"In Madhya Pradesh, the total lack of political will to control the most dangerous elements is an invitation to the Hindu fundamentalists to harass and threaten the vulnerable Christian community," says Sajan K. George, President of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), following a series of attacks on the Christian minority in the state.
The latest incident took place on July 27 in Nagda, a small town 55 kilometers from Ujjain, the famous holy city of Hinduism in Madhya Pradesh. The Sunday service - attended by around 25 people, mostly women - was stormed by around 30 activists from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal. Along with armed policemen, they questioned Pastor Rakesh Goyal about whether he was converting anyone to Christianity.
On June 30 in Gayatri Nagar, around 15 Hindu extremists attacked Pastor Robin Masih and some church members as they were leaving a prayer meeting. Afterwards, they burned the Bible.
These radical groups, says Sajan K. George, "make false accusations of forced conversions against pastors so that they can utilize the harmful anti-conversion laws that are in place in the state."
In August 2013, the Madhya Pradesh government approved an amendment to the Madhya Pradesh Religious Freedom Act of 1986, making the law even stricter. The amendment means that priests must provide local authorities with all personal details of people wishing to change religion at least 30 days before the ceremony takes place, and there are heavy fines for non-compliance.
The government is led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, an ultra-nationalist Hindu party with close links to fundamentalist groups behind violence against minorities. Since last May, the same construct has also come to head the central government in India with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Source: AsiaNews
