The pristine white and blue statue of the Virgin Mary clasping her hands in prayer stood out brightly against the surrounding sand-coloured buildings. When a man smashed a wooden plank into it, the statue’s hands stayed in prayer as the statue broke into pieces. The man was with a mob wielding sticks and rods that arrived outside a church on Jan. 2 in the forested tribal belt of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. They went on a rampage and ransacked and vandalised religious statues. The mob then attacked anyone in their path, including a cop, who was left bleeding from the head.
The videos taken by witnesses and captured through CCTV in Narayanpur district went viral as the police registered complaints against 40 people and arrested 11. Two of those arrested are members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). One of them was spotted raising anti-Christian slogans in a rally weeks before the Virgin Mary statue was attacked.
We've seen horrific visuals of Christian adivasis being attacked in Bastar.
But who's behind them?
Ex BJP MLA Bhojraj Nag led a rally against the converted adivasis last month in Narayanpur. Slogans raised to evict them.
— Ashutosh Bhardwaj (@ashubh) January 3, 2023
Dharamraj Maravi, who was at the scene, told VICE World News that he was hit in the head and his sisters were harassed by the mob. “[The attackers] told us this is not our home anymore and that if we come back, they’ll attack us with a knife.”
Gopal Maravi, another man present, said the mob asked, “Where’s your Jesus now?” while beating him.
Dharamraj and Gopal are Christian tribal people from Chhattisgarh. As far-right Hindu nationalist sentiment rises in India, accelerating under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, the country’s religious minorities are subject to growing scrutiny and violence.
This story was originally published in vice.com . Read the full story here