Hindu extremists threaten two churches in Delhi archdiocese, India

A group of people armed with swords and tridents have threatened and beaten a priest and several parishioners after Mass last Sunday.

ACN – Several Hindu extremist groups, identified with the Hindu nationalist right wing of the BJP party, have recently threatened two Catholic churches in the archdiocese of Delhi. It is precisely the same local church whose cathedral was visited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a member of the BJP, on the occasion of the last Easter.

This latest case of attack and threat against India’s Christian minority took place on Sunday, June 4, in the church of St. Joseph Vaz in Kherki Daula, a suburb of the suburban city of Gurgaon, in the metropolitan area of Delhi. According to AsiaNews, the spokesman for the Archdiocese Shashi Dharan said the events that took place after the celebration of Sunday Mass, «a group of 20 to 25 people arrived on bicycles and cars, wearing saffron scarves and carrying tridents and swords. They threatened and beat the priest and two Catholics who were talking to him. The extremists gave two weeks’ notice to close the church.»

The temple opened in 2021 on rented land and serves about 40 Hindi-speaking and 25 English-speaking Catholic families. Dharan explained that the property owner asked the archdiocese to vacate the site because he had received threats from Hindu radicals.

A few days earlier, a delegation from the archdiocese had traveled to Farrukh Nagar, another village in Gurgaon district, because the police chief had summoned them to discuss a complaint filed by some village leaders regarding a temple that had been built in 2020 to serve seven Catholic families. Present were the heads of five villages, who spoke with the Catholic Church delegation about the opportunity to build a temple there. About 300 people belonging to right-wing Hindu nationalist groups also came to the police station.

Andrews Thazhath, Archbishop of Trichur and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), met this past Sunday in Kochi, Kerala, with India’s Home Minister, Amit Shah. The meeting was cordial and lasted about half an hour.

The Archbishop – reports a CBCI note – expressed the concern of the Christians of India for the challenges and problems they face in some parts of the country, citing in particular the attacks in Manipur. The minister on his part illustrated the results of the mission in Imphal and assured its efforts for peace. When Archbishop Thazhath cited some specific incidents, such as the ongoing intimidation against schools in Madhya Pradesh, he replied that he will look into the matter and do whatever is necessary for the good of the country.