New Delhi: “Jai Jai Siya Ram,” the crowd cheered triumphantly as four young men climbed atop a small church and planted a saffron flag on the holy cross, a sacred religious symbol for Christians. The flag had ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and an image of Lord Hanuman printed on it.
This was one of the four incidents that occurred on January 21, on the eve of the ‘Pran Pratistha’ ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, in the Jhabua district.
It also coincides with the 25th anniversary of the macabre murder of Australian Christian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons by members of right-wing group Bajrang Dal.
Source in MP told The Wire that right-wing activists, as part of their celebration of the Ram Temple ceremony, planted saffron flags on ‘churches’ in four villages in the Jhabua district. These villages, namely Dabtalai, Matasula, Uberao, and Dhamaninathu, are all situated in the Ranapur tehsil of Jhabua on the western fringes of Madhya Pradesh, with the majority of the residents being tribals.
The incidents have created an atmosphere of fear among the Christian tribals in the area, and so far, only one pastor has approached the police with a complaint, said the sources.
These small churches, or prayer centres, are linked to the Protestant Pentecostalism belief system.
Right-wing activists place a saffron flag on top a holy cross, in Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh, on January 21, 2024. Photo: Special arrangement
In Matasula village, right-wing activists arrived waiving saffron flags linked to the Ram Temple and raised slogans near the compound of Edwin (52), a pastor. His name has been changed to protect his identity.
The compound houses a ‘church’ affiliated to the CSI (Church of South India), Kerala Diocese.
Edwin told The Wire that at around 4 pm on Sunday (January 21), around 80 to 90 right-wing activists gathered near his house and started shouting provocative slogans.
“They were raising slogans, such as ‘Ek hi Rashtra, ek hi Ram,'” said Edwin.
The Hindutva activists wanted to install saffron flags on Edwin’s house as well as on top of the church. When Edwin initially opposed the idea, he alleges the Hindutva activists threatened him that they would get the church and his house demolished and also ensure he was deprived of all facilities from the government under the false charge of illegal conversion.
Since Edwin was at home with his wife, daughter, and other children, he decided against pushing the issue and submitted to their demand.
“I courteously asked them to do what they wanted. There was no scope in arguing with them,” he said.
Congress leader and former MP chief minister Digvijaya Singh shared a photo of the incident on X (formerly Twitter). In his post, he asked the district police chief of Jhabua, and the chief minister, Mohan Yadav, if they would take cognisance of the matter and arrest those who planted the flag atop the church.
“Isn’t it a crime in the law to forcibly plant a flag on any religious site,” Singh asked. The police and government are yet to respond to Singh’s tweet or issue public information about the incidents.
In recent years, several incidents of attacks and intimidation on the Christian community have been reported in Jhabua.
The Wire reached out to Kailash Chouhan, the state joint secretary of the Hindutva group Hindu Yuva Janjati Sanghatan, which is active in the region. However, he denied that activists from his outfit had any role in putting up the flags.
“I heard about it only through social media, where the photos and a video have gone viral,” he said.
He, however, said that the flags were later pulled down by villagers.
The hoisting of the flags on top of the cross has infringed upon the religious sentiments of the local Christians. “Our religious sentiment is hurt. We have faith in the cross. They climbed on top of it,” said a pastor from Padlawa village. “The Ram Mandir inauguration is fine. But this behaviour is not right. We strongly condemn it,” he said.
Locals were also shocked by the act, as some of their representatives had even installed hoardings and banners congratulating the Hindu community for the Ram Mandir. One such hoarding by Bishop Peter Kharadi expressed congratulations and good wishes for the Ram Mandir ‘Pran Pratishtha’ on behalf of the “entire Catholic Christian community in Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh.”
A hoarding congratulating the Hindu community for the Ram Mandir.Photo: Special arrangement
Vineet Tiwari, a human rights activist and national secretary of the Progressive Writers’ Association, who has tracked communal violence in the region, said that since the locals were scared, they have not come out to formally register a complaint yet.
“The followers of Ram, Allah, or Jesus, or any other God, cannot be such that they raise their flag by insulting other religions. The way Ram’s name is being used to spread this frenzy, the fire will tomorrow also engulf the homes of those who sow the seeds of this crop,” Tiwari said in a note.
The Wire contacted a police officer from the Ranapur police station and dialed the CUG (closed user group) numbers of the station officer of Ranapur police station and the additional Superintendent of Police in Jhabua, but could not reach them for immediate comment. The story will be updated as and when more information is received.