Mahatma Gandhi must be rolling over in his grave. Gujarat—the state where the holy Hindu, preacher of nonviolence, and founder of modern India was born—has become the seat of a vile and vicious form of religious violence.
And throughout the country, which is officially a secular state that guarantees freedom of religion, extremists among the Hindus — who make up 82 percent of the population — are waging a campaign of terror against the 2 percent Christian minority, claiming that the Christians are out to take over the country by forced conversions.
Catholics comprise 70 percent of India’s Christians. The Church traces its roots back to the apostolic times, with tradition holding that the country was first evangelized by St. Thomas. Despite these ancient roots, Hindu extremist have branded Catholics and other Christians as a menacing “foreign” influence. And in the name of “cleansing” India of all that is not Hindu, churches have been bulldozed to the ground, schools have been razed, Bibles have been seized and destroyed, priests have been beaten, and nuns have been gang-raped.
Local police often turn a blind eye to the mob “justice” in their precincts, and India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party seems to be abetting the drive to extinguish Christianity.
A government spokesman deplored the most recent wave of terror, which began on Christmas Eve and laid waste to nearly three dozen churches. But at the same time, the spokesman parroted the extremists’ rhetoric, saying that “conversions of coercion or inducement should not take place.”
For the record, not a single case of “forced conversion” to Christianity has been documented. The Hindus really appear to be objecting to Christian social ministry among the poor, the “untouchables,” and tribal groups.
Although it is no longer politically correct to call them “untouchables,” members of the lower castes still toil in the face of official discrimination, despite Gandhi’s call for an end to the caste system more the 50 years ago.
Today, only the Christians are offering education and basic services to these people. To the upper-class Hindus who dominate the extremist parties, the ministry is seen as a threat.
It would appear then, that just beneath the surface of the Hindus’ professed concern for religious identity is a more worldly desire to cling to economic status and privilege and to keep the underclass beneath its feet.
One of the masterminds behind the religious terrorism, Onkar Bhave, head of the World Hindu Council, has said as much, telling a Washington Post reporter late last year: “They want to turn the poor into Christians so together they can say to the Hindus, ‘Get out of India.’”
We are at a loss to explain the apparent indifference of the international community, world churches, and peace groups to the ongoing violence against the Christians in India. The silence of the United States, which provides millions in aid to India and has strategic interests in the region, is especially worrisome.
Clearly, the Hindus of India need another Gandhi. But until one shows up on the scene, the Christians of India could use prayers and an exertion of political muscle by the Christians here in America.
First published in Our Sunday Visitor (January 31, 1999)
© David Scott, 2009. All rights reserved.
