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Context
Vigilante violence against carol singers, state response, raise questions about protection of minority rights in MP
What has happened?
30 priests and seminarians singing carols in a village near Satna town were detained by local police after Bajrang Dal activists accused them of trying to forcibly convert the villagers. One of the priests was arrested under the the state’s draconian anti-conversion law
An old practice
According to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, the singers were from a nearby theological college and carol singing during the Christmas season has been a local practice for over 30 years now
Earlier instances
With Christmas a few days away, the Bajrang Dal, by all accounts, aimed to spread fear among the small Christian population in the state. In November, Hindu Jagran Manch members had targeted a group of Christian children in Indore, who were on a train to attend a Bible study class, and claimed they were being taken to Mumbai for conversion
Why such incidents are dangerous?
Author states that in today’s times of social media, a single incident can polarise vast sections of a society. Hence, political leadership in the state should send out a strong message against hate campaigns
Criminalisation of conversion
It gives the impression that the state is willing to condone the violence of the vigilantes. The anti-conversion agenda, it must be remembered, has legal cover in Madhya Pradesh: Sweeping provisions in the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 1968, allow police to criminalise conversion
Conclusion
The authorities must act against the vigilantes and assure the Christian community that their constitutionally-guaranteed right to faith will be protected
