Fifty Christian and Muslim religious leaders gathered in India's capital New Delhi to discuss "challenges for the freedom of religion and belief in India" under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and to tackle ways on how to address the increasing violence against religious minorities in the Hindu-dominated South Asian nation.
Father Z. Devasagaya Raj, secretary of the Indian Catholic bishops' conference's office for Dalit and indigenous people, lamented how both Christians and Muslims are currently "facing physical, symbolic and structural violence" from Hindu extremists across the country.
This "violence" comes invarious forms: the burning down of churches, burning of Holy Bibles, the rape of nuns, the destruction of Christian schools, some Christian believers being forced to convert to Hinduism, and most unfortunately, the killing of some pastors.
In fact, during the first half of this year, there have been at least 134 reported incidents of violence against Christians in India.
