By Jacob Peenikaparambil
Indore, Jan 22, 2026: The title of this article is drawn from a statement made by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in his notable speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “Great powers can afford, for now, to go it alone. They have the market size, the military capacity, and the leverage to dictate terms. Middle powers do not,” he said.
This observation is equally relevant to the situation of minorities in India in the context of the growing violence directed against them.
Since the BJP came to power at the Centre in 2014, religious minorities—particularly Muslims and Christians—have increasingly been subjected to hatred, intimidation, and violence. These acts appear to function as a deliberate strategy to polarize the Hindu majority and consolidate political power. Hate speech and targeted violence against Muslims and Christians have risen steadily year after year.
The India Hate Lab Report 2025 documented 1,318 verified in-person hate speech events targeting religious minorities across the country in 2025. This represents a 13 percent increase over the previous year and a staggering 97 percent increase compared to 2023, when 668 such incidents were recorded. Notably, 88 percent of these cases were reported from BJP-ruled states.
One of the most recent and disturbing incidents was reported from Odisha. A Christian pastor from Dhenkanal district was assaulted, publicly humiliated, and forced to consume cow dung by members of the Bajrang Dal.
According to Vandana, the pastor’s wife, the police failed to intervene promptly despite repeated appeals. “My husband was tied inside a Hanuman temple. His hands were bound behind a rod. He was bleeding badly. People slapped him, forced him to eat cow dung, and made him chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’,” she recounted.
Members of the mob accused Pastor Naik of carrying out forced religious conversions. While the police registered a complaint regarding the assault, they also filed a counter-FIR against Naik, accusing him of forced conversion—an increasingly common tactic that places victims on the defensive.
The Malayalam daily Deepika, the official mouthpiece of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, published an editorial on January 21, strongly condemning the growing violence against Christians in various parts of India, which it said was occurring with the silent consent of the BJP.
The editorial sharply criticized the federal government’s inaction, stating that such incidents could be prevented “within 24 hours” if there were genuine political will. While noting that similar incidents have not occurred in Kerala, it warned that “heightened vigilance is essential.”
Earlier, on December 28, 2025, Deepika had published another strongly worded editorial in response to a series of violent attacks on Christians—mostly in BJP-ruled states—during the Christmas week. The editorial described Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Christmas visit to a church as mere performative politics aimed at international audiences.
“While Hindutva extremists were vandalising Christmas decorations and unleashing violence, the Prime Minister was offering prayers inside a church. His prayers were perhaps meant not for the citizens of this country, but for leaders abroad. Otherwise, he would have condemned the attacks or taken firm action against them,” the editorial stated.
The Church in Kerala, which remained largely silent for several years amid rising attacks on Christians and Muslims, has now begun to recognize the BJP’s hypocritical approach. The BJP’s IT cell has long attempted to drive a wedge between Christians and Muslims in Kerala in an effort to attract Christian votes.
Christians and Muslims together constitute more than 40 percent of Kerala’s population. As long as they remain united, the BJP is unlikely to gain a strong foothold in the state.
Communal forces pose a grave threat not only to religious minorities but also to the unity and integrity of India itself. The mission of the Church includes a prophetic responsibility to speak out against injustice inflicted upon any individual or community, regardless of religion.
The BJP’s divisive and exclusionary policies have inflicted serious damage on India’s social fabric, creating deep divisions among ordinary citizens, professionals, workers, educators, artists—including those in Bollywood—as well as within the bureaucracy and even the judiciary.
The time has come for the Church to respond decisively, creatively, and courageously. Beyond speaking truth to power, it must take the initiative to build a broad-based alliance comprising all Christians, all minorities, and all Hindus who believe in pluralism and secularism as enshrined in the Constitution of India.
Such an alliance must evolve into a movement that promotes mutual understanding, religious harmony, and the dissemination of core Indian constitutional values. The Indian Constitution remains the strongest bulwark against communal forces.
Given the Church’s significant presence and influence in Kerala, this movement should begin there and gradually spread across the country. Silence and inaction in moments that demand moral clarity and action constitute a grave sin of omission.
Classic speach of a true statesman