- Footage shows Christmas decorations torn down.
- Incident of vandalism also reported in India’s Assam.
- Pakistan’s Christians celebrate the festival with enthusiasm.
Christmas celebrations turned sour for the Christian community in India after a violent mob attacked and vandalized decorations in Chhattisgarh’s capital Raipur.
A mob armed with wooden sticks vandalized Christmas decorations and installations at a shopping mall on Wednesday ahead of the festival, according to Indian Express.
The group – reportedly comprising 30 to 40 masked men – stormed the mall during a Chhattisgarh bandh called to protest alleged religious conversion-related violence in Kanker.
Footage of the incident showed suspects moving through the mall and tearing down decorations that had been put up ahead of the Christian festival.
The police registered a first information report (FIR) based on a complaint by the mall management against unidentified persons following the incident, India today reported.
In another such incident, the Vishva Hindu Parishad Bajrang Dal vandalized a school during Christmas preparations in Assam’s Nalbari district.
Members of the far-right party also burnt and damaged festival items while also staging a protest against Christmas celebrations in Nalbari, according to a report by The Hindu.
Last month, a US report recommended designating India as a country of “particular concern” due to religious prejudice and serious violations of religious freedom.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom in its report exposed religious discrimination in India and extremist policies of RSS and BJP’s Hindutva agenda.
The report revealed that Modi and the BJP had implemented discriminatory policies against minorities in line with Hindutva ideology.
It added that the BJP, as the political wing of the RSS, promotes Hindu nationalism.
For decades, the RSS has been involved in acts of violence against minorities, especially Muslims and Sikhs.
Meanwhile, Christians around the world celebrate Christmas with religious devotion and traditional festivities, joining millions of believers worldwide in observing the festival.
In Pakistan, prayer ceremonies were also held by the Christian community during the festival.
Churches in Karachi were decorated as security was tightened around them across the city. At St Patrick’s Church in Saddar, the community marked the festival with enthusiasm.
In Lahore, colorful celebrations began as soon as the clock struck 12 at night, with churches adorned with multicolored lights for the occasion.
