Goons Can’t Hijack Merry Christmas – As many sweep attacks on Christians under the carpet, The Indian Express steps in with a scathing, hard-hitting editorial.
Editorial, Indian Express
On Christmas morning, the bells of the Cathedral Church of Redemption in Delhi rang out a message of love, compassion and peace — a message echoed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi following his visit to the church. The image of the Prime Minister standing in prayer with members of the Christian community was a powerful one. It spoke, loudly and clearly, of a country of great diversities, which promises every faith a home that is safe and nurturing. Yet, it does not address a disquieting silence.
In the days leading up to Christmas, goons linked to Sangh Parivar outfits have attacked congregations and churches, hurled allegations of “conversion” in a climate of impunity. Social media is their megaphone, their performative bigotry designed to spread fear and deepen divides. In Assam’s Nalbari, Bajrang Dal activists stormed a diocesan school and destroyed its nativity crib; in Raipur, a mob vandalised festive installations in a mall; in a Jabalpur church, the BJP district vice-president assaulted a visually impaired woman; in the national capital, women wearing Santa hats were bullied by vigilantes. In each instance, the local administration and police sought to downplay the incidents as isolated flickers of local tension. That is precisely the problem. These are not aberrations. They are part of a longer and larger pattern of intimidation in which the bogey of conversion, and the loosely worded anti-conversion laws in several states, are deployed as cover to target and harass members of the Christian minority. Such attacks do not merely heighten the anxieties of a beleaguered community. They wound the letter and spirit of the Constitution of India and its guarantees of freedom of faith and equal citizenship. They send a chilling message to all Indians, regardless of belief. That public order and constitutional protections can be bent without cost when political patronage is presumed.
“May the spirit of Christmas inspire harmony and goodwill in our society,” the Prime Minister wrote on X. The dissonance between this message and the intimidation on the ground cannot be wished away. If the Prime Minister’s message is to prevail, it must be matched by urgent and visible action, including against those within his own party and parivar who are determined to give the lie to it. Those who seek to intimidate Christians on Christmas, or any other community at any other time, must be condemned, must face the force of the law, not be indulged or explained away. Only then will Christmas bring, in the Prime Minister’s own words on December 25, “renewed hope, warmth and a shared commitment to kindness”.
