Christian organisations see 'pattern' in crucifix vandalism in Mumbai

The recent desecration of a Christian cross in Vile Parle (W) is at least the tenth such incident to have occurred in Mumbai over the last few years, hurting the sentiments of the community.

One incident came to light on the morning of March 12, when residents of the area found a crucifix smashed to the ground.

Catholic organisations such as Watchdog Foundation and Association of Concerned Catholics (AOCC) say that such acts of vandalism against Catholic places of worship seem to be occurring more frequently in Bandra, Khar, and Santacruz, and there seems to be a pattern in this. They also say that police officials don’t probe these incidents seriously enough.

Definitive pattern discerned

Nicholas Almeida and Godfrey Pimenta of the Watchdog Foundation wrote to Mumbai police commissioner Sanjay Pandey and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, among others, regarding the March 12 Vile Parle incident.

“We see a definitive pattern of such incidents, particularly in the areas of Santacruz (West), Juhu, and Bandra (West) in Mumbai,” they said. “This has been done with a deliberate intention of hurting the religious sentiments of the Christian community. The minorities in this city, particularly Christians, are being subjected to more and more harassment since their places of worship are being regularly and systematically targeted and vandalized.”

“We repeat and reiterate our demand that the state government should install CCTV cameras in and around religious places of worship on a priority basis,” demanded Almeida and Pimenta, representatives of the East India community, adding that such requests have only fallen on deaf ears.

The duo also demanded that the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MOCCA), 1999, be applied in all such cases of vandalism and desecration, unclosing those that had occurred in the past, so that “fear is instilled in the minds of the perpetrators”.

Catholic community upset

There have around 10 such incidents of desecration in Mumbai over the past few years. One occurred on May 23, 2019, when a Holy Cross located at Khar’s Chuim Gaothan was desecrated, and the message “Jesus does not love” was painted at the base of the cross.

“Mumbai has many such roadside shrines that were built by the British and Portuguese,” Melwyn Fernandes, secretary of the AOCC, told The Federal. “The government, as well as police, need to take such incidents seriously and catch the culprits behind them. In a majority of the cases, the police file an FIR against ‘unknown miscreants’ who never end up being apprehended. In other cases, they only file a complaint, not even an FIR. The city’s Catholic community is upset with the repeated occurrence of such incidents.”

He added that such acts of vandalism of Catholic places of worship occurred more frequently during the tenure of the previous government led by the BJP and the Shiv Sena. “Now that the Congress and NCP have come into the government, such incidents occur less frequently.”

In 2017, as many as five such incidents of desecration were reported from Santacruz. In January 2017, a crucifix located on the sea-facing Carter Road in Bandra was found damaged. The next month, a statue of Mother Mary was allegedly desecrated in Kurla. On April 12, 2017, residents living in Santacruz found a slipper hanging from a Holy Cross.

That same month, the BMC demolished a cross in Bandra on the grounds that it was located in a public space. In May 2017, another incident of a statue of Jesus Christ being vandalized was reported from the Kalina area in Santacruz. In 2018, a crucifix was found damaged in Dadar.

In 2013, a Holy Cross located at the LIC building in Vile Parle was vandalised. The same cross was again desecrated in July 2014. In 2016, a cross in Juhu was desecrated. Gold was also stolen from the nearby Mother Mary located in Juhu Koliwada.