By Srijita Chakraborty
Tensions escalated in Assam’s Nalbari district after members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal were allegedly involved in damaging Christmas decorations of an educational institute run by the diocese and some shops selling Christmas items on Christmas Eve. This was in response to protests by these organizations in parts of Assam, including Dibrugarh, against the murder of a Hindu youth in Bangladesh.
According to police, a group of Bajrang Dal activists stormed St. Mary’s English School in Panigaon, Nalbari, and destroyed Christmas decorations, lights, plant pots and other items, some of which were set on fire. Videos of the incident circulating online purportedly show the group shouting Bajrang Dal slogans along with chants of “Jai Shri Ram” and “Jai Hindu Rashtra”, while warning the school against holding Christmas celebrations.
Nalbari Senior Superintendent of Police Bibekananda Das said a complaint had been received from the school authorities and that an FIR would be registered combining the incidents at the school and a nearby market. “The same group also went to a shop selling Santa caps and masks and burned the items. There were around nine people involved,” Das said.
The four persons are Bhaskar Deka (34), dist secy of the VHP; Manash Jyoti Patgiri (32), vice-president of the VHP; Biju Dutta (34), asst secy of the VHP; and Nayan Talukdar (37), dist convener of the Bajrang Dal. They hail from the Nalbari district. They have all been taken into police custody.
According to Fr. James Vadakeyil of the Diocese of Bongaigaon, the school was closed for winter holidays and was not having any students at the time of the incidence. The school has a student base of 1,000 and was opened in 2010.
According to Allen Brooks, the Christian community celebrated the Christmas festive season in an “anguished” atmosphere in view of the prevailing security concerns. “The attack on the community is an attack on the rights available to them as per the constitution and the syncretic culture of Assam,” Brooks stated.