Christian leaders have strongly condemned the recent statements made by Hindu Mahasabha leader Sadhvi Deva Thakur calling for sterilising Christians and Muslims to control their population, they said a "paranoia" is being built on the "myth" of the population explosion of the minorities which is "a lie," disproved by various studies and the latest census.
Sadhvi Deva Thakur, a little known leader and vice president of Hindu Mahasabha came to prominence on Saturday when she stoke a controversy by saying Christians and Muslims must go be forced to undergo sterilisation to restrict their population which is a threat to Hindus.
"The population of Muslims and Christians is growing day by day. To rein in this, Centre will have to impose emergency, and Muslims and Christians will have to be forced to undergo sterilisation so that they can't increase their numbers," vice president of All India Hindu Mahasabha, Sadhvi Deva Thakur said.
Sadhvi Thakur also urged Hindus to have more children so as to have an effect on the world.
Thakur also said idols of Hindu gods and goddesses should be placed in mosques and churches. She also came out strongly in support of installing a statue of Nathuram Godse in Haryana whom she referred as a "patriot". Nathuram Godse had killed Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation.
The next day, Shiv Sena leader and sitting Member of Parliament Sanjay Raut in the party's mouthpiece Samna had also on Sunday stated that Muslims should be stripped of their voting rights.
Raut said, "Balasaheb Thackeray had made a demand that Muslims should be stripped of their voting right. This is an appropriate demand ... The mask of secularists will come off if Muslims are disenfranchised ... Muslims should take the initiative in this connection."
The Christian leaders also condemned and Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut's statement on disenfranchising the voter rights of Muslims.
The Christian leaders said such statements are "disturbing" and they are made to create "social division and political polarisation" in the country and asked why PM Modi should not be questioned on this.
Dr. John Dayal, Human rights activist and spokesman of United Christian Forum (UCF) condemning the statements made by the two leaders said, that ominous Sangh calls for "disenfranchisement, forcible sterilization of religious minorities ominous, threaten rights and security of people."
"A social divide and political polarization is being created by building a paranoia based on the myth that Islam and Christianity pose a demographic threat to Hinduism and will overwhelm it soon. This is a lie that has been exposed by various studies including the Indian Census 2011 and international studies," the Human rights activist said.
Rev. Vijayesh Lal, National Director at Religious Liberty Commission of the Evangelical Fellowship of India lamented the statements by Sadhvi Thakur as well as that of Raut.
Rev. Lal said, "The remarks of Sadhvi Deva Thakur calling for forced sterilisation of Muslims and Christians, are disturbing to say the least and are indicative of the kind of mindset and ideology that she subscribes to. She is the vice president of the revived Hindu Mahasabha, a group with extremist leanings, increasingly visible since the new government took charge."
"The call comes almost in sync with the statement of Mr. Raut of Shiv Sena who has called for withdrawal of voting right for minorities. While this may be posturing on the part of the Hindu Mahasabha and rhetoric on the part of Raut, what worries us is the mainstreaming of hate and how it is slowly becoming acceptable. Although people have condemned her and Raut, the BJP has remained very silent," he added.
Dr. Dayal has strongly condemn these statements, "Senior leaders of the Sangh Parivar, including Shiv Sena, including some members of Parliament, have in recent days made ominous statements that are not only filled with hate, but violate provisions of the Indian Constitution and the law of the land."
"These statements call for sterilization of religious minorities, in particular Christians and Muslims, and their disenfranchisement, barring them from the political processes of the Indian democracy. This coercion and threat seriously impacts on freedom of faith, citizenship and basic human rights, threatens internal peace and security of minority groups, stains India's international reputation and retards its development process," he said.
United Christian Forum Spokesperson added, "It is tragic, and ominous, that the senior leadership of the government, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and of the ruling National Democratic Alliance, have consistently refused to identify the Sangh parivar as the font of this hatred that seeks to pit the majority community against the Muslim and Christian segments of the population. A social divide and political polarization is being created by building a paranoia based on the myth that Islam and Christianity pose a demographic threat to Hinduism and will overwhelm it soon. This is a lie that has been exposed by various studies including the Indian Census 2011 and international studies."
Recalling the experience of forcible sterilisation in the past, Dr. Dayal said, "Forcible sterilization of the poor and religious minorities was carried out during the period of Internal Emergency in 1975-77 when many fundamental rights were suspended and the country was actually ruled by extra-constitutional centres of power."
"The Sangh Parivar is the current extra-constitutional centre of power, it seems, and is trying to force its will on the government which it controls. The people of India will not tolerate this monstrous suggestion. Disenfranchisement is a very serious thresh to rob Christians and Muslims of their citizenship rights and to reduce them to a second grade status in the land of their birth," he said.
"It needs be recorded that these statements are being made even as Mr. Modi is in Europe and will be travelling to Canada. He needs to be asked whey his government is not acting against these people who do not believe in democracy, religious freedom and the international charter of human rights," he said.
According to 2011 Census of India, the total population of Sikhs and Christians remained steady as it had been in the past decades, hovering at a little over 2 percent, roughly in the same range as in the 2001 census. And even the rise of Muslim population was slightly more than 4 percentage points. The census predicted that the population of Hindus will continue to be around 80 percent.
