{"id":1163206,"date":"2021-12-28T00:19:14","date_gmt":"2021-12-28T05:19:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1163206"},"modified":"2021-12-28T00:19:16","modified_gmt":"2021-12-28T05:19:16","slug":"india-hindu-mobs-burn-santa-claus-in-effigy-desecrate-jesus-statue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/india-hindu-mobs-burn-santa-claus-in-effigy-desecrate-jesus-statue\/","title":{"rendered":"India: Hindu Mobs Burn Santa Claus in Effigy, Desecrate Jesus Statue"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Findia-hindu-mobs-burn-santa-claus-in-effigy-desecrate-jesus-statue%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1163206&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"subheading\"><span>The government of India on Monday effectively froze the funding of Mother Teresa\u2019s Missionaries of Charity, a move that may have been intended to placate Hindu mobs rampaging against Christmas celebrations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Indian government <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesnownews.com\/india\/west-bengal\/article\/centre-froze-all-bank-accounts-of-mother-teresas-missionaries-of-charity-on-christmas-mamata-banerjee\/844086\"><span>claimed<\/span><\/a><span> on Monday the State Bank of India locked the Missionaries of Charity\u2019s (MoC) accounts at the organization\u2019s request, after some \u201cadverse inputs were noticed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>Another statement from the government said the charity\u2019s permission to operate under India\u2019s foreign contribution laws was rescinded on Christmas Day and MoC did not file an appeal. MoC would therefore be unable to accept foreign funds until its permission under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) is restored.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>MoC is headquartered in West Bengal, whose Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee disputed these official accounts. Banerjee and other critics called it \u201cshocking\u201d and \u201cdisgraceful\u201d that the administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi would block funding for the venerable charity, jeopardizing the people under its care and impoverishing its employees.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_19280978\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/media.breitbart.com\/media\/2021\/12\/AP21361533534068.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-19280978 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/AP21361533534068-1024x683-1.jpg\" alt=\"Homeless people gather beside a portrait of Saint Teresa, the founder of the Missionaries of Charity, to collect free food outside the order&#039;s headquarters in Kolkata, India, Aug. 26, 2021. India\u2019s government has blocked Mother Teresa\u2019s charity from receiving foreign funds, saying the Catholic organization did not meet conditions under local laws, dealing a blow to one of the most prominent groups running shelters for the poor. The Home Ministry said a statement Monday that the Missionaries of Charity\u2019s application for renewing a license that allows it to get funds from abroad was rejected on Christmas. The ministry said it came across \u201cadverse inputs\u201d while considering the charity\u2019s renewal application, but did not elaborate. Its troubles come in the wake of a string of attacks on Christians in some parts of India by Hindu right-wing groups, who accuse pastors and churches of forced conversions. (AP Photo\/Bikas Das, File)\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Homeless people gather beside a portrait of Saint Teresa, the founder of the Missionaries of Charity, to collect free food outside the order\u2019s headquarters in Kolkata, India, Aug. 26, 2021. (AP Photo\/Bikas Das)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>The MoC issued a <\/span><span>statement<\/span><span> on Monday <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/other-states\/shocked-to-hear-about-freezing-of-missionaries-of-charity-bank-accounts-mamata\/article38047626.ece\">saying<\/a> it applied for renewal of its permission to operate under FCRA, but the \u201capplication has not been approved.\u201d The ministry said its centers will not access their foreign contribution accounts \u201cuntil the matter is resolved.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>\u201cFCRA registration of Missionaries of Charity has neither been suspended nor canceled. Further there is no freeze ordered by the Ministry of Home Affairs on any of our bank accounts,\u201d MoC said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Critics of the Modi administration were not mollified by this statement, accusing the government of intimidating the MoC into assisting with its \u201cshameless damage control tactics,\u201d as fiery West Bengal lawmaker and opposition party leader Derek O\u2019Brien put it. O\u2019Brien was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/tmc-mp-derek-obrien-suspended-rajya-sabha-unruly-behaviour-7683928\/\"><span>suspended<\/span><\/a><span> from parliament for the rest of the current session last week because he threw a rule book at the chairman during an especially heated debate over farm legislation, a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/markets\/commodities\/indias-parliament-passes-bill-repeal-controversial-farm-laws-2021-11-29\/\"><span>very hot topic<\/span><\/a><span> in India.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIn freezing the bank accounts of Missionaries of Charity Sisters and Brothers congregations, Government agencies have given a cruel Christmas gift to the poorest of the poor,\u201d said Father Dominic Gomes, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Calcutta.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">In freezing the bank accounts of Missionaries of Charity Sisters and Brothers congregations, Government agencies have given a cruel Christmas gift to the poorest of the poor.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Dominic Gomes (@VicarGenCal) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/VicarGenCal\/status\/1475406940574400512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 27, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>Father Gomes said the MoC funding freeze was the \u201clatest attack on the Christian community,\u201d a reference to growing hostility from Hindu nationalists who <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/faith\/2021\/12\/23\/christian-persecution-increased-worldwide-in-2021\/\"><span>accuse<\/span><\/a><span> Christians of seeking to undermine their movement by converting Hindus.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>\u201cThe bogey of \u2018conversion,\u2019 always been raised as justification, is more than patently false, [it] boggles the mind with its incredulity,\u201d Gomes said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cHad any Christian organization seriously tried to \u2018convert\u2019 with the efficiency they run their educational, medical and social intuitions; there would indeed be many more Christians converted in the 2000 years Christianity has been on Indian soil that the 2.3% minority today,\u201d he argued.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>The MoC controversy \u201ccomes days after hardline Hindu vigilante groups disrupted Christmas church services in parts of India, including in some states ruled by Modi\u2019s party ahead of local elections in the coming months,\u201d&nbsp;Reuters&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/india\/hindu-vigilante-groups-disrupt-christmas-celebrations-modi-territory-2021-12-27\/\">noted<\/a>&nbsp;Monday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Reuters quoted Indian media accounts of \u201cdisruptions\u201d at Christmas celebrations over the past week, \u201cincluding the vandalizing of a life-size statue of Jesus Christ at Ambala in Haryana, a northern state governed by Modi\u2019s nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Hindu activists also \u201cburnt a model of Santa Claus and chanted anti-Christmas slogans outside a church in Varanasi, Modi\u2019s parliamentary constituency and Hinduism\u2019s holiest city.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>The statue of Jesus at the Holy Redeemer Church in Ambala was \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/city\/chandigarh\/haryana-jesus-statue-desecrated-outside-british-era-holy-redeemer-church-in-ambala-cantonment-two-booked\/articleshow\/88505235.cms\"><span>vandalized and desecrated<\/span><\/a><span>\u201d by two suspects who broke into church grounds after midnight and were caught on security cameras while they damaged the facility.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Shocked to hear that on Christmas, Union Ministry froze all bank accounts of Mother Teresa\u2019s Missionaries of Charity in India: West Bengal CM <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/MamataBanerjee?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#MamataBanerjee<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/MAyefaHjB7\">https:\/\/t.co\/MAyefaHjB7<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TimesNow\/status\/1475428748669370369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 27, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>\u201cIt is a very sensitive issue for the Christian community and our religious sentiments are deeply hurt. In the CCTV footage, it is very obvious that this is intentionally done,\u201d Father Patras Mundu of the Holy Redeemer Church said in the complaint he filed with local police.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Father Mundu noted the Church is \u201cvery old and historical,\u201d having been established in the 1840s, and there has \u201cnever been any such incident\u201d before.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Deutsche Welle<\/span><\/i> <span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/india-hardliners-disrupt-christmas-celebrations-in-modi-stronghold\/a-60265154\">quoted<\/a> local reports of demonstrations against \u201cChristmas celebrations and religious conversions\u201d outside churches, and some violence perpetrated against \u201cnon-Christian revelers\u201d at a Presbyterian church by members of a Hindu nationalist group called Bajrang Dal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe have nothing against the Christians who have every right to celebrate Christmas. Our issue is with the Hindus who went against their dharma to sing Merry Christmas instead of observing Tulsi Divas,\u201d a self-described leader of Bajrang Dal said in a statement on social media.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Tulsi Pujan Divas is a celebration of uncertain origin and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyo.in\/variety\/tulsi-pujan-divas-christmas-asaram\/story\/1\/21360.html\"><span>very recent vintage<\/span><\/a><span> which involves decorating a tree, ringing chimes, and celebrating the significance of the basil plant, whose Indian name <\/span><i><span>tulsi <\/span><\/i><span>is derived from the name of a Hindu goddess.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Skeptics say Tulsi Divas looks suspiciously like a holiday invented solely to compete with Christmas, and groups like Bajrang Dal apparently view it as an excuse to harass Hindus for making merry under the wrong holiday tree.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The government of India on Monday effectively froze the funding of Mother Teresa\u2019s Missionaries of Charity, a move that may have been intended to placate Hindu mobs rampaging against Christmas &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1163206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1163206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1163206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1163206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1163206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1163206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1163206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}