Instead of protecting victims of such incidents, the perpetrators not only enjoy immunity from the law, but also the administration in BJP-ruled states punishes victims. The use of false cases and arrests under draconian laws like UAPA are the preferred weapons.
2021 is about to melt into 2022 in less than 48 hours. Majoritarian politics continued to hold its way over the country this year. But this year, it was not just Muslims but also Christians who felt the heat of Hindutva attacks across India as right-wing Hindu groups waged a culture war against them. Several churches have been attacked and statues of Jesus broken, the latest being in Ambala’s Army Cantonment, the scene of many a Rudyard Kipling work.
December saw targeted hate speeches against minorities. The one at Haridwar saw many participants vow to even take up weapons to redeem their faith by killing non-Hindus. The Hindu right-wing has waged war against Christians accusing them of religious conversion through their missionary work and Muslims for Love Jihad, an Islamophobic trope singling out Muslim men for falling in love with Hindu women and then converting them into Islam. However, such allegations targeting minorities have become a cornerstone of Hindu right-wing nationalism.
The Association for the Protection of Civil Rights, United Against Hate, and United Christian Forum jointly released a fact-finding report highlighting the series of attacks on churches and hate speech against Christians across India. According to the report, India has recorded more than 300 attacks on Christians and worship places within the first nine months of 2021.
Of the 305 incidents, 66 took place in Uttar Pradesh, 47 in Chhattisgarh and at least 32 in Karnataka.
While another report of the United Christian Forum had claimed that India reported more than 400 incidents of violence against Christians across the country. Among those, the incident involved storming churches, burning Christian literature, attacking schools and assaulting worshipers.
However, it is shocking that only 30 FIRs have been registered so far in these cases. On many occasions, restrictions were imposed on people to carry out religious ceremonies.
First on the list of attacks is the one on October 3, where a mob of 250-300 persons barged into a Roorkee church in Uttarakhand and attacked people, destroyed CCTV cameras, and vandalized church premises. Many reports said there were only 12 inside the church for prayers when the attack took place.
Apart from this, the attacks on churches were also reported from BJP-ruled states Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. And these attacks have taken place over allegations of religious conversion. Christians prayers meetings have also been stopped by the same Hindu mob who had stopped Jumma namaz in the so-called Millennium City, Gurugram. The city also saw an attack on a school’s Christmas celebration.
In the last week of 2021, the bank accounts of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity were frozen over FCRA claims, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted about the heartlessness behind the move affecting the charity of the outfit.
Some 22,000 patients and employees have been left without food and medicines, the West Bengal Chief Minister had tweeted.
The Missionaries of Charity was founded in 1950 by the late Mother Teresa, a Catholic nun from Macedonia, who moved to India and took care of the destitute and the poor and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her work.
Hate speeches have been curtailed by some norms, keeping them among friends and family. The last week of 2021 saw more public hate speeches in the country. The controversial Dharam Sansad organized in Haridwar, other such events in Delhi and Chattisgarh saw where priests and leaders taking an oath to kill Muslims, and even urged Hindus to arm themselves against the Muslims to make India a Hindu Rashtra.
With next year’s assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur due shortly, the increase in such hate is an attempt at reviving polarisation.
The violence in Tripura, where VHP hoodlums attacked Muslims and vandalized some of their mosques and Friday prayers disruptions at designated places at Gurugram were also the prime example of rising hate against Muslims.
Anti-Hindu violence in parts of Bangladesh triggered violence in Tripura. The communal riots erupted on October 26 after a rally organized by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to protest against the attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh turned violent.
The VHP and the Hindu Jagran Manch organized rallies in different parts of the state to protest against the violence in Bangladesh. Later, the VHP and other right-wing groups denied any role in the violence.
The anti-Hindu violence in Bangladesh, which erupted during the Durga Puja festival, was triggered by rumours that the Quran had been insulted in one of the pavilions set up for the celebrations. Seven people were killed, several temples desecrated, and hundreds of houses and business establishments of the Hindu minority were torched.
However, many Muslim groups alleged political conspiracy claiming that the minorities were being targeted in the north eastern state. There were many arrests and some journalists covering the riots in Tripura were also detained. Those who tweeted in favour of Tripura’s Muslims also found themselves being served notices by the state police.
The Uttar Pradesh government had faced severe criticism from the opposition over the killings of Kasganj youth Altaaf in mysterious circumstance. He had been arrested on suspicion of eloping with a Hindu woman. Again, the smoldering love jihad theory. The law and order in Uttar Pradesh, which had earlier won so much praise from PM Modi and other BJP leaders, has been roundly criticized by opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh.
The family of the deceased had alleged that he was tortured by police in the lockup, which led to his death. Police claimed the accused killed himself using the drawstring of his jacket’s hood when he went to the lockup washroom.
Apart from mob lynching, Muslim street vendors in Ahmedabad and some parts of Madhya Pradesh and other parts of the country have been threatened and disallowed from pursuing their livelihood. In Ahmedabad, the Hujarat High Court stepped in to tell off the civic authority to desist from such measures. In Assam, poor peasant families cultivating land for decades were brutally evicted only because they belonged to the Muslim minority. The point-blank shooting of Moinal Haque by police personnel caught on video and the subsequent death dance by a photographer with the remains indeed were a mirror for the crumbling facade of secular India, now overtaken by an aggressive mindless herd mentality spewing hate and violence.
An empty desolate car park outside Sector 37 police station in Gurugram where Muslims had performed Friday prayers for more than a decade turned into a battleground of faith. Hindu right-wing groups staged protests, sloganeered during Friday prayers and held a Govardhan puja at the namaz site just to deny namaz here.
Instead of protecting victims of such incidents, the perpetrators not only enjoy immunity from the law, but also the administration in BJP-ruled states punishes victims. The use of false cases and arrests under draconian laws like UAPA are the preferred weapons.
LPG Aadhaar authentication mandatory for subsidy from October 1
Biometric Aadhaar authentication will be required for subsidised domestic LPG refills from October 1. Here is what changes for consumers who have and have not completed the process.
Biometric Aadhaar authentication will become a requirement for domestic LPG consumers seeking to book refills at the regulated retail selling price with applicable subsidy from October 1, 2026.
The government has said the measure is aimed at ensuring that subsidised LPG reaches eligible households and at preventing the diversion of subsidised domestic cylinders for commercial and industrial use.
What changes from October 1
Consumers who have already completed biometric Aadhaar authentication will not have to repeat the process. Their LPG refills will continue as before.
For consumers who have not completed the authentication, refill booking at the regulated price with subsidy will be enabled after the authentication is completed.
As of September 19, 2026, 27.43 crore active domestic LPG consumers, or 89.9 per cent of the total, had completed biometric Aadhaar authentication, according to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry.
How to complete Aadhaar authentication
Consumers who have not yet completed the process can do so through several channels.
Authentication can be completed during LPG delivery, at the distributor’s showroom or through the mobile applications of the three state-owned oil marketing companies.
Indane customers can use IndianOil ONE, Bharatgas customers can use HelloBPCL, while HP Gas customers can use HP PAY.
What if consumers do not complete authentication
The government has clarified that consumers who are unwilling or unable to complete biometric Aadhaar authentication can still receive LPG.
However, they will have to register their choice through the available digital channels of their oil marketing company, such as its consumer portal, mobile app, WhatsApp chatbot or IVRS.
Such consumers will be supplied LPG at the applicable market price without subsidy, in 5-kg or 10-kg cylinders, subject to local availability.
Why the government is introducing the requirement
According to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry, linking each LPG connection to an Aadhaar-authenticated consumer is intended to prevent diversion of subsidised domestic cylinders and remove duplicate or ineligible connections.
The government has also said the measure is intended to make subsidy delivery more targeted and transparent.
Authentication deadline and progress
Consumers were initially asked to complete biometric Aadhaar authentication by June 30, 2026. The deadline was subsequently extended several times, with September 14 being the final extended deadline mentioned by the ministry.
The nationwide authentication drive has been underway since October 2023. The government said more than 12 crore SMS and WhatsApp messages had been sent as part of the outreach campaign.
The government has urged consumers who have not yet completed the process to do so before October 1.
LPG Aadhaar authentication becomes mandatory for subsidised domestic LPG refills from October 1. Consumers who have already completed biometric authentication need not do it again. Those who haven’t can still get LPG, but at the applicable market price without subsidy.
The BJP has defended the Election Commission amid a political row over reported differences among Election Commissioners concerning decisions linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
BJP MP Sambit Patra said discussions and exchanges of views within the poll panel should be seen as part of the democratic process rather than as evidence of institutional dysfunction.
According to the BJP’s position, disagreement during official deliberations reflects the fact that members of an institution are able to put forward their views before decisions are taken.
BJP defends EC deliberations
Patra said that if the three Election Commissioners discuss and debate issues among themselves, such exchanges should not be characterised as dictatorship. He described such deliberations as a sign of a healthy democracy.
The BJP’s response came amid reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on multiple occasions over decisions and orders associated with the SIR exercise and electoral rolls.
The Election Commission has said that differences in views and observations are a normal part of deliberations within an institution. It has maintained that decisions, including those related to SIR, were taken unanimously.
Row centres on SIR process
The controversy comes against the backdrop of the ongoing political debate over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
Opposition parties have raised concerns over the reported differences within the poll panel, while the BJP has sought to counter those arguments by pointing to the role of discussion and deliberation in institutional decision-making.
Patra also said the BJP’s understanding of the matter was based on media reports rather than access to the Election Commission’s internal documents. He said the documents, as reported, indicated that the SIR process was finalised after democratic deliberations and consensus.
What the Election Commission has said
The Election Commission has rejected the suggestion that the reported objections indicate a breakdown in its functioning.
It has maintained that differing opinions during deliberations are part of normal institutional functioning and that the decisions eventually taken by the commission were unanimous.
IIT Bombay professor Suryanarayana Doolla has been sent on leave amid the ongoing controversy following the death of 20-year-old student Sahil Wakode, with protests on the campus seeking action against the professor.
Doolla, a faculty member in IIT Bombay’s Department of Energy Science and Engineering, had been involved in the examination incident concerning Wakode. The student was allegedly found using a mobile phone during a mid-semester examination and had uploaded the question paper to an AI platform to seek answers, according to the institute.
Why Suryanarayana Doolla is at the centre of the controversy
Doolla was the course instructor and examination invigilator during the examination and was involved in reporting the alleged examination malpractice to the institute’s authorities.
IIT Bombay has said Wakode was subsequently counselled by the instructor and the Head of Department and was assured that the examination incident would not adversely affect his academic career. The institute has also maintained that no disciplinary action had been initiated against the student before his death.
Wakode’s family, however, alleged harassment and caste-based discrimination. Mumbai Police registered a case based on the family’s complaint, with Doolla among those named. The allegations remain subject to investigation.
Student protests at IIT Bombay
Following Wakode’s death, students began protesting on the IIT Bombay campus and demanded action against Doolla.
IIT Bombay Director Professor Shireesh Kedare met the protesting students on September 20 and signed an 18-point charter of demands. The demands included action against Doolla.
Doolla was subsequently removed from the post of Dean Students Welfare amid the protests. The latest action comes as the controversy surrounding Wakode’s death and the allegations against the professor continue to be investigated.
Faculty members back Doolla
While students have demanded action against Doolla, IIT Bombay’s Faculty Forum has backed the professor, saying he was performing his duties as an invigilator and had followed the institute’s prescribed procedure after detecting the alleged examination malpractice.
The controversy involves the examination incident, allegations made by Wakode’s family and the police investigation into his death. The allegations against Doolla have not been established as facts and remain part of the ongoing investigation.
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