This isn’t all. In Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, the Hindu Jagran Manch warned Christian-run schools in the town of Aligarh not to celebrate Christmas at all. Like in Madhya Pradesh, this was also driven by the bogey of conversions. Earlier in the week on Wednesday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ wife, Amruta Fadnavis was attacked on social media for simply supporting a Christmas-themed charity event. One prominent right-wing columnist accused Amruta Fadnavis of encouraging Christians in their alleged efforts at “harvesting souls”. Amruta Fadnavis had to counter this charge by reaffirming that she was a “proud Hindu” and celebrated “every festival in my country”. [...]
Targeting Christmas is not new. In 2014, within six months of Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking office, the Union government had declared that December 25 would now be celebrated as “Good Governance Day”. Rather than celebrate the Christmas holiday, schools, colleges and government offices would need to stay open in order to mark this new government occasion. Facing a backlash, the Union government played down “Good Governance Day” in 2015. [...]
Six states in India have strict laws that all but penalise conversion away from Hinduism. Christian clergymen are a particular target of both Hindutva groups as well as the police under this law. In November, for instance, seven Christian children in Madhya Pradesh were detained by the police as their Bible reading teacher was booked under the accusation of converting them – an absurd charge given that the children were all born Christian.
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