Hindu nationalist groups in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh are leveraging technology like the popular messaging app WhatsApp to target Christian minorities and force them to convert to Hinduism, according to a report, which reflects a trend that is not uncommon in other parts of the Hindu-majority country, where persecution of Christians is rising.
In the densely forested Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, Christian communities are facing increasing pressure from organizations such as the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP, or World Hindu Council). These groups use WhatsApp to rapidly mobilize mobs that confront Christians during vulnerable moments, particularly funerals, demanding they renounce their faith, reports Rest of World.
These attacks have intensified since Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party took office in 2014, the report notes, pointing to the expansion of internet access and the availability of cheap data that followed, which significantly impacted the country, especially its rural areas like the Bastar region where internet users now outnumber those in urban areas.
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The article further notes that the VHP began providing some of its members with basic smartphones — models from brands like Vivo or Samsung — to enable them to use WhatsApp. This access to technology allowed the VHP to rapidly communicate and coordinate actions across a vast region.
The report cites one such example, the Kashyap family, who had converted to Christianity in 2014 seeking community support when the head of the family, Radhibai, a woman, was diagnosed with throat cancer. When she died in May this year, a mob coordinated via WhatsApp descended upon their home.
“We were given an ultimatum,” 32-year-old Jaldhar Kashyap is quoted as saying. “If we wanted to carry out her funeral in the village, we had to abandon Christianity.” The mob blocked access to the village cemetery, forcing the family to convert back to Hinduism in a ceremony conducted in their courtyard.
The VHP, founded in 1964 to curb ideologies it labels as alien — primarily Islam, Christianity and communism — has a large presence across India.
In Bastar, the organization has thousands of members divided into WhatsApp groups covering about 50 villages. Each group is managed by directors who filter information up the chain of command and carry out directives traveling down it, according to the report.
“With WhatsApp, what took us three days now takes us less than an hour,” Hari Sahu, a VHP leader in Bastar region’s Jagdalpur area, tells Rest of World.
These groups monitor Christian activities and coordinate interventions during funerals.
In India, Hindus generally opt for cremation. Mobs organized via WhatsApp attempt to reach Christian families before funerals begin, preventing burials until they convert.
Ghasiram Baghel, a 38-year-old farmer and VHP member who coordinated the mob against the Kashyap family, manages an informant network via WhatsApp in about 50 villages. He also admitted to coordinating the destruction of a building site for a new church. “I feel like I am working in the national interest,” he was quoted as saying.
A Christian man, identified as Ratnesh Benjamin, says he has 2,000 pastors on his WhatsApp in various groups, “but the problem is that my contacts are a fraction of the network of the Hindu groups.”
An activist from the Chhattisgarh chapter of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties says the police are hesitant to act against the VHP due to its influence and fear of being seen as anti-Hindu, according to the report. Further, WhatsApp’s encrypted messaging makes it challenging for authorities to monitor their activities.
After being forced to reconvert to Hinduism, Jaldhar Kashyap reflected on his predicament. He now participates in village functions and receives support in emergencies, but at a personal cost. “I can’t turn back now. I did what I had to do.”
The situation is similar elsewhere in India. In 2019, a blog post on the website of the London School of Economics was titled, “WhatsApp Vigilantes: An exploration of citizen reception and circulation of WhatsApp misinformation linked to mob violence in India.”
“In the last five years, under the Hindu Nationalist BJP government and in states where the BJP and allies rule, vigilante mobs using targeted violence against Muslims, Dalits, Christians, Adivasis (indigenous people) and women have increased exponentially,” noted the authors.
“In an equally disturbing aside, mobilizations of lynch mobs based on WhatsApp rumors about strangers alleged to be child kidnappers or kidney snatchers have also resulted in more than 40 murders since 2017. WhatsApp, TikTok, YouTube, ShareChat, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and a host of other lesser-known digital social media applications have been heavily implicated in the circulation of what appears to be systematic disinformation by politically motivated groups and malicious persons wishing to destabilize communities.”
The persecution of Christians in India has escalated dramatically.
In 2021, at least 486 incidents of violence targeting Christians were reported, marking it as the most violent year on record for the community at that time. This alarming trend continued into 2022, with close to 600 attacks documented. By 2023, the number of these incidents increased even further, significantly surpassing 600 and setting a new, troubling record, according to the Delhi-based group United Christian Forum.
