The India Express reported on 8 June 2016 that Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu described India as
the most tolerant country in the world and maintained that Modi"s NDA government was committed to its agenda of development: "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has only one agenda - development, development and development. Nothing else. Some people criticize, raking up unnecessary issues. We will never get distracted by that", Naidu said.
Rolf Zeegers, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, sees the statement of Venkaiah Naidu as a good example of the general attitude of the Indian government: a total denial of what is really going on. He explains: "Three major sources give a good insight into reality in India. First of all, the Catholic Secular Forum (CSF) produced its
annual report in January 2016. CSF claims that Christian persecution in India has seen a dramatic rise over the past year. According to the group"s own research, they claim that persecution increased by "at least 20%" in 2015. Many attribute this rise to the current federal government being run by a Hindu nationalist party. Whether actively involved or not, Hindu radicals in India have increased their anti-Christian activities claiming that they have "˜tacit approval" from the federal government."
Rolf Zeegers continues: "A second major source is the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) that published its
2015 report on the persecution of Christians in India in March 2016. EFI states that religious minorities in India continue to live under the threat of physical violence, state harassment and repressive laws that severely curb Freedom of Religion and Belief despite the country being a signatory to various international declarations, covenants, and treaties on this most fundamental of human rights. The third source is the Open Doors World Watch List 2016 which notes a severe increase in the number of religious incidents in India. 2015 saw at least 9 Christians murdered, 23 churches or other Christian buildings damaged or destroyed, more than 400 arrests of Christians, 3 Christians kidnapped, 3 Christian women sexually assaulted, 359 Christians physically attacked and 25 homes of Christians destroyed. The actual number of incidents are probably (much) higher because the incidents published are only those that were reported and confirmed."
Rolf Zeegers concludes: "The Church in India should not expect any improvements in the short-term. With the regime denying reality and refusing to stop Hundi radicals attacking religious minorities, the future does not look promising - to put it mildly.
