03/11/2020 India (International Christian Concern) – Archbishop Peter Machado has decried the decision to remove a statue of Jesus Christ in India’s Karnataka state. According to the Archbishop, authorities gave into the complaints of non-local Hindu nationalists in deciding to remove the statue from a Christian cemetery.

“It is very sad, unfortunate, and regrettable that the police, bowing to the pressure of a few outsiders, have forcefully removed a statue of Lord Jesus,” Archbishop Machado told Asia News. “It is a blow to the communal harmony of the people in our villages and also a violation of the religious freedom guaranteed to us by the Indian Constitution.”

According to the Catholic News Agency, the statue of Jesus Christ stood in the Mahima Betta cemetery in Doddasagarahalli, located in India’s Karnataka state. The 12-foot statue had stood for decades and was visited by local Christians for the past 40 years.

According to Archbishop Machado, complaints against the statue arose a week before it was removed by authorities. These complaints came from non-local Hindu nationalists who claimed the cemetery was being used to convert Hindus to Christianity.

“The local villagers have publically said that the presence of Christians and their prayers are absolutely no problem,” Archbishop Machado explained. “Why should some outsiders come and disturb the harmony of the village?”

Across India religious intolerance and Hindu nationalism are rising. This has resulted in an upsurge of attacks on religious minority communities and their places of worship. In 2019 alone the Alliance Defending Freedom India documented some 328 violent attacks on Indian Christians.

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