New Delhi: Meghalaya’s leading Christian organisations expressed concern over the “increased targeting of the Christian community in the country“, and lamented over Prime Minister Narendra’s Modi “deafening silence” on the matter, The Telegraph reported.
The concerns raised by Christian organisations come in the wake of the recent vandalisation of a church in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district, and the December 16 letter issued by the Assam Police’s to districts in the state to obtain data on the number of churches and religious conversion, among others.
Shillong-based Khasi Jaintia Christian Leaders Forum (KJCLF) in a statement said, “The deafening silence of the Prime Minister on atrocities against Christians over a long period of time in different parts of the country is significantly notable.”
The Forum, in particular, flagged the attack on a church inside Vishwa Dipti Christian School premises on Monday, January 2, in Narayanpur of Chhattisgarh. Several, including the superintendent of police of Narayanpur district, sustained injuries. Five people, including a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, were arrested on Tuesday, January 3. The Congress party is in power in Chhattisgarh.
The Narayanpur incident was the latest in a series of attacks on the Christian community over alleged conversion in Chhattisgarh.
Separately, the Catholic Association of Shillong raised concerns over the Assam Police’s letter, describing it as “very alarming in nature, particularly towards Christian minorities in the state (Assam)”.
The developments concerning the Christian community in the country have drawn reactions from Meghalaya, which is a Christian-majority state. They have also brought about an unease in the National People’s Party-led coalition government of which the Bharatiya Janata Party is a constituent party.
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