Hindus call off rally through Christian villages in eastern India

Government interventions have forced right-wing Hindu activists to call off a march, alleviating fears of an attack on Christian villagers in the eastern Indian state of Chhattis-garh. Christians across the state had been on edge after social media posts last month began mobilizing Hindu activists to march through three Christian villages, to demand the pro-tection of cows and attack Christians thought to be beef eaters. Aadesh Soni, a right-wing Hindu man who was accused of making such violent calls on social media, denied the allegations. But he admitted calling for the march. He told a week ago that the march will occur on March 1. However, Shivam Takur, an asso-ciate of Soni, told on March 3 that they “called off the proposed rally as the government has accepted our demands.”