Swami Parmatmanand, a prominent nationalist religious leader (see photo), has called for fellow Hindus to behead Christian converts from Hinduism.
Parmatmanand was speaking at a mass rally in India’s central Chhattisgarh state. The protest was organised against an alleged rise in conversions of Hindus to Christianity and his audience included senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
He said: ‘Keep a lathi (stick) at home. In our villages, people keep hand-axes. Why do they keep axes? Behead them – those who come for conversion. Now you’ll say that I am spreading hate although I’m a saint. But it’s important to ignite the fire sometimes. I am telling you; anyone who comes into your house, street, neighbourhood, village, don’t forgive them.
‘I want to tell those Christians who went away [converted], why did you leave the ocean for the well? I want you to talk to them politely first. Stop, protest, shoot.’
Dr David Landrum, Director of Advocacy for Open Doors UK & Ireland, said: ‘This is without doubt a co-ordinated campaign against Indian Christians by Hindu nationalists.
‘Violence is being incited by local political and religious leaders who see the public vilification of Christians as an easy way to shore up their Hindu vote bank. Police are complicit and state actors ignore and even condone persecution. This self-perpetuating cycle of violence and intimidation has now become socially acceptable.
‘In a country that claims to be a democracy these calls to violence against converts to Christianity are outrageous and should alarm us all. The freedom to choose or change what you believe is at the core of religious freedom as a fundamental human right.’
Open Doors says that Chhattisgarh has recently witnessed large-scale protests against Christians, part of a growing trend across India, where violence is being meted out to Christians over so-called forced conversions.
A local Christian told Open Doors: ‘Christians in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are living in fear and under constant pressure from their communities. It is almost unbelievable how Hindu nationalists spread the message of hatred through these rallies and protests. They shout slogans like ‘Beat these Christians with shoes’, ‘Stop conversion to Christianity, save your country’, and ‘Save your religion’.’
