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schools in northern Indian states Uttar Pradesh They remained open on public holidays, including Christmas, as the government had ordered them to celebrate the birth centenary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
According to media reports, an order issued by the state Basic Education Department made attendance of students mandatory on Christmas and directed schools to organize speeches, cultural programs and memorial activities in Vajpayee’s honour.
Critics said the order came after Hindu vigilante group Bajrang Dal demanded that December 25 be observed as “Good Governance Day” and “Bal Gaurav Diwas” or Children’s Pride Day, instead of celebrating Christmas.
Good Governance Day is celebrated on 25 December to mark the birth anniversary of late ruling BJP leader Vajpayee. The festival was started by the now Narendra Modi-led party after it took power in India in 2014.
Both Bajrang Dal and BJP are major components of the broader Hindu nationalist ecosystem commonly known as the Sangh Parivar.
Vajpayee was born in 1924 and started out as an functionary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of the Sangh Parivar, before later moving to a political entity that eventually morphed into the BJP.
He was the Prime Minister of India for a little over six years around the turn of the century and died on 16 August 2018.
Uttar Pradesh is governed by a Hindu Sadhu who calls himself Yogi Adityanath53, a senior BJP member. Adityanath is notorious for making inflammatory statements against Muslims and other religious minorities in the country.
“Adityanath has been one of those Uttar Pradesh“The most polarizing politicians use hateful rhetoric that incites discrimination and hostility against minority groups, particularly Muslims.” Amnesty International Noted in 2017.
Before Christmas this year, Hindu Vigilantes across the country attempted to disrupt the celebrations, leading to a sharp increase in attacks on Christians. They vandalized churches, disrupted prayer services, harassed carol singers and destroyed festive decorations.
Christian advocacy group Open Doors said it had documented more than 60 incidents involving the disruption of Christmas celebrations or church services.
In Uttar Pradesh, Bajrang Dal has reportedly urged authorities to stop Christmas celebrations in schools. The group argued that students should instead be taught “Indian values”, proposing Vajpayee poetry and essay competitions in place of Christmas activities.
This was soon followed by a state government order, which was sharply criticized by Christian organizations and teachers, who said it sidelined religious minorities and weakened the secular character of public education.
John Dayal of the All India Christian Council described the directive as “deliberate targeting of the holiest day in the Christian calendar”.
Mr Dayal was quoted as saying, “This decision reflects the continuing and intensifying pattern of marginalization of the Christian community under the current regime.” Maktoob Media, An outlet that reports on minority affairs in India.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India condemned the attacks on Christians this festival season, calling it a serious violation of the constitutional rights of the minority community.
“These targeted incidents, particularly against peaceful carol singers and congregations gathered to pray in churches, seriously undermine India’s constitutional guarantee of religious freedom and the right to live and worship without fear,” the group said in a statement.
It also flagged the spread of “hate-filled digital posters” against Christians in the central state of Chhattisgarh.
The disruption in Christmas celebrations escalated after another group of the Sangh Parivar, Vishwa Hindu The council called on Hindus to stay away from these festivals.
in a letter to Hindus Earlier this month, the group’s leader, Surendra Gupta, declared that participating in festivals of other religions “can lead to social acceptance of other religions”.
The group also objected to shopkeepers and businesses displaying messages such as “Happy or Merry Christmas”, arguing that Hindus doing so only for commercial gain leads to “cultural confusion and self-desecration”.
It asked Hindu consumers to “consider” avoiding shopping from such establishments.
The number of Christians in India’s population is about 2.3 percent. Community leaders have said they are facing increasing hostility, allegations the ruling BJP has previously denied.
Christian rights groups have reported a sharp increase in alleged cases of harassment, with the United Christian Forum documenting more than 600 attacks on Christians between January and October this year, ranging from mob violence and public humiliation to church disruptions and home demolitions.
Concerns have also grown over the increased use of anti-conversion laws, particularly in BJP-ruled states, with experts saying they are often misused to harass and criminalize Christians and other minorities rather than prevent forced conversions. Such laws are now in force in 12 states. This year alone, 123 criminal cases were registered against Christians under this.
Some? Hindu Groups claim that Christians are engaged in religious conversion of Hindus through force or inducement, which critics say is used to justify anti-conversion laws and targeted persecution of Christian communities in India.
“Christians in India are punished not for wrongdoing but simply for gathering, praying or helping their neighbours,” Tehmina Arora, Asia advocacy director at the nonprofit ADF International, told members of the European Parliament earlier this year. “Even the Supreme Court of India recently noted how anti-conversion laws are misused to unfairly prosecute Christians.”
In the wake of the recent attacks, the main opposition Congress said, “From Jabalpur and Delhi to Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Odisha and Uttarakhand and many other places, we are witnessing organized targeting of minority communities. Such incidents raise serious concerns about the state of our country, which has always been defined by its strength in unity and diversity.”
The Prime Minister has not commented on the recent attacks, but he has shared this a video on x showing him Attending a church service on Christmas morning in Delhi.
Independent BJP has been contacted for comment.