Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
New Delhi (Agenzia Fides) - "The population of Muslims and Christians is growing day by day. To rein in this, Centre will have to impose emergency, and Muslims and Christians will have to be forced to undergo sterilisation so that they cannot increase their number", says vice president of "All India Hindu Mahasabha", Sadhvi Deva Thakur . The leader exhorted "Hindus to have more children and increase their population". Moreover, she continued, "idols of Hindu gods and goddesses should be placed in mosques and churches".
Such statements have raised strong controversy in India, especially among religious minorities. In a note sent to Fides the "Global Council of Indian Christians" (GCIC) condemned "the talk nonsense, daughters of Hindutva ideology, against minority communities in India". "The Hindu leader Deva Sadhvi Thakur should be arrested for sedition and xenophobia", said the note signed by President Sajan George.
"The statements are an insult to secular India and also to religious freedom in the nation", the statement continues. "These attacks on minorities are anti-constitutional. We ask the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, to intervene and ensure the safety of all citizens and all the communities that make up the Indian society", concludes the text. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 13/04/2015)
