DC Edit | Whither Christmas? ’Tis The Gory Season

The Christmas spirit may have been dampened in millions of people due to the outpouring of violence in the name of religion this holiday season. People who commit violence are not religious by definition; for the world’s major religions advocate love, joy, peace and unity in the greater cause of humanity. It is a commentary on the times we live in, where it has become seemingly impossible to separate religious motivation from other motivations, such as political and economic, due to the violence the world is subjected to.

The US bombing of Islamist militants in Nigeria on Christmas Day, the actions of Bangladeshis against people belonging to religious minorities leading to a second death, and the intimidation of people celebrating Christmas in many states in India have increased the credibility of the view that religion tends to encourage hatred and violence. It was sadder that these events occurred on the day of the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the religious group whose followers make up the majority of the world.

Whatever the reason, there is no excuse for violence. And yet the more we see of these, the more frustrated we become by the fact that governments also struggle to separate religion, church, temple or mosque. Explicit religious messages by government representatives favoring one religion over another or others are leading to an increase in hate speech in India, which has risen by almost 75 percent in the last 10 years by one estimate.

The rise of the right wing in many parts of the world didn’t help either. In fact, the encouragement of many people who saw this ideology come to the fore triggered a massive rise in hate in the form of racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-immigrant prejudice, and similar traits; so much so that much of this is reflected in the periodic violence that people unleash on others. And as the attack on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia shows, this is not limited to any major country.

Sensible people pointed out that this year Christmas was celebrated with fear and anxiety among Christians in various parts of India. There were incidents in Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Assam where attacks disrupted the joyous celebration of the festival, with vigilantes damaging celebratory symbols such as lights and festoons and even roughing up people such as singers in hateful displays of intolerance.

Christian leaders are not wrong to wonder why constitutional rights to practice one’s faith are so openly challenged. What hurts more than the misplaced youth who destroy the celebrations of important holidays for minorities such as Christians and Muslims, who number over 200 million in a country with a population of 1.45 billion and are not an insignificant group, is the silence of many country leaders who refrain from voicing the injustice of religious intolerance.

No faith can be excused from intolerance as followers of all religions have the right to co-exist in a country that prides itself on unity in diversity. As the oldest religion, Hinduism teaches compassion, tolerance and goodwill towards all, and it is time to realize that hatred and intolerance will drag India down to the level of many other nations that have allowed religious fault lines to develop that threaten the social fabric of peaceful co-existence.