Several goons stormed into a church in Assam’s Silchar on Saturday, 25 December, the one big day for Christians, demanding it to be shut down as Hindus were also taking part in the festivities.
The goons, claiming to be members of the Bajrang Dal, which has its ties to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), claimed they had no issue with Christians celebrating Christmas but declared that Hindus will not be allowed to do so, as 25 December is also 'Tulsi Diwas'.
Video of the altercation has gone viral on social media. One of the goons can be heard saying in the video:
"We are not against Christmas...let only Christians celebrate Christmas. We are against Hindu boys and girls participating in Christmas functions. Today it was Tulsa Diwas of Hindus, but no one celebrated. It hurts our sentiments...everyone is saying Merry Christmas. How will our religion survive?"
However, as has been seen in multiple cases, these acts have less to do with the survival of Hinduism and more to do with India’s rising religious intolerance.
Meanwhile, a senior Assam Police officer was reported as saying that since no complaint had been filed, no case had been registered. The police also said that there was no need for a suo moto case as the attack was a "small commotion", NDTV reported.
Last year, Mithu Nath, the General Secretary of district unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, had warned Hindus that if they visit churches to take part in Christmas celebrations, they will be "beaten".
A few days before Saturday's disruption, a mob of nearly 30 to 40 people had stormed inside a convent school campus in Karnataka’s Mandya district alleging that the children were being brainwashed and accused the sisters of converting the children to Christianity by celebrating Christmas.
On the same day, a church was vandalised in Chikkaballapur district in southern Karnataka. The statue of St Anthony was found broken in the 160-year-old St Joseph's church.
In another bizarre incident in Uttar Pradesh's Agra, Rashtriya Bajrang Dal workers lit an effigy of Santa Claus.
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