defensive or political tone in response to the article, and being respectful of everyone’s time, let me just illustrate three misleading claims from the article:

1 Anti-Christian vigilantes are sweeping through villages, storming churches, burning Christian literature, attacking schools and assaulting worshippers.

2 In 2014, all that changed... Anti-Christian hate crimes have doubled since 2014.

3 A few years ago, after Catholic churches in New Delhi, the capital had been vandalised, Christian leaders pleaded with Modi for help. He was disinterested; mocking them and never addressing the attacks, according to three clergymen who attended an important meeting at the Prime Minister’s residence in December 2014…he acted like a don.

The above passages give the impression that a concentration camp-like, ghettoised persecution of Christians is rampant. This is so far from the truth, that frankly, we are confused and at a loss on how to fittingly respond, except present facts. Christians run the largest number of schools, colleges, orphanages, old age homes and homes for the destitute in this country. Christianity is a powerhouse in India due to these institutions, even though they make up only 2.3 per cent of the population.

These institutions have made an immense contribution to the country. If there is one overarching agenda the current government has propagated, it is the welfare and development of the poor, and for Christians, it is natural to align strongly with these goals. Yes, there have been stray incidents. We cannot be blind to these incidents. Those who perpetuate them must be brought to justice.

Regarding the third claim, I was in the delegation of Christian leaders who met the PM on Christmas Day in 2014, a few months after he formed the government. I was there because, as a matter of fact, I organised the meeting. He was extremely cordial, cut a Christmas cake which was shared by everyone in the large delegation. It is a fact that we raised the issue of attack on churches that happened in Delhi prior to the elections in 2014. Eleven churches were attacked under the cover of darkness a few weeks before the elections.

I visited all 11 churches. It was widely misreported in the national and global media that BJP elements were behind the attack and this would be the fate of all Christian institutions in this country if Modi came to power. The PM was categorical and emphatic when we raised the issue: he said that the criminals will be brought to justice, irrespective of religious or political affiliations. Investigations revealed that the BJP had nothing to do with the vandalism of any of these churches, that most of the accused belonged to an upstart political party, trying to establish a base in Delhi by laterally positioning themselves as anti-BJP and stoke fears of the BJP. I do not want to name the party behind the attacks. Religious tolerance is a deeply democratic belief that we take seriously.

Stern action

Even a single incident of an attack on a minority group is an attack on us all and unacceptable. The PM did not mince words when he called these extremists “criminals”, and that they would be treated as such. He said that they were an insult to the country and their religion. He instructed the state governments to take stern action. Any such incident is taken very seriously.

The basic tenet of Indian civilisation, which predates most western philosophies, is the belief in Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, that humanity is one. The slogan for Modi’s election campaign in 2014 was Sab ka Saath, Sab ka Vikas, which means with everybody, for everybody’s development.

Addressing Christian leaders in Delhi on February 16,, 2015, Modi said, “My government will ensure that there is complete freedom of faith. Everyone has the undeniable right to retain or adopt the religion of his or her choice without coercion or undue influence….My government will not allow any religious group, belonging to the majority or the minority, to incite hatred against others, overtly or covertly. Mine will be a government that gives equal respect to all religions. We cannot accept violence against any religion on any pretext and I strongly condemn such violence. My government will act strongly in this regard.”

Following the 2014 meeting, I have taken the Cardinals of India to the PM at least three other times; every time he reiterated his commitment to ensuring that Christians were protected in this country.

India is a true democracy and therefore everyone has the freedom to accuse the PM or its governing party in any way they feel. However, we take any allegations that violate our democratic systems and beliefs extremely seriously and we thank the NYT for expressing their side of the story. We regret that the story positions India as rife with extremism, when these are isolated incidents, and not a pattern, as they suggest, within a richly diverse country of 1.4 billion people.

We also regret that the story is perhaps incurably political, for instance, stating that Madhya Pradesh passed an anti-conversion law in 2021 when a little bit of research would have easily shown that the original bill was introduced and passed in 1968, when Congress, the opposition party was in power. But, again, we do not want to turn this into a political issue, as these are human rights concerns. We only wish to reiterate our everlasting commitment to preserving the rich religious diversity of our beloved land.

(The writer is a former member of IAS and current MP. He was Minister of State (Independent charge) for Tourism during 2017-19)

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