In an alarming incident, several Hindutva leaders have called on Hindus to carry out mass murders and rape of members of the Christian community on March 1, 2025, across villages of Chhattisgarh, particularly Bishrampur, Janakpur, and Ganeshpur.
Soni uses online platforms to mobilise mob against Christians
Aadesh Soni, who is a right-wing social media influencer, has made inflammatory rhetoric speeches and posts using all online platforms, including WhatsApp forwards, inciting the Hindu community against Chhattisgarh Christians while accusing them of “brainwashing children” through conversion efforts and engaging in cow slaughter, a deeply sensitive issue in Hindu culture.
In a series of posts, Soni has publicly declared war on the Christian community, calling on Hindus to perform mass killings of Christians, show fury over their daughters as well as daughters-in-law and forcibly enter their homes. “Spare no one but corrupt them all,” he remarked.
In one of the videos which Soni posted on Facebook, he is seen delivering a speech in a program in front of Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, stating that those who slaughter cows must be taught a lesson by breaking their arms, legs or killing them, to protect cows. He is further seen revealing his plan to mobilise at least 50,000 people for an attack and urging Hindus to be prepared on March 1.
Saraswati endorsed this statement, saying, “Our ancestors divided society into three classes—Brahmin, Kshatriya, and Vaishya—for a reason. We must provide arms training to our children from an early age to tackle these issues and protect Dharma.” The audience applauded, further inflaming tensions.
Concerns flagged by society groups
These speeches have sparked widespread outrage and concern among various civil society groups, including Christian organisations, who have pointed out that this kind of hate speech often precedes violent acts.
Head of the Chhattisgarh Christian Forum Arun Pannalal shared Soni’s video while demanding government intervention against threats to the Christian community. However, state authorities reportedly responded by filing a police complaint against Pannalal for inciting communal tensions.
NBCC writes to Chhattisgarh CM
The Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) has sent a letter to the chief minister of Chhattisgarh, Vishnu Deo Sai, conveying “deep concern” about hate speech.
In the letter, the NBCC requested immediate legal action to safeguard the defenseless minority community before March 1, 2025, ahead of the Morcha slated. The letter also condemned the inflammatory statements about women and children describing them as alarming threats to community peace.
“We are in intense suffering and deep sorrow after hearing the precise methods used to create this hate speech,” the letter reads.
Christian social reformer Vishal Mangalwadi has also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to act against the planned large-scale anti-Christian violence.
He emphasized that the threats of potential mass killings should not be disregarded, alleging the group was also behind Graham Staines and his sons’ fatal burning, in President Murmu’s former constituency, Mayurbhanj.
Surge of violence against Christians in India
Violence against the Christian community across India has reached alarming levels, with 673 incidents reported on the United Christian Forum (UCF) helpline by the end of October 2024.
The USCF’s “Violence Monitor Report 2024” notes a troubling emergence of far-right Hindu organisations’ activities targeting Christian community members by conducting vicious raids or other forms of violence.
The largest number of hate crimes have been recorded in Uttar Pradesh with 182 incidents, followed closely by Chhattisgarh with 139 cases reported. Some of the other states that have reported an increasing number of hate crimes include Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Delhi and Haryana.
