Indias Narendra Modis Sinister Policy of Religious Intolerance in the Worlds Largest Democracy

Indias Volatile Religious Atmosphere under Narendra Modi

My wife Pamela and I were sponsors of a young Indian girl via the auspices of Compassion International a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to the long-term development of children living in poverty around the world. Early in 2017 after about ten years of funding the needs of the girl we received notification from Compassion International that we could no longer support our sponsored child and our financial assistance would be redirected to help better the life of a young Haitian child. Upon enquiry we learned that Compassion International and other Christian humanitarian organizations no longer could continue operations in the Asian sub-continent. Organizations were free to offer assistance to impoverished children in India we learned but could not preach the Christian Gospel. The ban pertained not only to Christian organizations but to Muslim Sikh Jewish and other non-Hindu groups.

Shortly afterward we learned from numerous reports on the Internet about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis concerted drive to promote Hinduism in India at the expense of other religious belief systems. Modis approach represents not only a nationalist undertaking but a negative and exclusionary strategy of excommunicating and oppressing people who do not subscribe to the tenets of Hinduism. It is an outrage and is a fact of life today in the worlds largest democracy.

Indias Christians Blame Indian Prime Minister for Rising Climate of Religious Persecution

Recent actions of the incumbent Prime Minister of India Mahendra Modi indicate a leaning toward the adoption of national policy that reeks of religious exclusionism. The strategy epitomizing Mr. Modis Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) staunch stand for Hinduism Indias main religion that numbers 80 percent of the countrys 1.3 billion people is worrying to say the least. Modi himself is a Hindu and is a vocal supporter of the worldview notwithstanding the expectation that the Prime Ministers office in such a large democracy should project an image of religious neutrality or pluralism.

A wave of disturbances by Hindu nationalists in recent years placed Modi in an unenviable embarrassing position. Christian Sikh and Muslim minorities are understandably discomfited by the belligerence of Hindu nationals and feel threatened physically emotionally and economically. They fear the establishment of Hinduism as a national religion will lead to terrifying repercussions for non-Hindus across the country.

Religious clashes in the troubled in the northern Indian state of Jamma and Kashmir are commonplace occurrences. Traditionally the quarrels involve Islamist separatists and Hindus. In January 2018 however a conflict took place in which Christians not Muslims were the target. Christianity was at the heart of the violence as a mob of thousands interrupted a burial ceremony to seize the body of the deceased individual for a Hindu cremation.

Christians in the region and international religious rights groups say anti-Christian incidents are on the rise particularly since Prime Minister Narendra Modis Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed power in 2014. They contend the governments inability or neglect to censure Hindu leaders for inflammatory rhetoric and sectarian persecution has encouraged a culture of impunity for anti-minority violence. Not unexpectedly BJP principals deny the charges.

Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) executive director Vijayesh Lal said the organization documented some 350 cases of violence and other forms of persecution against Christians in 2017. The figure was more than two times the rate compared with the 140 annually before the BJP assumed power. The EFI report documented attacks on churches the unlawful detentions of children on their way to Bible camp and homicides.

The 2017 atrocities marked the highest level of violence since an anti-Christian pogrom that resulted in dozens of rapes and killings and the burning of hundreds of churches in the state of Odisha in 2008. Significant commemorations in the Christian liturgical year such as Easter and Christmas observations have become times of pronounced peril.

Mr. Lal on releasing the organizations 2017 survey in February 2018 said:

It is distressing to see even private worship being attacked by Hindu right-wing activists violating the privacy and sanctity of an individual or a family and trampling upon their constitutional rights.

The instances of attacks on churches on Sundays and other important days of worship such as Palm Sunday Good Friday Easter and Christmas have increased.

In spite of the aforementioned statistics policing authorities perplexingly registered complaints in relation to fewer than 50 cases last year. Mr. Lal volunteered a reason for the low number of reported grievances.

There are many reasons. Fear is the most common. Victims dont want to get caught in the whole web of the police and the courts. Refusal to file an information report on the part of the police is also very common.

The Ministry of Home Affairs which is responsible for law and order did not respond to questions about the EFI report or associated data presented by the U.S.-based Save the Persecuted Christians Coalition. Indian authorities do not track such incidents; an exercise some see as a premeditated undertaking to mislead the public at large as to the real number of complaints lodged by persecuted Christians and adherents of other non-Hindu religions.

During the period 2014 (the year Narendra Modis Bharatiya Janata Party assumed office) to 2017 fights and disagreements among various ethnic and religious communities rose 28 percent according to an analysis of Home Affairs Ministry data by IndiaSpend a nonprofit journalism initiative. BJP officials insist that neither the Modi government nor BJP policy is responsible for the increase in religious tension and violence.

Narendra Modis Dangerous Embrace of Hindu Extremists

Since his election in 2014 Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India has played an artful and guarded game appeasing his political partys hardline Hindu base while advocating secular goals of development and economic growth. Despite worrying signs that he was willing to accommodate the idiosyncrasies of Hindu extremists Modi diplomatically refrained from explicitly approving violence against the nations Muslim and other non-Hindu minorities.

          Early in 2017 however Mr. Modis Bharatiya Janata Party emboldened by a landslide victory in elections in Indias largest state Uttar Pradesh named a firebrand Hindu cleric Yogi Adityanath as the states leader. The decision to embrace Adityanath was a shocking rebuke to religious minorities and an indication that shrewd political calculations ahead of national elections in 2019 have motivated Modis Bharatiya Janata Party to anticipate the realization of its long-held dream of transforming the secular republic into a Hindu nation.

          According to a New York Times article titled A Perilous Embrace of Extremism in India (Page A24 March 23 2017) Yogi Adityanath has made a political career of demonizing Muslims thundering against such imaginary plots as love jihad" i.e. the notion that Muslim men connive to water down the overwhelming Hindu majority by seducing Hindu women. Adityanath defended a Hindu mob that murdered a Muslim man in 2015 on the suspicion that his family was eating beef and said Muslims who balked at performing a yoga salutation to the sun should drown themselves in the sea."

Uttar Pradesh Indias most populous state and home to more than 200 million people badly needs development not ideological showmanship. The state has the highest infant mortality rate in the country. Nearly half of its children are stunted. Educational outcomes are dismal. Youth unemployment is high.

The aforementioned March 23 2017 New York Times article bemoans the inference that Mr. Modi sees no contradiction between economic development and a muscular Hindu nationalism that feeds on stoking anti-Christian and anti-Muslim passions. Modis economic policies have delivered growth but not jobs. India needs to generate a million new jobs every month to meet employment demand.

Mr. Adityanath labored to convey a message of social conservatism and inclusiveness and remarked My government will be for everyone not specifically for any caste or community." He promised to make Uttar Pradesh the dreamland" of Narendra Modis development model.

Should Mr. Adityanath fail to deliver there is every fear that he and Modis BJP will resort to deadly Muslim and Christian baiting to stay in power turning Mr. Modis dreamland into a nightmare for Indias minorities and imperiling the attainment of the progress that the prime minister has promised to all of its citizens.

Negative or Exclusionary Nationalism

Nationalism is a multifaceted social political or religious configuration that characterizes the inimitability or uniqueness of a particular nation. The primary objectives of a nationalist undertaking relate to the securing and maintaining of jurisdiction through authority and self-governance and ensuring sovereignty over a territory of historical importance such as an original homeland or a race or group. Nationalism contends that a nation for instance should govern itself exclusive of outside interference or meddling. The doctrine is inescapably intertwined with the principle of self-governance or self-determination.

Nationalism also revolves around developing and sustaining a national identity predicated on communal characteristics such as culture language race religion political goals or a belief in a common ancestry. Nationalism is fiercely linked with the preservation of a nations culture and a sense of pride in a nations accomplishments. Consequently the ideology runs parallel with the notion of patriotism.

Contrary to generally accepted protocol which leans towards a ready dismissal of nationalism as maleficent or oppressive the doctrine may be positive or negative good or bad or inclusive or exclusionary.

Negative or exclusionary nationalism relates to a majority ethnic groups attempt to exclude and persecute minorities often to the accrual of various benefits for the overassertive group. The presumption is that negative nationalism accords little or no significance to global or international standards of justice and fair play. Those who practice negative or exclusionary nationalism generally target the socially and economically fragile and encourage their constituents to vent their frustrations on minorities who supposedly threaten their livelihood in one way or another. Promoters of negative nationalism often direct their animosity towards minorities who are adhere to a religious persuasion that differs from the predominant belief system of the land.

Further a nationalistic approach especially one that is negative or exclusionary toward governance is often evident in dictatorial or theocratic nations where citizens do not have the right to vote. In a democratic society where people freely elect their government and enjoy the freedom to express themselves and choose lawful pursuits nationalism particularly exclusionary nationalism hardly flourishes.

Given the above explanation of the nature and characteristics of nationalism it seems appropriate to classify Indias policy of religious exclusionism as a negative nationalist endeavor. Worse yet India is the most populous democratic country in the world. Narendra Modis negative nationalist agenda therefore is a gross insult to social equality and the freedom of religion everywhere.

The Conversion Issue

Christians account for about 2.3 percent or 30 million of Indias 1.3 billion people. Muslims comprise 14 percent or 182 million people (the third largest such national population in the world). There are also smaller communities of Sikhs Buddhists and Jains. Hindus as mentioned earlier account for 80 percent or 1.04 billion of Indias 1.3 billion inhabitants.

Religious conversion invariably is a contentious issue in any society where there exists a predominant faith or worldview and where members of that religion leave it to embrace another or other belief systems. The problem becomes magnified when the society or nation in question is negatively nationalistic as observations in the previous sub section indicate the so-called democracy of India is.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in its 2017 global survey rated India as one of a dozen Tier-2 countries with religious restrictions behind countries of top concern such as China North Korea Iran and Saudi Arabia but on par with Cuba Iraq and Turkey. The USCIRF report noted the following:

While (Mr. Modi) spoke publicly about the importance of communal tolerance and religious freedom members of the ruling party have ties to Hindu nationalist groups implicated in religious freedom violations use religiously divisive language to inflame tensions and call for additional laws that would restrict religious freedom.

Christian communities across many denominations reported numerous incidents of harassment and attacks in 2016 which they attribute to Hindu nationalist groups supported by the BJP.

The January 2018 incident in Jammu and Kashmir brought to the fore concerns across India about Christian proselytizing and religious conversion. A report in The Indian Express daily newspaper claimed the mob violence erupted over charges that the deceased Seema Devi had been forced to convert to Christianity by her husband and subsequently died from illness after he took her for spiritual healing."

Afterward nearly 45 families from the village of Sehyal and the surrounding areas converted from Christianity to Hinduism as part of a ghar wapsi" or homecoming" program promoted by the local BJP member of the state legislative assembly. The assemblyman Ravinder Raina said Christian missionaries had converted poor people through force and deceit" The few Christian holdouts are living under police protection.

The fact that Narendra Modis Bharatiya Janata Party (Indias ruling political organization) was actively involved in encouraging Sehyal Christians to return to Hinduism puts to naught the governments continued claim that it does not become involved in dictating religious matters and does not incite anti-Christian bias. Also the fact that Christian holdouts in Sehyal are living under police protection is a strong indication that the people who are forced to convert from their religion to another are Christians Muslims and adherents of other worldviews not Hindus. Even if the Indian government were not somehow implicated as a player in the ongoing volatile and incendiary socio-religious environment there is cogent justification for concern about the state of affairs as it relates to the freedom of religious practice.

Proselytizing is an oftenmisapplied or misrepresented term; sometimes conveniently. In an intransitive context to proselytize means to induce someone to convert to ones faith or to recruit someone to join ones party institution or cause. Used as a transitive verb to proselytize means to recruit or convert especially to a new faith institution or cause. In no true sense of the term does proselytizing relate to forcing or coercing one to do anything against his or her will even though hateful mischievous troublemakers often try to mislead people to think those who proselytize are tricksters with ulterior motives.

In any civilized society where there exist the precious rights of freedom of expression and freedom of religion people should be allowed speak their minds and promote their ideas and beliefs without restriction as long as they do not inveigle or force others to subscribe to their agendas. When such rights are discouraged and/or denied a society becomes less civilized and less democratic. The deprivation of such rights especially when accompanied by imprisonment torture and/or murder signals the emergence of a totalitarian and barbaric governmental system that is far removed from a free and independent state.

Ruling governmental party (BJP) legislators further meddling in social and religious issues as they claim not to do and other political and civic leaders have used the so-called allurement force and deceit" accusations to introduce anti-conversion laws in nine of Indias 29 states. Lawmakers in a 10^th locality the northern state of Uttarakhand introduced a similar bill in March of 2018 suggesting a penalty of up to two years in prison for anyone seeking converts through force or allurement" which could include money employment or any material benefit. It takes only a minimal measure of perspicacity to realize the term allurement" could be broadened or tailored to encompass a multitude of so-called infringements to fit the devious schemes of oppressive anti-Christian hate-mongers.

Hinduisms Caste System

Conversion is particularly contentious in India because the patronage-oriented political system courts voters based on their caste and religious identities much the way American political parties target communities based on their race income gender or ethnic backgrounds. Hinduism over the centuries has faced a steady exodus of people called Dalits whom the tenets of the religion declare to be subhuman (see below). The conversion of aboriginal tribes has also eroded Hindu dominance in some areas. The conversion dilemma therefore prompts the machination of a two-fold strategy whereby the powers that be in the case at hand Narendra Modis administration seek to establish a Hindu monocracy and simultaneously ensure a political hegemony that would last indefinitely. The 2019 Indian general elections must weigh heavily on Mr. Modis mind and the minds of BJP leaders.

Hinduisms caste system an inextricable component of the religious worldview is undergirded by an extraordinarily vile and mortifying mindset that relegates a certain social class of people to a plateau of incomprehensible cruelty and cold-heartedness Dalits.  Dalits is the name given to a group of people who have been historically considered outcasts in societies from South Asia (India Nepal Sri Lanka Pakistan and Bangladesh) and Eastern Africa (Somalia). Formerly known as Untouchables" the Dalits have increasingly adopted the term Dalit" as a means of overcoming the ghettoization imposed by the caste system.

The Dalit social status carries with it the stigma of untouchability" because it is associated with menial degrading tasks immediately connected with their traditional occupations which include unclogging sewers disposing of dead bodies and cleaning latrines.

Dalits are subjected to various forms of discrimination; many of them debasing and inhumane such as the following.

• In rural areas Dalits are often not allowed to engage in cultural and social activities with the rest of the community including entering temples sitting in the main spaces of villages taking part in religious programs and eating with the rest of the community during village ceremonies;
• Dalits are also not allowed to use the same items as non-Dalits in the communities; they are not allowed to rent or even enter homes of non-Dalits use the same wells eat and drink from the same dishes;
• In schools Dalit children are often forced to sit separately from the rest of the students during the midday meal and are the only ones asked to clean latrines in the schools.
• Dalits are prohibited from marrying with members of other castes;
• Dalits are prohibited from contesting in elections and exercising their right to vote;
• Dalits are prohibited from hoisting the national flag during Independence or Republic days;
• Dalits are forced to vote or not to vote for certain candidates during the elections;
• Dalits face social boycotts by dominant castes for refusing to perform their duties".

No moral or sane individual learned* or otherwise should endorse a system of social reckoning such as the one that appertains to the Dalits yet Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party not only approve such a degenerate iniquitous socio-religious structure but do so callously without a thought for welfare and well-being of millions of disenfranchised Indians.

*As an aside it is meet to mention there are serious questions over the authenticity of Prime Minister Modis BA degree from the University of Delhi and his MA degree from the Gujarat University. (Politics Ashok Swain 3/13/2018 Controversy over PM Modis Degree Damages Reputation of Indias Education System) Is this an indication of the kind of morality that undergirds Indias incumbent political framework?

Narendra Modi and his administration instead of aiding and abetting the woes of a poor and marginalized people i.e. the Dalits by doing nothing to improve their lot and by persecuting them when they choose to adopt a religious worldview different than Hinduism should proactively help the maltreated souls by according them similar rights and privileges they grant the so-called higher castes of a perplexing and prejudicial religious hierarchy.

Christian organizations that operate in third world and other economically challenged countries generally incorporate comprehensive humanitarian policies in their agendas. Christianity teaches love and charity for the needy and for missionary groups to neglect or abandon such outreaches is to prostitute Christs Gospel and circumvent the belief systems truths. Humanitarian activity does not constitute bribery or allurement.

Heads of democratic regimes Narendra Modi included should honor the behavioral modes expected of freely elected leaders and not mimic the unprincipled practices of totalitarian or despotic rulers. They should desist from hounding and tormenting their citizens who of their own free will switch from one religion to another and from persecuting those who seek to help these people and instead endeavor to better their lives. India as intimated earlier is considered the worlds largest democracy.

False Accusations & Persecutions by Hindu Nationalists

Christian activists insist accusations about forcible conversions and allurement are fabrications invented by Hindu nationalists. Nevertheless as alluded to earlier frenzied representations by anti-Christian zealots resulted in the enactment of anti-conversion laws in nine of Indias twenty-nine states and the introduction of an anti-conversion bill in a tenth state. Nationwide calls for anti-conversion legislation based mostly on ignorance and blind animosity has kindled a climate of unbridled persecution.

The forgoing hysterics by Indian nationalists and other belligerents notwithstanding there is no evidence that Dalits or other Hindus have been forced or bribed into embracing the Christian faith. As John Dayal the secretary general of the All India Christian Council declared:

When challenged in court when challenged elsewhere no government at the state level or the government in New Delhi has ever been able to accuse a single person of forced or induced conversion. The most they can say is there has been a conversion. But conversions are not illegal. They are creating paranoia to develop a Hindu vote bank.

The following AsiaNews.it* articles highlight recent instances of the persecution of Christians on the Indian subcontinent. The stories are but a very small sample of the atrocities perpetrated against Christians since Narendra Modis Hindu nationalist regime assumed office in 2014. AsiaNews.it is only one of very many monitoring organizations that participate in monitoring and reporting on the persecution of Christians around the world. The commentaries appear in condensed form because of the lack of space.

*A global watchdog organization that monitors the experiences of Christian communities around the world.

Title of Article - Christian Graves Vandalized; False Accusations of Forced Conversions (Nirmala Carvalho 3/27/2017)

Items of note:

• In Uttar Pradesh crosses were taken down and tombstones were smashed.
• The state is led by a Hindu nationalist party and there is growing violence against Christians in the region.
• Hindu nationalists increasingly present unsubstantiated claims of forced conversions of Hindus.
• The Hindu Yuva Vahini organization founded by the Chief Minister (Yogi Adityanath) demands the return of Dalits (who of their own free will became Christians) to Hinduism.

Title of Article - Nationalist Party Says India is not a country for Christians (10/30/2017)

Items of note:

• Shiv Sena editorial states that India belongs to the Hindus.
• Violence against Christians has intensified since the Bharatiya Janata Party (Narendra Modis party) has been in power. In 2015 365 episodes of violence against Christians occurred.
• In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi 101 Indian intellectuals say that between 2014 and 2016 there were more than 600 acts of violence.
• All India Christian Council activists describe the violence in detail i.e. vandalized and burned churches Christians forced to renounce their faith interruption of prayers desecration of tombs and cemeteries.

Title of Article - Hindu Radicals Beat Seven Pentecostal Pastors in Agra Alleging Forced Conversions (Nirmala Carvalho 11/03/2018)

Items of note:

• In Agra Uttar Pradesh a group of Hindu radicals beat up seven Pentecostal clergymen following allegations of forced conversions against them.
• Some 20-25 Hindu nationalists stormed the building where the Christian pastors were meeting shouting Hail to the god Ram.
• At least three of the pastors had to be hospitalized as a result of the injuries they sustained.
• After the attack police arrested the victims who were later released on bail. None of the nationalist attackers was apprehended.

Title of Article - Indian Activist Bemoans Growing Anti-Christian Hostility

(Nirmala Carvalho 11/23/2018)        

Items of note:

• The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reports two incidents that occurred on the same day (November 14 2018) in two different states.
• In Uttar Pradesh four Pentecostal pastors were arrested (and later released) and in Maharashtra an evangelical meeting was cancelled.
• The four Christian leaders arrested Pastors Lalji Radheshyam Munna and Ramsukh who were released on Tuesday were leading a prayer meeting in the village of Chaphar when some villagers abruptly interrupted the event harassed the faithful and tore to pieces images of their own deities in order to blame the Christians for desecration and forced conversion.
• The second incident took place in Maharashtra when the protest by a group of Hindu radicals led to the cancellation of an event organized by evangelical Christians titled City of Hope at the Acharya Atre Theatre.

Title of Article - Three Pentecostal Pastors Investigated for Forced Conversions in Uttar Pradesh (9/17/2018)

Items of note:

• In Uttar Pradesh three Pentecostal clergymen are under investigation for allegedly extorting conversions from Hindus and persuading them to embrace Christianity by spreading false information about Hinduism.
• Some 271 people were charged with various offences but only the names of the clergymen (Durga Prasad Yadav Kirit Rai and Jitendra Ram) were made public. Hindu radicals accused them of spreading false information about Hinduism and convincing Hindus to convert through the use of drugs.
• Sajan K George president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) told AsiaNews that Hindu radicals fabricated unfounded accusations against innocent Pentecostal Christians and noted that in the Indian state …there has been a surge in persecution against Christians. Pentecostal pastors and Christian groups are under the constant watch of radical elements and the police.
• Mr. George stressed that India is a secular country with constitutional guarantees. Nobody is obliged to welcome Christ. Many people of other religions participate in prayers because they bring them peace comfort and dignity.

Narendra Modi and the Indian government the latter comprised of nationalist Hindus who like the prime minister himself are fixated with completely transforming the republic into a one religion state blatantly transgress the political and social protocols concomitant with a democratic and egalitarian society.  Mr. Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party however do not seem unduly concerned about the welfare and wellbeing of millions of lower caste and/or economically deprived Indians. As a matter of fact Modi and his radical cohorts seem content to relegate Dalits and poor Indians to an existence of subjugation and wretched impoverishment. The plight of the oppressed Indians becomes magnified if they remotely contemplate embracing Christianity or any other non-Hindu worldview. Modis administration also hounds and persecutes those who seek to spread the Christian Gospel and encourage not force or inveigle prospective believers to choose which God to serve.

Narendra Modis and his Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) singular frenzied focus is quite likely on the 2019 Indian general elections which they know they must win if their obsession with a political dynasty and a nationalist religiously exclusionary state is to persist over the years to come.

Christopher H. K. Persaud     January 4^th 2019

Authors note:

The forgoing essay addresses the unfortunate state of affairs as it relates to Christians in India. Christians are being persecuted all across the subcontinent under the jurisdiction of a supposedly democratic government. In a democracy supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections. There is freedom of religion and freedom of speech as well among other inalienable rights. India is the largest democracy in the world.

The author acknowledges Christians are persecuted not only in India but in very many other countries around the world. The immediate discussion however does not accommodate such deliberations.Shown below are the top ten countries where it is most dangerous to follow Jesus Christ. The countries are listed in order of severity of persecution.

• North Korea;
• Afghanistan;
• Somalia;
• Sudan;
• Pakistan;
• Eritrea;
• Libya;
• Iraq;
• Yemen;
• Iran.

(Beliefnet Inspire Your Everyday https://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/christianity/top-10-worst-countries-for-christians.aspx?p=2)

About the Author:

Christopher H. K. Persaud is a Guyanese American writer poet and Christian apologist. He has authored nine full length books to date; four of which have won nine international awards. Persaud has also written numerous essays and articles on a variety of subjects many of which appear on the worldwide Internet.

The author very recently completed a two-volume work titled ISRAEL Against All Odds. The book is presently with the publisher.

Persaud is married and is the father of three sons. His website can be accessed at:  www.christopherhkpersaud.com