In yet another instance of growing intolerance towards minorities, a large crowd of Hindus gathered outside a renowned Roman Catholic Church located in the heart of Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow on Christmas and raised “Hare Krishna Hare Ram” slogans loudly, to disrupt Christian prayers reportedly attended by 1000 people.
The incident that occurred on Wednesday, December 25 near the historic Hazrat Ganj Cathedral was captured on video and widely circulated on social media platforms, prompting outrage and debate about religious intolerance in India.
The viral video shows the Hindu crowd consisting of young boys, girls and also elders loudly chanting and clapping while proclaiming “We are Sanatanis, we will not say Merry Christmas, but ‘Hare Krishna Hare Ram.'” The group proceeded to record their aggression towards the Christmas celebrations.
However, this is not an isolated incident, several anti-Christian activities and reports of attacks have emerged during this year’s Christmas celebrations across India.
Reports suggested that these attacks orchestrated by right-wing Hindutva outfits and their affiliates have carried out a systemic campaign of harassment and intimidation targeting Christian communities to express their strong opposition to the Christmas festival.
The right-wing campaigning activities include disruptions of Christian gatherings, including public vigilantism, conducting raids in schools to stop Christmas functions, and harassing people for wearing Santa Claus dresses.
Kerala
Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal members barged into a school and disrupted Christmas celebrations in Palakkad district. The extremist group members reportedly confronted the school administration aggressively and alleged neglecting Hindu festivals like Krishna Janmashtami, a celebration of Lord Krishna’s birth.
Rajasthan
Bajrang Dal members stopped a Christmas Carnival at a school, vandalised decorations and burned posters. They took over the event, playing songs of “Jai Shri Ram”.
Uttarakhand
The radical outfit Bajrang Dal leader Vikas Verma, speaking at a weekly Hanuman Chalisa gathering made a series of inflammatory remarks targeting Christians with false claims.
He said Hindu families are letting kids wear Santa hats and are “already converted.” He accused Christians of luring Hindus into conversion with money, food, and clothes. He also attacked convent schools, while claiming Hindus lack any rights in Christian-majority countries.
Uttar Pradesh
Hindutva leaders, including members of the Hindu Yuva Vahini in Siddharthnagar, protested against Christian Sunday prayers at a missionary school’s church, blocking attendees from entering and accusing them of engaging in religious conversions.
Haryana
Hindutva group members disrupted a Christmas event where former WWE wrestler The Great Khali was invited. The extremist group members took over the stage, recited Hanuman Chalisa and forced attendees to leave the event.
Madhya Pradesh
A Zomato delivery man was stopped by workers of the right-wing Hindu Jagran Manch and asked to remove a Santa Claus attire he was wearing for Christmas celebrations in Indore city. In a viral video, the delivery man is seen being asked to remove the costume. “Are you wearing this because of Christmas?” the Zomato delivery person is asked, to which the latter replies in affirmative.
Gujarat
VHP members raided the kindergarten section of South International School in Bapunagar and forced the school staff to remove all Christmas decorations and celebrations.
Mumbai
Hindutva workers disrupted and stopped Christmas celebrations in slum areas of Kashimira region. A video emerged on social media showing a group of children participating in the Christmas celebrations and a group of Hindutva workers disrupting and making the children say, “We are Hindus” and then recite Hanuman Chalisa, along with chants of Jai Shri Ram.
However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself attended Christmas hosted by a senior Orthodox Church Bishop at the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) in Kerala indicating political strategies which are quite far from the Christian plight in India today.
