Councillor Dr. James Shera, former Mayor of Rugby, condemned the recent attack by an extremist mob on a church property, in Karnataka State, India.
It was reported a church was vandalised and a statue of baby Jesus was destroyed, just two days after Christmas celebrations. The incident followed a similar one in the neighbouring state of Uttarakhand last week, in which a Christmas programme was attacked by a group of men, for allegedly converting people to Christianity.
Dr Shera said: “These are highly condemnable attacks by the extremists on the vulnerable and marginalised Christian community.
On behalf of the Christian community based in the United Kingdom, I condemn this unprovoked attack. My heart goes out to the victims, who must have been terrified by a series of such attacks. I appeal to the church members and leaders worldwide, to pray for the victims and call the perpetrators to account. It is obvious that such extremist elements in india are encouraged by the apathetic attitude of the BJP government”
He further added, “The extremists of any religion or faith cannot and must not be allowed to attack the members of religious or other minorities. It is against the UN Charter and international law. I appeal to the Government of India to take necessary steps to stop these unprovoked attacks on religious minorities and to the international community to take action, if these senseless attacks on religious minorities persist in India”.
