by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - A Hindu rights organization in India’s Assam state is demanding the removal of all Christian symbols from local Christian schools on the grounds that missionaries must be prevented from evangelizing pupils, UCA News reports.
The campaign for the removal of Christian symbols from schools in Assam state is being spearheaded by the Hindu organization Kutumba Surakshya Parishad (Family Safety Council). The move was likely triggered by the extensive work of Assam Christians in providing education to poor tribal communities living in remote areas.
“Christian Missionaries are converting schools and educational institutes into religious institutes. We will not allow it,” Satya Ranjan Borah, president of the Kutumba organization, told reporters in Guwahati on Feb. 7. Borah then went on to accuse nuns and priests of promoting Christianity through wearing religious clothing such as habits and cassocks.
In a Feb. 9 statement to UCA News, Archbishop John Moolachira of Guwahati said: “We are aware of the threat and I do not understand why this is happening. It is a very difficult situation when such open threats are issued…we will explore legal means to deal with such open threats.”
Explaining the intensifying hostility of Hindu nationalists toward Christians, the Open Doors international Christian advocacy organization says in a website statement: “[This] hostility is often driven by an ongoing belief among some Hindu extremists that Indians ought to be Hindu—and any faith outside of Hinduism is not welcome in India.”
India has been ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party almost continuously since 2014, and now ranks 11th on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.