Christians enter Hindu Temple to convert devotees, attempt to baptise in Temple pond

Case Summary
In the Chitoor District of Andhra Pradesh, a case surfaced where Christian Missionaries were trying to convert Hindu devotees to Christianity around the Venugopal Temple. The missionaries were also entering the Temple in order to proselytise Hindus. According to the information received, this incident is being reported from Karvetinagaram village of Chittoor district. In the video going viral on social media, some people can be seen gathering near Skanda Pushkarini of Venugopal temple. Later, when the local Hindus came to know that Christian missionaries were entering the temple and converting local Hindus to Christianity, they complained against it to the police. This temple is managed by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD). There were several videos that had surfaced where it could be seen that the Missionaries were attempting to baptise Hindus in the Pushkarni (pond) in the temple. The Karvetinagaram police registered a case against Church officials on the basis of the complaints by local Hindus.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the primary category 'attack on Hindu religious representations' under 2 sub-categories. The first sub-category this case has been added to is 'attack on temples'. In Hinduism, a temple is the abode of the Deity. The Deity in the Temple is consecrated, thereby, making it a real, breathing entity. Hindus believe that not just the Deity but the temple premises itself are sacred to Hindus since Hindus hold the faith that the entire Temple space is an amalgamation of the divine energy of the deity. Given the central significance of Temples in Hindu Dharma, any attack against a Hindu Temple or its peripheral premises is an attack on the faith itself and is born out of animosity towards the faith, of which, the Temple is a central tenet. Any manner of attack against a Temple and/or its premises would therefore be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. The second sub-category this case has been added to is 'Breaking rules of place of worship'. Sanatan Dharma is not a religion of one book, which is to say that while it has religious scriptures that form the central tenets of the faith, there are several traditions followed through thousands of years, mostly passed from generation to generation orally. One of these oral traditions or written traditions is the rules of specific temples. Certain temples have rules which are traditional rules, dependent on the worship of the presiding deities. These rules and traditions have been followed for thousands of years whether they find scriptural mention or not. Such traditions are based on the nature and rules of worship of the presiding deity of that temple. Any non-compliance of these traditions owing to animosity towards the faith or for the sake of activism stems not only from the lack of faith in the presiding deity but also disregard for the faith of the devotees of that deity/temple and implicit bias against the faith, the tradition and the deity itself. Since these specific traditions are central to the faith of the devotees of that specific temple and presiding deity, any non-compliance with these traditional rules would be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. In this case, the Christian Missionaries entered a Temple, a sacred place of worship, to proselytise Hindus. The act of entering the temple and attempting to disenfranchise Hindus of their faith in and of itself is an act of desecration of the sacred place of worship and an act of breaking the rules of the place of worship. A place of worship is meant for the devotees of that faith and is sacred space meant. The sanctity of the place of worship is breached when those who harbour animosity towards the faith enter the place of worship with the specific intent to disenfranchise devotees from their professed faith and stems out of inherent animosity towards the sanctity of the faith itself. The act of entering a sacred space of the Hindus for the sake of proselytisation activity is in and of itself an act of aggression and therefore, predatory proselytisation. This case is therefore being added to the hate crime database.

Case Status
Complaint filed

Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 5 to 10
Perpetrators Gender
unknown