Across India, Christmas celebrations were marred by vandalism, mob disruptions and harassment targeting Christians, decorations and carol groups. Incidents in multiple states sparked national outrage, with leaders condemning rising intolerance and demands for stronger protection of religious freedom amid concerns over escalating anti-Christian violence.
In the above context, a video is being widely shared on social media in which a man is seen vandalising a statue of Mother Mary. The video is shared with a caption suggesting that it shows Hindus vandalising the idol during the Christmas celebration in India.
A social media user shared the video with a caption, “Hindus are living peacefully in Christian countries… moved their families to the west… they let me pray n celebrate their festivals… meanwhile Hindu fanatics in India.”
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The viral video is old and shows a tribal individual attacking the statue over the alleged forceful religious conversion of the tribal people in Chhattisgarh.
On a Google reverse image search, we found that an X user had shared the video on January 3, 2023, with a caption that reads, “Tensions soar high as Tribals and Tribals who follow Christianity engage in #Conversion politics in Chhattisgarh. A protest by a tribal group over the ‘forced conversion’ issue turned violent today in Narayanpur, CG.”
The screenshot of the video was shared by Vice on January 6, 2023.
The report associated with the image suggested, on January 2, 2023, in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur, a mob armed with sticks and rods attacked a church, smashing religious statues, including a Virgin Mary statue that remained praying even as it broke and injured a police officer. Videos went viral as police filed cases against 40 people and arrested 11, including two BJP members connected to earlier anti-Christian rallies.
The incident was also reported by Siasat on January 4, 2023.
According to the report, the National Commission for Minorities took suo motu notice of reports about a church being vandalised in Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh, amid protests over alleged religious conversions. It asked the State government to submit a detailed report on the incident, noting that such acts hurt the sentiments of the Christian minority and warrant further action.
Hence, we conclude that the claim is false.
