CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- The rise in attacks by Hindu radicals against members of minority religions in India, primarily Christians and Muslims, is drawing concern across the country, with many calling for more concrete government action.<\/p>\n\tSince May, there have been a \u201crecorded 34 cases of physical and structural violence against the Christian community (among a) total of about 600 cases reported by the media, most of them against Muslims,\u201d Dr. John Dayal told CNA Dec. 12.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe violence has increased exponentially since then. The government has admitted in parliament that there have been more than 560 cases of violence against religious minorities this year, in which at least 110 persons have been killed,\u201d he said, noting that there have probably been more cases which have gone unreported.<\/p>\n
\tDayal, a member of the Indian government\u2019s National Integration Council and former National President of the India Catholic Union, said most of the violence has been incited by the radical Hindu group Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, also referred to as the RSS, or the \u201cthe Sangh.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe group, which Dayal referred to as an \u201cextremely fundamentalist and often violent political organization,\u201d sits on the right-wing and has no official, legal registration in India. However they maintain strong ties with India\u2019s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.<\/p>\n
\tBBC News reports that the RSS, established in 1925 with the goal of establishing \u201cHindutva,\u201d or \u201cHindu-ness,\u201d has been banned three times in post-independence India, with all three bans eventually being lifted.<\/p>\n
\tThe agency states that the group\u2019s critics often refer to them as a sectarian, militant group, who believe in the supremacy of Hindus, and that \u201cpreaches hate\u201d against Muslim and Christian minorities.<\/p>\n
\tAmong the violent acts carried out against minorities are the barring of Christians from entering certain Hindu villages in India\u2019s Chhattisgarh state, attacks against persons and church property, and the forced conversion of Muslims and Christians to Hinduism.<\/p>\n
\tWhen Christians of the Madota village were summed by local officials to an October meeting in order to discuss the resolution of the bans in their district, none of the officials showed up, the Christian Daily reports.<\/p>\n
\tAfter waiting some time, a group of Hindu extremists entered the village and started to beat 15 of the persons gathered, sending 12 to the hospital, seven of whom had serious injuries.<\/p>\n
\tReports were also made of an arson on a Catholic church in the Indian capital of Dehli.<\/p>\n
\tConcern has arisen that the increasing number of attacks enacted by the RSS are on the rise due to the May election of Narendra Modi as India\u2019s Prime Minister. Having been a full-time worker with the group, many are concerned that Modi is giving them a free pass.<\/p>\n
\tAlthough Modi has been informed of the incidents on numerous occasions, he \u201chas given no indication by word or deed that he means to curb these elements and non-state actors and their hostility toward religious minorities,\u201d Dayal explained.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cDespite our several appeals to him in recent weeks, (Mr. Modi) has remained silent on attacks in churches in Delhi and Chhattisgarh (and) the forcible conversion of Muslims in several villages of the state of Uttar Pradesh by members of the RSS group,\u201d he said, noting that the \u201cconversions\u201d were taped, and have dominated local and national news outlets.<\/p>\n
\tEarlier this week, police in Uttar Pradesh stated they would not allow Hindu nationalists to hold a conversion ceremony which had been planned for Dec. 25.<\/p>\n
\tThe ceremony was to be held in Aligarh, which is located within 60 miles of Agra, where last week more than 50 impoverished Muslim families were \u201cconverted\u201d to Hinduism. Many of them told the BBC they were promised food ration cards for attending the ceremony, and they did not realize it was a conversion ceremony.<\/p>\n
\tWhile Hindus are a majority in India (80 percent), the country is not a Hindu state, Dayal observed, noting that often times laws are spun in order to protect the actions of radical groups.<\/p>\n
\tThe RSS, he said, \u201cthinks it is all powerful, and that the government will not act against them.\u201d When it comes to punishing their crimes, Dayal noted that police never seem to find the evidence necessary to penalize them in court.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWitnesses are coerced. And forensic science is given a go by. The State just does not seem to want to act against them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tIn order to maintain an inter-religious society that respects the rights of its minorities a strong rule of law is needed, Dayal said, explaining that this includes giving minorities greater representation in police forces, courts and higher bureaucratic positions.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe government must not, by word or deed, give an impression that it supports these Hindu groups. There indeed must be a zero tolerance policy against religious targeted violence and hate speech.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n
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New Delhi, India, Dec 19, 2014 \/ 04:08 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The rise in attacks by Hindu radicals against members of minority religions in India, primarily Christians and Muslims, is drawing concern across the country, with many calling for more concre…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asia-pacific"],"yoast_head":"\n
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