Over the past few weeks, right-wing Hindu groups have been attacking Christian institutions and disrupting prayer meetings in Madhya Pradesh, prompting members of the community leadership to raise this issue with the ruling BJP government. From Jhabua in the west, to Satna in the north, to Vidisha in the center of the state, and to Datia in the north, these attacks have occurred across Madhya Pradesh. The administration has been criticized for being soft on the attackers, according to Christian organizations. Is there a political motive behind this sudden surge in attacks?
Workers from the Bajrang Dal attacked the school with stones on December 6, when students were taking their class XII exams inside. The attack came after allegations that children were being forced into conversion at the school. This has yet to be proven. Vidisha district administration failed to prevent the protest, despite being informed about it in advance by the school principal.
Early in October, nearly a dozen Christians were arrested in Datia for distributing Christian literature-an act seen as a form of enmity promoting (Section 505 IPC). Bajrang Dal members broke into a prayer meeting in Satna, in north-west MP, on November 1, claiming there were conversions taking place. Several people barged into a school in eastern MP’s tribal belt in October, accusing the school of practicing conversions.
The attacks aren’t confined to Madhya Pradesh. There have been 34 FIRs filed in connection with attacks against Christians, according to UCF, but there have been 73 FIRs filed against members of the Christian community in connection with the same attacks. FIRs against Christians allege forcible conversions. Michael reported that there had been nearly 450 incidents by the end of December. In India, 216 of these incidents occurred in Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh.
Karnataka has 45 cases, suggesting a political link to the attacks. Similarly, the freedom of religion act was amended in UP and Uttrakhand in March 2021. Originally aimed at curtailing religious conversions due to marriage, the amendment was pejoratively called the ‘anti-love jihad’ law. However, attacks on Christians have increased since it was implemented.
Western MP’s Jhabua district is one of the epicenters of this trend. As part of the campaign against Christian institutions in Jhabua, India Today spoke with Azad Prem Singh Damor, the head of the Adivasi Samaj Sudharak Sangh. The Jhabua district administration has received numerous complaints against Christian community-run schools and churches filed by Damor and his cadres, who claim to be unaffiliated with the BJP or RSS. Christian leaders have claimed that the 100-year-old Jhabua cathedral, which was built on land donated by the erstwhile royal family of Jhabua, was being renovated by the administration.
As a result of the new anti-conversion laws, in many instances what is being attacked is the right to propagate one’s religious views through fraudulent conversion claims. Despite this, the police usually do not have evidence of fraudulent conversion, but the laws have been made so stringent that going through the process even when accused would break anyone’s heart.
In 2011, MP’s population was estimated at 7.26 crore, making Christians the second largest minority. According to church sources, the majority of Christians are concentrated in eastern and western MP’s tribal areas, with Jhabua alone having around 35,000 Catholics. So why should a minuscule minority pose a threat? Attacks have also escalated since the BJP won the by-election for Jobat from Congress. According to political observers, the BJP’s tribal outreach plan in MP, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand is very important to the party. Politicians, however, point out that since the parties on both sides are tribal, this may not result in polarizing tribal votes, so the attacks appear to be of little use.
Families in Jhabua are split into religious lines, with one wing converting to Christianity while the other hasn’t. Fault lines are evident. Families that have converted to Christianity don’t attend weddings and funerals, causing tension between family members. However, there is another side to the story. An activist working in Jhabua says Christians who convert are socially boycotted. They fear the consequences, so many do not even tell people that they’ve converted. Minorities have not been given much confidence by the administration.
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