12/19/2020 India (International Christian Concern) – According to a new report entitled ‘The South Asia State of Minorities Report 2020’, India has become increasingly intolerant towards it religious minority communities. The report looked at the status of access to personal liberties, especially among minorities, in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
“It is true that we minorities are facing the onslaught of the Narendra Modi government very systematically,” A.C. Michael, National Coordinator of the United Christian Forum, told the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCAN). “As a matter of fact, they have started framing laws that are against the spirit of secularism, democracy, and the republic.”
“Spreading hatred against minorities has become like a fashion for ruling party politicians to remain in power and acquire more,” Michael continued. “If they continue to succeed in tricking ordinary citizens and win elections, this trend of violence against minorities is going to continue.”
Since taking power in 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led government has overseen a regime in which anti-minority rhetoric and religious intolerance have been normalized. This has had disastrous effects for religious minorities living in India.
According to the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI), violent attacks on Indian Christians have more than doubled the recent years. In 2014, the year the BJP rose to political power, EFI recorded 147 violent attacks on Indian Christians. In 2019, after five years of BJP rule, EFI recorded 366 violent attacks.
EFI’s data was corroborated by a report released by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) India. ADF reported at least 328 incidents of targeted violence against Christians in 2019. Similar to EFI, ADF’s 2019 data represented an increase in violence when compared with previous years.
