Christians in India decry mounting violence, discrimination

August 09, 2017

A group of academics and other prominent Christians in India has decried growing discrimination and violence against non-Hindus and Dalits, the members of the caste once known as untouchables.

The 101 signatories lamented attempts to change India from a “pluralist, secular democracy” to a Hindu state.

“Official machinery often seems to be working in tandem with the vigilantes,” the signatories said. “Street lynching, victims charged as accused, stage-managed trials—all on the basis of one’s religious and caste identities. Media seems mute, silent in self-censorship, coerced by the State, or leashed by its corporate owners.”

The signatories called on Church leaders to raise their voices in protest, adding that

the National Crime Records Bureau documented 47,064 acts of violence against Dalits in 2014, up from 32,643 in 2010. Violence against Muslims is reaching an alarming level. The hate spewed not just by non-State actors and political functionaries, but even by Members of Parliament and sometimes by Ministers forms the backdrop of this violence.

 

---

For all current news, visit our News home page.

---

 
Further information:

• ‘We must save India’s religious diversity’ (The Hindu)