Hindu extremists burn Santa Claus effigy on Christmas Eve

As the seeds of hatred sown by the right-wing BJP government in India have started bearing the fruit, violence against the minorities and attacks on religious freedom have seen a considerable rise in recent years. 

In one such incident, Hindu fanatics were seen burning an effigy of Santa Claus in Uttar Pradesh on the eve of Christmas. 

In the viral incident, a group of Bajrang Dal activists set ablaze an effigy of Santa Clause in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra District. A video of the incident went viral on social media where Hindu fanatics can be seen setting the Santa Claus effigy ablaze and shouting slogans like ‘go back Santa Claus’ and ‘death to Santa’. The protesters also threw shoes at Santa Claus and hurled abuses at the effigy. 

There are reports that some Hindu extremists were protesting against the alleged conversion of people from Hinduism to Christianity. 

https://twitter.com/ashoswai/status/1474413310556655619

Last week, a Hindu organisation had submitted a memorandum to the District Magistrate of Agra, saying that Christians were converting Hindu children into their missionary schools. 

The Bajrang Dal, a Hindu extremist group, too believes that Christian missionaries are ‘heavily engaged’ in conversion of Hindu children to Christianity. 

This is also worth noting that attacks on Christians’ worship places have seen a sharp rise in recent months.