Religious Conflict in India

I chose to research religious conflict in India for this assignment. The article focuses in on one part of India during 2008. It discusses the monstrosities that have occurred between the Hindu and Christian inhabitants of India. Christians have been driven away from their homes because of violent Hindu raids. The Hindu's stop at nothing and will kill if it means ridding the area of Christians. For those who have been driven out of their homes, they have been told that if they wish to return, they must convert to Hinduism. This is a huge issue because many of the Christians are converts from Hinduism who tried to escape the inhumanity of the caste system. While some members of different religions cannot find a way to accept others, some of the people of India are doing more to help the cause. When John Ydstie, a reporter for NPR, went on a trip through India he had a tour guide that would take him to a different place of worship-ie. a church, mosque, temple, etc- everyday. Additionally, even though his tour guide was not a Buddhist, he shows Ydstie the Buddhist temple he is helping to rebuild. These two resources taught me that the tensions in India are extremely high. Both do not give a legitimate reason for the anger, but both do acknowledge that the fighting must stop or else more people will die. Also, the second article in particular, made me realize how much potential humans have to do good, but not everyone can see it in themselves. I chose this article because while America has many different religions residing in it, India is a melting pot of three to four major religions that all see things very differently. Also, one of my favorite movies of all time, Slumdog Millionaire, depicts the strife between Hindus, Muslims, and Christians and I thought it would be interesting to look into their conflicts even further.


Buncombe, Andrew. "Holy War Strikes in India." The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, 09 Oct. 2008. Web. 03 Oct. 2012. <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/holy-war-strikes-india-955502.html>.

Reeves, Philip. "In India, Religious Conflict and Harmony." NPR. NPR, 21 Aug. 2007. Web. 03 Oct. 2012. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=13818655>.