According to a global human rights report released Thursday by the U.S. government, violence based on religion was one of India’s top challenges in 2014.
There have been over 600 cases of religious violence since Prime Minister Modi took office, and Christians were targeted in a third of them.
Voice of the Martyrs USA spokesman Todd Nettleton says Modi was a long-term member of the RSS.
“Every single Indian should be a Hindu: that’s kind of their ‘bedrock’ philosophy,” explains Nettleton.
“So, Prime Minister Modi, when he came to power, brought that ideology with him. It basically set a tone that Christians are not welcome and that the government will not actively work to protect their religious freedom.”
Persecution unhinderedSoon after Modi was chosen by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as Prime Minister, Nettleton asked a VOM India contact how long until a national anti-conversion law went into effect.
The contact’s response was a bit unexpected.
“They don’t have to pass new laws. They’ve simply sent the message that, you know, ‘You can persecute Christians, and you will not be held accountable,'” Nettleton relays from his contact...