A Catholic Church-organized program in New Delhi has called on Indian politicians to cease being divisive and using religion as a way of attracting votes. Prominent opposition leader Mamta Banerjee was among several speakers voicing concerns over the divisions in Indian society during an assembly organized by the Indian Catholic bishops’ conference on July 31. “Some people are trying to divide the country in the name of religion, caste and creed. But we can’t sit here as mute spectators,” Banerjee, chief of Trinamool (grassroots) Congress party, told the gathering of 1,000 people. “Time has come for us unite and raise our voices,” she said. With the theme of “Love your neighbour,” the assembly was held as leaders of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) press their pro-Hindu ideology ahead of general elections early next year.

Banerjee, who is also the chief minister of West Bengal State, said the theme of the gathering was rightly chosen because “some communal forces are trying to dictate what we should eat, dress and how we should practice our faith.” She was alluding to cases of harassment and violence committed against Christians and Muslims by hard-line Hindu groups ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power leading the BJP in 2014.

Leaders like Banerjee accuse BJP governments in New Delhi and most northern Indian states of supporting Hindu groups who attack religious minorities in an effort to project the party as a pro-Hindu champion.

About 2,000 people who gathered to mark International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples were asked to fight to protect their identity and culture in the face of increasing challenges in India.

Leaders who addressed the gathering in New Delhi on Aug. 9 presented data and incidents to show how exploitation of tribal people has increased since the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power at federal level and in several states in 2014.

“Atrocities on tribals are nothing new but now tribals are branded as anti-national and the government will always harass them,” Jesuit Father Vincent Ekka, a tribal rights activist, told participants.

He said the Indian constitution provided for tribal people to enjoy self-administration in certain areas “but local administrative executives are not following it and have taken an attitude of my way or the highway.” Father Ekka heads the department of tribal studies at the Jesuit-run Indian Social Institute, which organized the meeting of tribal people and leaders across India to mark the international day, which had the theme “Indigenous peoples’ migration and movement.” Tribal leaders recalled how governments had made laws to take over and control tribal land and forests while chanting development mantras but acting on behalf of multinational companies and miners. Many tribal people were forced to migrate to cities.

“The main reasons for migration are mining, power projects and industries,” said Lakhiram Murmu, a professor at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

The 2011 census showed the total number of internal migrants in India was a staggering 139 million. Murmu, a tribal and senior surgeon, said that “when we speak about migration, it will be mostly our own people who are affected and we have to find the solution for that by creating jobs.” India has about 104 million tribal people who form 8% of the population. However, 30% of India’s 27 million Christians come from tribal communities, especially in northern and eastern states.