A Hindu group has given an ultimatum to Christian schools in India's north-eastern Assam state to rid themselves of all Christian symbols including religious habits and cassocks.
Satya Ranjan Borah, president of the Hindu outfit Kutumba Surakshya Parishad (family safety council) said the move aims to stop Christian missionaries from using schools for conversion activities.
“Christian Missionaries are converting schools and educational institutes into religious institutes. We will not allow it,” he said at a press conference in Guwahati on Feb. 7
Assam is ruled by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The group wants the idols or photographs of Jesus and Mary removed and has set a 15-day deadline for Christian schools to comply, failing which they warned of dire consequences.
Borah said they also want priests, nuns and brothers serving in Christian schools to stop wearing cassocks and religious habits on school campuses.
He accused them of promoting Christianity in schools through the display of such Christian symbols.
Archbishop John Moolachira of Guwahati said all the allegations "are baseless."
“We are aware of the threat and I do not understand why is this happening,” he told UCA News on Feb. 9.
Christians have been actively involved in imparting education for several decades in Assam’s remote areas where poor tribal people dwell.
“It is a very difficult situation when such open threats are issued,” the prelate said and added that we will explore “legal means to deal with such open threats.”
The Hindu group also wanted churches located within school complexes to be removed, reported Northeast Now, an English news portal.
Christian leaders said they are planning to approach Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who belongs to the BJP.
Christian leaders say threats to Christianity and missionary activities have increased in recent years in the entire northeast India region after Hindu groups began to push cultural nationalism.
The Hindu groups have succeeded in portraying Christianity as a diabolical force to destroy Hindu native culture and to convert Hindus to Christianity.
Christians make up 3.74 percent of Assam’s 31 million people against the national average of 2.3 percent.