ASIA/INDIA - The rate of violence against Christians remains high: a new Report

Thursday, 5 July 2018 religious minorities   violence   persecutions   human rights   religious freedom  

New Delhi (Agenzia Fides) - Violence against Christians in India continues to be high. 101 episodes were registered in the first five months of 2018 according to a new report published by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) India, a Christian-inspired NGO that "promotes religious freedom and the sanctity of life in India".
"About 20 episodes of violence against Christians took place every month from January until the end of May 2018", says A. C. Michael, a Catholic layman and ADF advisor. Out of 101 episodes of violence against Christians in India, 21 occurred in January followed by 19 in February, 20 in March, 17 in April and 24 in May.
According to the document sent to Agenzia Fides, the dangerous tendency of threats and intimidation or the aggressions during peaceful meetings of Christians gathered in prayer is increasing. In the same way, attacks against Christian women and children are growing.
It should also be noted that believers have difficulty registering complaints (First Information Report, FIR ) against the guilty, due to the unwillingness of the police.
The document notes that four Indian states have reported violence against Christians for the first time in 2018: Delhi, Goa, Pondicherry and Rajasthan. According to Tehmina Arora, a Christian researcher and lawyer, the classification of secular or religious parties makes no difference when it comes to attacks on Christians: violence have occurred in 8 states governed by so-called "secular forces", while 14 other states are governed by Hindu nationalists of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Over the past four years, over 750 incidents of violence against Christians have been reported on the "Helpline" telephone line promoted by the "United Christian Forum", in India. (SD) (Agenzia Fides, 5/7/2018)


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