By Omar Rashid
New Delhi: “Jai Jai Siya Ram,” the crowd cheered triumphantly as four young men climbed atop a small church and planted a saffron flag on the holy cross, a sacred religious symbol for Christians. The flag had ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and an image of Lord Hanuman printed on it.
This was one of the four incidents that occurred on January 21, on the eve of the ‘Pran Pratistha’ ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, in the Jhabua district.
It also coincides with the 25th anniversary of the macabre murder of Australian Christian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons by members of right-wing group Bajrang Dal.
Source in MP told The Wire that right-wing activists, as part of their celebration of the Ram Temple ceremony, planted saffron flags on ‘churches’ in four villages in the Jhabua district. These villages, namely Dabtalai, Matasula, Uberao, and Dhamaninathu, are all situated in the Ranapur tehsil of Jhabua on the western fringes of Madhya Pradesh, with the majority of the residents being tribals.
The incidents have created an atmosphere of fear among the Christian tribals in the area, and so far, only one pastor has approached the police with a complaint, said the sources.
These small churches, or prayer centres, are linked to the Protestant Pentecostalism belief system.
In Matasula village, right-wing activists arrived waiving saffron flags linked to the Ram Temple and raised slogans near the compound of Edwin (52), a pastor. His name has been changed to protect his identity.
The compound houses a ‘church’ affiliated to the CSI (Church of South India), Kerala Diocese.
Edwin told The Wire that at around 4 pm on Sunday (January 21), around 80 to 90 right-wing activists gathered near his house and started shouting provocative slogans.
“They were raising slogans, such as ‘Ek hi Rashtra, ek hi Ram,’” said Edwin.
The Hindutva activists wanted to install saffron flags on Edwin’s house as well as on top of the church. When Edwin initially opposed the idea, he alleges the Hindutva activists threatened him that they would get the church and his house demolished and also ensure he was deprived of all facilities from the government under the false charge of illegal conversion.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here .