- Images show knocked down Christmas decorations.
- An incident of vandalism was also reported in Assam, India.
- Christians in Pakistan celebrate the festival with enthusiasm.
Christmas celebrations turned sour for the Christian community in India after a violent mob attacked and vandalized decorations in Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh.
A mob armed with wooden sticks vandalized Christmas decorations and fixtures at a shopping center on Wednesday, ahead of the festival, according to The Indian Express.
The group, reportedly consisting of 30 to 40 masked men, stormed the mall during a bandh in Chhattisgarh called to protest alleged violence related to religious conversion in Kanker.
Footage of the incident showed the suspects moving through the mall and knocking down decorations that had been put up ahead of the Christian festival.
The police registered a first information report (FIR) based on a complaint by the mall management against unidentified persons following the incident. India today reported.
In another similar incident, the Vishva Hindu Parishad Bajrang Dal vandalized a school during Christmas preparations in Nalbari district of Assam.
Members of the far-right party also set fire to and damaged festive items while staging a protest against Christmas celebrations in Nalbari, according to a report by The Hindu.
Last month, a US report recommended designating India as a country of “particular concern” due to religious prejudice and serious violations of religious freedom.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom, in its report, exposed religious discrimination in India and the extremist policies of the RSS and the Hindutva agenda of the BJP.
The report revealed that Modi and the BJP had implemented discriminatory policies against minorities in line with the Hindutva ideology.
He added that the BJP, as the political wing of the RSS, promotes Hindu nationalism.
The RSS has been involved in violence against minorities, particularly Muslims and Sikhs, for decades.
Meanwhile, Christians around the world celebrate Christmas with religious devotion and traditional celebrations, joining millions of believers around the world to observe the festival.
In Pakistan, the Christian community also held prayer ceremonies during the festival.
Churches in Karachi were decorated while security around them was tightened across the city. At St. Patrick’s Church in Saddar, the community celebrated the festival with enthusiasm.
In Lahore, the colorful celebrations began as soon as the clock struck midnight, with churches adorned with multicolored lights for the occasion.
