Christians across India are living in constant fear as a systematic campaign of violent harassment, rape and murder is waged against them.
This is the finding of a disturbing new report ‘Destructive Lies’ by the London School of Economics, commissioned by Christian charity Open Doors and presented to Parliament in July.
The report details the extreme persecution Christians and Muslims are facing at the hands of violent vigilante mobs of Hindu nationalists. The attacks are ignored and even condoned by the authorities – including state and regional government, police, and media – to keep in favour with the powerful in India.
One of the report’s authors says: ‘The extent to which state actors are complicit in the violence is shocking. Bureaucrats, the police, the lower-court judges, all are openly colluding to harass these minorities. And politicians, top religious leaders and powerful media owners signal that this behaviour is desirable.’
Further findings of the report include that the campaign of violence and intimidation is heavily fuelled by new social media platforms; mainstream media reports of the mob attacks are rare and fail to challenge the accounts of the perpetrators; and police and local legal infrastructures refuse to acknowledge the crimes or press any charges.
Furthermore, persecution is encouraged at state level, as states introduce laws to punish Christians for ‘forced conversion’ (in practice, just Christians practicing their religion).
The report gives many disturbing examples. They include a woman who gave birth to a still-born baby after a mob violently kicked her in the stomach and Ravi, a local labourer, who was trapped and beaten by a mob and left to die in a cell by police.
Dr David Landrum, Head of Advocacy for Open Doors UK says: ‘The international community can no longer ignore what is happening in India. They cannot turn a blind eye to these atrocities. We are calling for a thorough investigation of this brutal and systematic persecution of religious minorities.’
