Violence in the Time of Corona. Report by Persecution Relief reveals a spike in cases of violence against Dalit Community

Not just Jeyaraj and Bennix, a 40% rise in cases of violence against Christian groups across the country during the lockdown period, says report

By Nikita Chatterje|Bangalore| August 17, 2020

A report by the international non-governmental organisation Persecution Relief reveals that there was a spike in instances of violence towards Christians in the country in the first half of 2020. Among the various Christian groups, members of Adivasi Christian communities suffered more. The year has recorded a total of 293 incidents of violence against the Christian community in comparison to last year’s 203. This translates into a 40.87% spike in the number of cases, just in the first half of the year. It is crucial to note that the rise in attacks has come during the period of lockdown and global pandemic.

Six Christians were murdered and 61 cases of brutality towards Christian women and children were chronicled, including five cases of rape. Also, 37 Christian families were boycotted and excommunicated, losing everything from house to inheritance,” says the report.

Shibu Thomas, the founder of the NGO, says, “If there is a Christian population residing in an area with, say, 500 Christians who converted, external entities have been forcing them to reconvert to Hinduism. Those who refuse face all kinds of brutality. They are excommunicated from the area and the water supply is cut off. They are also boycotted from social events. In some cases, they are forced to pay a fine of up to Rs 5000, which is a big amount for most of them. It is difficult to hold on to faith in such circumstances. This year itself we have recorded over eight cases of excommunication.” Thomas points out that the cases have been on the rise amid the world’s largest and longest lockdown in recent times.

Persecution Relief record cases of religiously-motivated violence involving physical brutality, sexual brutality, excommunication and vandalisation. They have a toll-free number for people to report cases of violence. The organisation also has a network across all the states and union territories. The various constituencies record cases of violence and the data is collated. The team then verifies these with other members in the region and authorities. Once the details are verified, the cases are recorded and uploaded on their website and also presented in a quarterly report. Thomas says that cases are often recorded only with them because people fear further violence if they go to the police. “They fear retribution from the tormentors and administrative machinery. Some cases in interior villages also go unreported because they are so cut off without electricity and phone connectivity.”

Uttar Pradesh has witnessed the highest amount of violence against the Christian groups, with 63 cases. The northern state continues to be in the news for violence against activists and other minority groups. Tamil Nadu follows Uttar Pradesh with 28 cases. However, only the police brutality against the Christian shopkeepers Jeyaraj and Bennix caught  national attention. Chhattisgarh is third on the list with 22 cases of discrimination. Jharkhand also recorded an increase in the numbers. “In one of the recent cases in Jharkhand, three brothers were beaten up in their own home while praying. They have had to shift out of the neighbourhood.” says Thomas.

The Adivasi Christian communities of Orissa, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh remain the most vulnerable, the report further reveals, with tremendous pressure of conversion by local fundamentalist groups. Many have been forced to leave their homes and move to jungles or shelters/safe houses in order to escape persecution. 

Among the Christians groups, women have had to suffer the most: the 61 cases of violence against women include five cases of rape of which one is a 10-year-old from Haryana. The first half of 2020 witnessed several similar brutalities. Eight children were orphaned after their widowed mothers were gang raped and killed. A 27-year-old whose throat was slit is survived by a young wife and two daughters. A 14-year-old Christian boy was kidnapped and killed for his faith.

“It appears that the Coronavirus pandemic is instigating more violence against these communities. However, with the national focus on COVID cases, attacks on minority groups are ignored,” Thomas said, pointing out that most of these cases have not been covered in mainstream media, which highlighted 162 cases in contrast with Persecution Relief’s report of 293 cases.

A report by the United States’ Commission of International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has classified India among 14 countries wherein minority religious rights are threatened. The report labels India as a “country of particular concern” (CPC) in the domain of religious freedom. India, however, rejected this criticism. “We reject the observations on India in the USCIRF annual report. Its biased and tendentious comments against India are not new. But on this occasion, its misrepresentation has reached new levels,” said the External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava.