NEW DELHI – Having borne the brunt of relentless Hindutva violence, which has witnessed a spike in recent months in BJP-ruled states, Christian priest and community leaders in Madhya Pradesh decided not to suffer in silence any more. Determined to go public with their grouse, they made an appeal to the President of India and the Chief Justice of India (CJI) for their intervention in the matter and ensure safety.
In a memorandum addressed to President Ram Nath Kovind and CJI N V Ramana along with other top constitutional authorities, a group of priests from the state drew their attention to the nefarious activities of extremist groups like Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal in the state. These outfits, they alleged, are infringing on the democratic rights of Christians on the pretext of a false claim about forced conversions.
“They make false allegations of religious conversion against the priests and pastors in the community, carry false social media propaganda against us, and register false police complaints against us,” read the memorandum.
Accusing the police of bias in favour of the Hindu groups, they said that the men in uniform have failed to protect the community from the violent mob attacks on them.
“We are terrorised and living in fear. We are being falsely projected as religious converters,” UCA news quoted Father Rocky Shah, one of the signatories to the memorandum and public relations officer of Jhabua Diocese, as saying.
The state of Madhya Pradesh has witnessed a spurt in Hindutva violence targeting Christian community since the passage of a law that criminalises religious conversion of Hindus to other faiths.
This story first appeared on clarionindia.net