A group of Dalit women in the village of Bilidevaliya, Karnataka have won acclaim on social media after a video of them standing up to Bajrang Dal activists who sought to question Christmas festivities at their house went viral. The women can be seen asserting their right to hold Christian beliefs and to have Christian celebrations, defying questions from the BD members about their religion and marital status.
The incident took place in Tumakuru, Kunigal taluk, on Tuesday evening at around 7:30 PM.
"Police reached the spot immediately when we got a call and we spoke to both groups. The family was celebrating Christmas but few men have gone there and disrupted it. It was only an argument and there was no violence. We have not registered a case over this," Kunigal police inspector Raju.P told The News Minute.
According to Ramu Bajarangi, a Bajrang Dal leader from Kunigal taluk, the incident occured after members of the public noticed prayer sessions being held in ghe house of Ramachandra, where the video was shot. There were allegations of forced conversions in the area which had prompted the residents to alert the Bajrang Dal, he said.
In the video, the Bajrang Dal members can be seen questioning the women in the house as to why they are not wearing sindhoor, the mark of a Hindu wife. The women retort that they are wearing "thaalis" or necklaces symbolising marriage, which is enough.
The women also demanded "proof" for claims of conversions and asserted their right to celebrate Christmas if they wanted. They were Hindus with Christian beliefs, they said.
The incident mirrors similar occurences in the nearby state of Karnataka where anti-Christian sentiment has led to attacks on churches and prayed meetings by right-wing activists. A stringent anti-conversion bill tabled in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly has also increased tensions, with minority activists and prominent members of the Catholic Church in Karnataka asserting that the bill would be used to persecute Christians for their faith.