Hindu nationalists in India warn Christian missionary schools that they celebrate Christmas "at their own risk"

Let us pray for the safety of Christians in India, and for the success of missionary efforts. As reported from New Delhi by Rahul Bedi of the London Daily Telegraph, December 21, 2017:

A Right-wing Hindu revivalist organisation has warned Christian missionary schools in northern India that they celebrate Christmas at "their own risk" as it claimed Hindu children were being "lured" to Christianity.

In a letter to several Christian-run schools in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, 110 miles southeast of the capital New Delhi, the Hindu Jagran Manch stated that Christmas is "essentially a ploy to lure and convert Hindu children”.

Sonu Savita, the local head of the organisation, which is loosely affiliated with prime minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government, said that the warning against celebrating Christmas was not directed against Christians, but at a Christian festival being foisted upon Hindu children in their schools.

“No school has a majority of Christian students. So why do these schools where Hindus are in a majority celebrate Christmas?” he asked.

Mr Savita also said that these schools were asking Hindu schoolchildren to bring toys and presents to celebrate Christmas which he declared was the "easy way to lure them to Christianity".

The provincial government has ordered the police to ensure a peaceful Christmas for Aligarh’s small Christian community, many of who fear violence if they celebrate their biggest festival.

Christians constitute around 2.3 per cent of India’s population of 1.30 billion, of which over 80 per cent or around 900 million are Hindus.

Numerous Christian organisations and missionary groups run schools across India that comprise the backbone of the country’s primary and secondary education structure.

The Manch - also known as the Forum for Hindu Awakening - on the other hand, actively campaigns to keep Hinduism pure by reconverting Muslims and Christian to Hinduism and furthering its goal of turning India into a Hindu state.

It is also part of a complex web of religious organisations that have affiliations with Mr Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP is also in power in Uttar Pradesh.

The Manch’s warning against celebrating Christmas follows the recent arrest of around 30 Catholic priests and carol singers in nearby Madhya Pradesh state after a local Hindu accused them of trying to convert him to Christianity.

One of the arrested in Satna, 300 miles north of the state capital Bhopal, included a Catholic theology professor.

A car used by the carol singers was also set on fire, allegedly by right-wing Hindu activists who claimed the Christian priests were trying to convert them by offering them cash incentives.

According to local news reports the attackers belonged to the militant Hindu Bajrang Dal that too is aligned with the Manch.