“Hindus would “not be allowed” to attend Christmas Day programmes and festivities, said Mithu Nath. Nath is the General Secretary of the district unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (the Bajrang Dal’s parent body).
A leader of Bajrang Dal, the right-wing outfit, has threatened that Hindus who visit churches to take part in Christmas celebrations will be “beaten”. He made the announcement to raucous cries of “Jai Shri Ram“, at an event at Silchar in Assam’s Cachar district earlier this week.
Mithu Nath, in a widely circulated video on the internet, declared himself “outraged” by the alleged shut down of the Vivekananda Centre (part of the Ramakrishna Mission) in Christian-majority Meghalaya state capital Shillong, and said Hindus would “not be allowed” to attend Christmas Day programmes and festivities. Nath is the General Secretary of the district unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (the Bajrang Dal’s parent body).
“The Hindus (who visit churches) will be beaten because I revile those Hindus who would go and have fun at a Christian function after they shut down our places of worship. No Hindu will go to church this Christmas. We will make sure of it,” Mithu Nath was seen saying in the video.
“If we do so (assault Hindus) I know the headlines in newspapers the next day – “Gunda Dal” has vandalised Oriental school.. but that is not our priority. We will not allow Hindus in programmes during Christmas when they are locking gates of temples in Shillong,” he further added.
Mithu Nath, while addressing a crowd of around 70 people dressed in saffron and shouting “Jai Shri Ram” repeatedly, said: We accept this”, referring to his observation that media twists the right-wing outfit’s name.
A top official of the Meghalaya government has denied Nath’s claim in regards to the Khasi Student Union shutting down a “temple”. It was the Cultural Centre (where students are taught advanced computer courses) whose gates had been closed – not locked – because of a district holiday, the official said, adding that no temple of the Ramakrishna Mission had been shut.
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