Government interventions have forced right-wing Hindu activists to call off a march, alleviating fears of an attack on Christian villagers in the eastern Indian state of Chhattisgarh.
Christians across the state had been on edge after social media posts last month began mobilizing Hindu activists to march through three Christian villages, to demand the protection of cows and attack Christians thought to be beef eaters.
Aadesh Soni, a right-wing Hindu man who was accused of making such violent calls on social media, denied the allegations. But he admitted calling for the march.
He told UCA News a week ago that the march will occur on March 1.
However, Shivam Takur, an associate of Soni, told UCA News on March 3 that they “called off the proposed rally as the government has accepted our demands.”
Takur said the state government has agreed to protect cows in three Christian-dominated villages — Vishrampur, Janakpur, and Ganeshpur — whose people were accused of slaughtering Hinduism’s revered animal for beef.
“Instead of a grand rally through the villages, we staged a tiny token rally” in Raipur, the state capital, on March 1, Takur told UCA News on March 3.
This story was originally published in ucanews.com. Read the full story here.