New Delhi: There have been 120 attacks on Christians and their institutions across India and thousands of people belonging to the community, faced threat in 2014, says a report of the Catholic Secular Forum.
According to the report Madhya Pradesh (23) and Chhattisgarh (19), both BJP-ruled states, along with Congress-ruled Karnataka (14) account for nearly half of all incidents across India.
7000 Christians have faced threats, violence and displacement between December 2013 and December 2014. These included 1,600 women and 500 children. 300 members of the priests and community leadership were also targeted during this period.
Prime Minister Modi's move to declare Christmas as ‘good governance day' and foreign minister Sushma Swaraj's call to make Bhagwad Gita the national book of India have raised serious concerns.
Joseph Dias, general secretary of CSF admitted that the report has been shared with human rights groups across the world.
The CSF's annual reports and their global reach offer some clues into the circumstances that led President Barack Obama to call for greater religious tolerance in India.
“Representatives of countries such as France, UK, Australia, Italy as well as the Vatican have approached us for information.
These countries have then proceeded to take these matters up with the Indian government” said Former judge of Bombay and Karnataka high courts Michael Saldanha.
