Religious fundamentalism growing in India.
By Dileep Thekkethil
BENGALURU: In the latest of a series of attacks on Christian institutions in India, four statues of Mother Mary were vandalized by a group of unidentified people in a church near Agra, Utter Pradesh and one of the statues was disfigured using a dog chain.
Attacks on minority religious institutions in India have increased in the last one year, especially after the BJP government under Narendra Modi came to power. Several churches were attacked in the capital city of New Delhi and a septuagenarian nun in West Bengal was gang raped while the miscreants looted and ransacked a school chapel.
According to police, the unidentified culprits damaged four statues of Mother Mary and marred one of the statues by roping a dog chain to it at the St. Mary Church situated in Pratabpura area of Agra, which is close to the world heritage site Taj Mahal.
Father Moon Lazarus, the head priest of the church was quoted by The Hindustan Times, saying, “The intruders intended to hurt our religious sentiments as they placed the head of child Jesus Christ in the hand of Mother Mary and attached a dog chain to the neck.”
The police also said that the attackers broke window pane of a car parked in the vicinity of the church. According to the priest, the incident came to notice when the alarm of the car went off after it came under attack at around 3:30 am.
As people in the area got alerted, the religious bigots who unleashed the attack, escaped the scene by jumping the perimeter wall of the church. The church members and the devotees staged a protest march later in the day to condemn the attack on the church.
Rajesh D Modak, the senior superintendent of police, who along with top official came to the scene, assured people and church officials that the miscreants will be booked as soon as possible.
Aseem Chaudhary, the Agra sadar circle officer said, “It seems to be handwork of someone with sick mentality… the culprits would be brought to book soon.”
In the south of India too, religious fundamentalism is growing.
In the state of Kerala, that boasts of the highest literacy rate in the country, there are increasing reports about BJP and its umbrella organizations such as RSS and VHP conducting religious conversions under the name “Ghar Wapsiâ€.
The BJP claims that these conversions are aimed at bringing back Hindus who were forcefully converted to other religions. The BJP Kerala division also said PM Narendra Modi is not against religious conversions.