Spread of Christianity in India Stokes Fears of Persecution
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has expressed concern over the rapid rise of Christianity in two states in India. Various reasons were cited for the phenomenon, from migration to the influence of missionaries on tribal populations in the northeast part of the country.
The RSS' sensibility on the matter was piqued by the statement of Junior Minister for Home Affairs Kirren Rijiju who tweeted: "Hindu population is reducing in India because Hindus never convert people." He was referring to the census result six years ago showing a phenomenal growth of Christians in the states of Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.
The Christian population in Arunachal, the largest state in northeast India, was less than 1 percent in 1971 but has swelled to 30 percent in 2011. This makes Christianity the dominant religion there, surpassing Hinduism which influences 29.04 percent of the population, down from a peak of 34.6 percent in 2001.
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In Manipur, the number of Christians swelled from 19 percent in 1961 to 41.29 percent in 2011, just .10 percent less than the number of Hindus, based the census compiled by Hindustan Times.
Both states have a combined 27.8 million inhabitants and the number of Christians there comprise 2 percent of India's population. Overall, the country has at least 25 million Christians, still small compared to a billion Hindus.
Being the umbrella organization of Hindu groups in India, BJP has deployed propagandists in the northeast to counter the growing influence of missionaries. This prompted Congress to accuse the party of "converting Arunachal into a Hindu state." The rise of Christianity has also resulted in resentment among Hindu extremists.
Christians in Arunachal and Manipur are fortunate to have the numbers, but followers of the faith in other areas are not so lucky. The Evangelical Fellowship of India reported 134 incidents of violence committed on Christians within the first six months of 2016 alone, according to Christian Today.
