“Will Be Beaten”: Right-Wing Group’s Christmas Threat For Hindus In Assam
Hindus who visit churches to take part in Christmas celebrations will be “beaten”, a leader of right-wing group Bajrang Dal declared – to raucous cries of “Jai Shri Ram” – at an event at Silchar in Assam’s Cachar district earlier this week.
In a video that has been widely circulated online, Mithu Nath, the General Secretary of district unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (the Bajrang Dal’s parent body), declared himself “outraged” by the alleged shut down of the Vivekananda Centre (part of the Ramakrishna Mission) in Christian-majority Meghalaya state capital Shillong, and said Hindus would “not be allowed” to attend Christmas Day programmes and festivities….
Nath’s claim – that the Khasi Student Union had shut down a “temple” – has been denied by a top official of the Meghalaya government, who said it was the Cultural Centre (where students are taught advanced computer courses) whose gates had been closed – not locked – because of a district holiday. No temple of the Ramakrishna Mission had been shut, the official added….
