On October 31, St Joseph Parish, Ganj Basoda, in the Vidisha district of Madhya Pradesh, held its first holy communion, a religious ritual, for eight Christian catholic youngsters at a local Church. However, the organisers were unaware that the event’s publishing in a local Christian magazine would enrage local Hindu groups to the point of attacking and vandalising the school where the ceremony was conducted.
According to police, on December 6, a group of people linked with Hindu organisations such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal forcibly invaded St Joseph School, assaulted personnel, and vandalised classrooms. The attack, according to school officials, was the conclusion of a series of attacks by Hindu groups that began on November 25.
‘They (Hindu groups) threatened the school administration with severe consequences on Sunday (December 5). We requested police protection, but only two constables were dispatched the following day. On December 6, around 200 people gathered outside the school, chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Dharma ki Raksha Kaun Karega hum karenge hum karenge’ (Who will preserve religion? We’ll do it, we’ll do it) and started vandalising,’ stated the school’s principal Br. John Anthony.
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