People playing the arcade game “Whack-A-Mole” use a rubber hammer to force plastic moles back into hiding. It’s similar to what a powerful Hindu group is doing to India’s Christians.
“The Hindu nationalist movement, the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) … has organized a nationwide network of people to report Christian activity,” Voice of the Martyrs USA spokesman Todd Nettleton says. What is the RSS?
“They want to have radical Hindu nationalists stationed in every one of India’s villages… watching for Christian activity, watching for the Gospel to be going forward, and then actively trying to strike that down.”
Persecution of religious minorities spiked when Prime Minister Modi came to office in 2014 and has maintained record highs ever since. A report issued last fall describes more than 1,000 attacks on Christians between 2014 and 2019.
Religious freedom violations aren’t severe enough yet to garner India a “Country of Particular Concern” designation by the USCIRF. However, as described here in the Commission’s 2019 report, the USCIRF is keeping a close eye on the world’s largest democracy:
Over the last decade, conditions for religious minorities in India have deteriorated. A multifaceted campaign by Hindu nationalist groups like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sang (RSS), Sangh Parivar, and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) to alienate non-Hindus or lower-caste Hindus is a significant contributor to the rise of religious violence and persecution. Those targeted by this campaign—including Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and lower-caste Hindus—face challenges ranging from acts of violence or intimidation to the loss of political power, increasing feelings of disenfranchisement, and limits on access to education, housing, and employment.
SOURCE: Mission Network News, Katey Hearth
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