Attacks on Christmas Celebrations

‘Christians Faced Subtle Bias Earlier, They Face Violence Now’

Raj Kumar, 24, a Protestant Christian from Bihar pursuing post-graduation in Delhi, says recent attacks on Christmas celebrations in several states is a growing and worrying trend

I’m a Dalit Christian (Protestant) belonging to Siwan in Bihar. Ever since I came to New Delhi for my studies, I have become an even more active member of the Church. Faith is important to me, which is why it pains me to see when one group of people attacks another group of people, just because they are practising their faith.

The recent attacks on Christians during Christmas in several states and the regular attacks on missionary schools is a worrying trend. I believe the very ethos of India, that is pluralism is under attack. As ‘We the people of India’, weren’t we all supposed to be one nation, one people? And I don’t understand the bogeyman of ‘conversion’ that people take recourse to when they attack people of a minority faith. Let me narrate how our family converted to Christianity.

While many people convert willingly because they feel discriminated against, it wasn’t the case with our family. My grandmother is the one who decided to embrace Christianity. My parents had been married for five years but had been unable to conceive. My grandmother went to different places to pray and in that similar vein she visited the church as well.

I was born soon after and she believed it was a miracle, which is why she took up the Christian faith. That was the turning point of her life. Faith is a very private and personal thing and people have different trigger points for different decisions. For me, the church is a like a psychologist, to guide me, motivate me, support me and help me become one with the community as well.

Kumar says radicalisation will have an adverse impact on Indian social fabric

As a child we did feel ‘othered’ as Dalit Christians but not to the extent as it is today. It was subtle, but since the last few years it has become an in-your-face kind of thing. The very people who talk about missionary schools being run by videshi dharm have their own kids getting the best of education in them.

It is the local level leaders and the aam janta that gets brainwashed at the idea of there being an enemy out there. The landlord of our church is a practising, socially active Hindu and says the only thing he wants is the rent on time and nothing more. I wish more people were like him. I worry if individual freedoms will take a complete beating in the coming days.

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Reports of lynching have become relatively commonplace and now alongwith Muslims, Christians are being targeted too. Personally I don’t feel scared because I have faith in God. But that doesn’t mean I don’t worry about the impact it is having on society at large.

As per a recent report, a whopping 80% of the food distribution to poor people was disrupted because it was coming from Christian organisations or countries. Shouldn’t we be caring about the poor? The pandemic finally made people feel how those practising a minority faith feel: socially distanced and isolated.

Back home in Bihar there have been news of pastors etc. being attacked. We need to bring back the idea of India and understand that hate constantly wants new targets and when there’s no one left, it turns inwards. I would like to remind everyone the poetic lines by the German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller who said:

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Weekly Update: A Bridge Too Near; Stealing Xmas; Priti Wants No More Pritis

China seems in a rush to get to the border in case Modiji calls them for chai and talks at the army posts. Or China wants to get its army to the border quicker when it decides it has had enough of talks and wants to start a bit more of territory that doesn’t really belong to it. So it is building a bridge over the lake Pangong Tso in Eastern Ladakh, an area it took over in 1962 in Sino-Indian war. China claimed that the land east of the current line of actual control belongs to it.

There has been dispute over this for a long time. In classic British ambivalence, the lines were never properly sorted. The British gave a considerable part of that region and some of Tibet to Raja Gulab Singh on paper but didn’t quite send a letter to China. Subsequently they drew new broders but apart from one border, the Royal Mail delivery didn’t reach China. So China is sticking by what it received in 1850s.

In fact Raja Gulab Singh under Maharajah Ranjit Singh had conquered quite a bit of land east of the current LOC in 1842. It seems the British redrew the boundary.

Now China wants a trade route to Karachi port to transport toys and other things made by its manufacturers. Lots of Middle Eastern people want toys and of course mobile phones and other China made things. Transporting these goodies through Karachi to Europe and Africa is also easier rather than ships going all the way through South China Sea. Hence the Belt and Road initiative is quite dear to China. Whereas India says it goes through the territory which was historically its (Ranjit Singh’s Kingdom).

So China is building a bridge to connect the northern beach of Lake Pangong Tso with the southern part. It’s only about 15 km inside the LOC. This will save some 6-8 hours of drive for the People Liberation Army (PLA) so they won’t have to go around the lake. They can get straight to the area of confrontation. Not looking good.

Stealing Christmas From Kids

The Bhakts seem to have found another distraction to promote their very intolerant-tolerant creed. Boasting of a tradition that is accepting of all, they decided that others too need to be like that. So they crashed into a kids Christmas event at a Church. There they gave the confused little ones a lecture on theology, philosophy and history and at the end told them to say Jai Sri Ram.

Kids are kids. They are still learning. They probably thought this was all part of an act. Or they were frightened and decided to chant what the Bhakts were saying, sensing that their Christmas has been hijacked in the name of pluralism or Hinduism or Hindutva.

This is turning the whole idea of Hinduism on its head. For decades, if not centuries, Hindus have been proudly saying that Hinduism is one of the most tolerant, accepting and pluralist of all religions and belief systems. But to barge into some other religion’s holiest celebration, take it over, frighten the children, the ladies (the nuns) and the elderly and force them to chant for your own religion is a new for the civilisation that Bhakts are proudly promoting as greatest. Stealing Christmas. Or they have misunderstood the Vedas. Shouldn’t the Mahasabha be talking to them?

Priti Doesn’t Want Other Pritis

UK’s Boris Johnson is so desperate for trade deals these days that he and his wannabe Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss are willing to sign a deal with India and give study and work visas to the whole of India if Modi wants. Its quite a turn around when UK wouldn’t ever hear of letting a few hundred Indian students work after finishing their education. Times change.

However it is not so easy. Priti Patel, doesn’t want more Indian in UK. There might be too many Pritis then in Britain. Well, she doesn’t want any more immigrants in UK, be they Indian, African or whoever. She is trying her best to turn the illegal boats bringing migrant people from Europe back to France. She is not having success. She is the Home Minister.

It is all a bit strange. Priti Patel was much feted in India when she became the Home Minister. From Gujrati background like Narendra Modi, there was hope that she would make it easier for Indians to come to UK for further studies in interest of knowledge transfer. It was generally thought that she might persuade her cabinet colleagues that it will be in every one’s interest. Yet it’s her opposing the very idea! And surprisingly it is Liz Truss, a right wing politician, who appears to be more in favour of letting more Indians into the country. Politics has many twists.