Christians condemn threat of violence by Hindu legislator in India
MUMBAI, India – An archbishop in the state of Maharashtra has spoken a politicians call for violence against Christian missionaries.
A legislator belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the party ruling Maharashtra state in India, put out a bounty on evangelists who allegedly visit villages for proselytization.
In a public speech, Gopichand Padalkar, a legislator from Jat constituency in Sangli district, recently announced that he will give cash reward to anyone who thrashes those visiting villages for religious conversions, according to the Press Trust of India (PTI).
Padalkar allegedly made the speech after a 28-year-old woman, who was four months pregnant, died by suicide in Sangli district of Maharashtra because of an alleged demand for dowry from in-laws and pressure to practice Christianity.
The announcement of the cash reward has sparked outrage among the Christian community.
“Whoever does the work of (religious) conversion, and if our people do ‘Sairat’ (indicating to kill, referring to the movie Sairat which highlighted the issue of honour killings) to that person, then I will personally give a reward of [$13,000],” the legislator said on June 18.
Maharashtra is the former state of Bombay and located in western India. Christians make less than one percent of the population, although there are significant communities in the capital Mumbai.
The BJP is the political party of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It’s considered the political wing of the RSS, a social and cultural movement premised on Hindu nationalism.
Critics claim that the rise of the BJP since Modi’s election in 2014 has made life increasingly difficult for India’s religious minorities, including Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and Buddhists.
Christian communities in various towns and cities across Maharashtra have held protests demanding that a police case be registered against the legislator for inciting violence and spreading hatred through Padalkar’s speech
On June 30, Christians in the Jalna district of Maharashtra held a protest condemning Padalkar’s alleged remarks against Christian priests.
Protesters, holding placards and shouting slogans, strongly condemned Padalkar’s statement and demanded that a criminal case be registered against him for inciting violence and spreading hatred against the Christian clergy.
Archbishop Elias Gonsalves of Nagpur in Maharashtra told Crux it was “regrettable” that an elected legislator could have made an announcement of a cash reward to anyone who attacks people for alleged religious conversions.
“We are against forced conversions. India is a democratic institution with secular credentials and constitutional guarantees. Our sincere condolences for the tragic passing away of the 28-year-old woman, who was four months pregnant. We pray for the repose of her soul,” he said.
For its part, the BJP condemned the statement by Padalkar.
Agnelo Fernandes, the general secretary of the Mumbai BJP, said the statement was highly irresponsible, dangerous, and clarified that the remarks made by Padalkar were his personal views and do not reflect the official position of the party.
“We strongly disassociate ourselves from Mr. Padalkar’s statement. As a Christian myself and representative of the Minority Morcha, I can say with conviction that the Christian community in India does not support forced religious conversions,” he said in a statement.
“While we acknowledge that there may be a few individuals or fringe groups acting for personal gain, it is both unfair and dangerous to paint the entire community with the same brush,” said Fernandes.
He also asked Padalkar to engage with the Christian community to better understand their values and contributions.