Archbishop condemns removal of Christ's statue in India's Bangalore

The 12-foot statue was removed after Hindu radicals raised objections

Archbishop of Bengalore Peter Machado has condemned the removal of a 12-foot statue of Jesus Christ from a Christian cemetery on the outskirts of India’s north Karnataka state by local police on Thursday.

Hindu radicals had objected to the statue, and villagers had said some 'outside agitators' had warned Christians from visiting the 4.5-acre site, which had been allocated by the state government for burial for the community in Doddasagarahalli village, according to Crux.

“The Christians of Bangalore consider the forceful removal of the statue of Lord Jesus at our legally allotted burial ground at Doddasagarahalli as unacceptable and are greatly shocked and we condemn this high-handed action of the local authorities,” Machado said in a statement.

He noted the site had been a place of Christian devotion for 30 to 40 years without any difficulty, and there has been “absolutely no problem from local people to our burials, nor our prayers and devotions on the hill.”



This comes against the backdrop of growing extremism and religious intolerance towards religious minority of the country under the rule of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led right wing BJP government.

Last month, dozens of people were killed and hundreds injured, and at least two mosques were attacked in the worst communal riots in India’s capital New Delhi in decades, triggered by clashes between supporters of a controversial citizenship law and those against it.

The law gives migrants fleeing persecution from neighbouring Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh an easier path to citizenship, except Muslims.

Critics say it is further proof that Modi, emboldened by a resounding election victory this year, is moving quickly to reshape India as a Hindu nation and weaken its secular foundations.

The Modi government had also stripped Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K) of its constitutional semi-autonomous status on August 5 last year and clamped a draconian curfew which remains in place ever since with millions of Kashmiris literally cut off from the rest of the world.

This article originally appeared on Crux