Sanatana Dharma Under Siege: The organised campaign to Christianise Hindu festivals

The cultural and spiritual landscape of Bharat is currently witnessing a calculated and deeply concerning trend: the “inculturation” and systematic Christianisation of ancient Hindu festivals. What began as a subtle cultural adaptation has evolved into a bold campaign of religious substitution, where the external forms of sacred traditions – like the boiling of Pongal rice, the vibrant colors of Holi, or the rhythmic Garba of Navratri are hollowed out and refilled with foreign theological content. By replacing the images of Vedic deities with crosses and biblical figures, and performing these modified rites within church walls, evangelical interests are seeking to blur the lines of identity. This process is not merely an exchange of ideas; it is a strategic attempt to sanitize the “pagan” roots of indigenous celebrations, effectively masking proselytization as cultural appreciation and alienating the Hindu community from its ancestral spiritual anchors.

The phenomenon of “inculturation” in the Indian religious landscape has sparked significant debate, as traditional Hindu rituals and cultural symbols are increasingly integrated into Christian worship services. In these settings, sacred Vedic practices—ranging from the lighting of oil lamps and the offering of aarti to the chanting of Sanskrit-style hymns—are performed within church walls, framed by crucifixes and images of Christ.

While proponents describe this as a bridge between faiths, many observers view it as a strategic appropriation of indigenous heritage designed to blur the theological boundaries between the two religions. By adopting the external aesthetics of Sanatana Dharma, these practices are often seen as an attempt to sanitize conversion efforts, effectively “masking” Christian proselytisation under the guise of local tradition and eroding the unique identity of Hindu spiritual expressions.

Between 2018 and 2026, fifteen documented incidents have highlighted a growing trend of “Christianising” traditional Hindu celebrations. This includes six cases centered around the harvest festival of Pongal and eight involving various other sacred festivals. In each instance, traditional Hindu rituals were moved inside church settings, where they were performed in the presence of crosses, images of Jesus, and other prominent Christian iconography.

Pongal is a sacred cornerstone of Tamil civilisation, a harvest festival rooted deep in the Sangam era that honors the life-giving Sun God, Surya, and pays tribute to the cattle essential to agrarian life. For millennia, this celebration has been inseparable from the theology of Sanatana Dharma, representing a profound spiritual bond between the land, the cosmos, and the Hindu community.

In recent decades, however, this ancient heritage has faced a systematic campaign of “inculturation.” Since the 1990s, Christian institutions have increasingly co-opted the festival’s external rituals—such as the boiling of the symbolic sweet rice—while stripping away its original Vedic significance. By replacing the deity Surya with Christian iconography and performing these adapted rites within churches, critics argue that the sanctity of the festival is being diluted. This strategic appropriation is seen by many as a deceptive attempt to transplant foreign theological concepts into the heart of Tamil culture, effectively masking proselytization as “cultural adaptation.”

The Co-option of Pongal and Vanvasi Traditions Across Bharat

On January 20, 2026, reports from Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh highlighted a coordinated effort to dismantle the indigenous character of the Hindu harvest festival, Pongal. In Tamil Nadu, the core spiritual essence of the festival—devotion to the Sun God—is being strategically replaced with Christian imagery of Jesus and Mary, while the outer shell of the ritual is retained to mislead the faithful. This pattern of cultural encroachment has extended into the vanvasi heartlands of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, where ancient vanvasi customs are being systematically reshaped through evangelical interventions. Such actions are widely seen as an attempt to alienate indigenous communities from their ancestral roots by grafting foreign religious frameworks onto long-standing Hindu and vanvasi traditions.

Appropriation of Sacred Rituals at St. Matthias Catholic Church

The sanctity of the Tamil harvest tradition was further compromised on January 15, 2026, at St. Matthias Catholic Church in Ashok Nagar, Chennai. During this event, traditional Pongal cooking rituals were performed directly on church premises, creating a confusing syncretism where Hindu cultural practices were juxtaposed with church imagery and, incongruously, a Santa Claus figure. By hosting these specific Hindu rites within a Christian religious setting, the institution effectively stripped the festival of its original Vedic purpose, moving it away from the worship of Nature and Surya and placing it under the authority of a Christian religious framework.

The Dilution of Thai Pongal Traditions in Thoothukudi

In a similar display of “inculturation” on January 15, 2026, St. Joseph’s Church in Thoothukudi organised a celebration of Thai Pongal that mimicked the traditional Hindu observance. National news agencies captured visuals of women boiling rice in clay pots and lighting firewood stoves—actions historically dedicated to the Hindu deity Surya—within the confines of the church. This public display of traditional Hindu rituals inside a Christian space is viewed by many as a calculated move to blur theological lines, using the familiar aesthetics of the Tamil harvest festival to facilitate the social and religious transition of the local community away from their Hindu heritage.

Displacement of Deities with Christian Iconography in Tamil Nadu

On January 15, 2025, a provocative incident in Tamil Nadu sparked widespread outrage when a photograph of Jesus was installed as the central figure of a traditional Pongal ritual setup. By deliberately removing the images of Hindu deities that have defined this harvest festival for millennia, organizers engaged in a blatant act of religious substitution. This move was widely condemned as a calculated attempt to erase the native spiritual identity of the festival and replace it with a foreign theological framework, signaling a deeper agenda of systematic Christianization under the guise of local celebration.

Evangelical Appropriation of Sacred Symbols in Tamil Church Settings

A disturbing trend of cultural poaching was documented on January 16, 2021, across various evangelical settings in Tamil Nadu, where the external aesthetics of Pongal were exploited to serve a different faith. Visual evidence from these locations showed sacred elements like decorated clay pots, turmeric plants, and traditional ritual arrangements being used as props within Christian worship spaces. Central to this setup was the prominent placement of Jesus’s image, which was used to usurp the rightful place of Hindu deities, effectively turning a Vedic celebration of nature into an evangelical tool for conversion.

Missionary Erasure of the Sun God’s Legacy

On January 15, 2020, Christian missionaries across Tamil Nadu were reported to have organized Pongal celebrations that intentionally omitted all references to the Sun God (Surya) and ancestral traditions. By stripping the festival of its core Hindu essence and injecting Christian symbols and practices into the vacuum, these groups were accused of orchestrating the spiritual erasure of Tamil heritage. This alteration of the festival’s fundamental elements is seen as a strategic move to sanitize the “pagan” roots of the harvest celebration and repackage it as a Christian event, thereby alienating the youth from their ancestral spiritual roots.

Biblical Recitation Over Traditional Rites in Tamil Nadu

In a documented instance in Tamil Nadu, a video surfaced showing a Pongal celebration held directly in front of church premises, where traditional markers like sugarcane stalks and clay pots were utilized to attract a crowd. While participants engaged in festive dancing, a Christian priest was seen reciting verses from the Bible to the gathered assembly, effectively subverting a Hindu cultural milestone into a platform for missionary propaganda. This brazen display demonstrates how the physical and auditory space of a traditional Hindu festival is being occupied by church authorities to facilitate a slow but steady religious transition.

Corporate Normalisation of Christian Figures During Navratri and Diwali

On September 22, 2025, Axis Bank triggered massive public outrage by launching an advertisement campaign that inserted Santa Claus into the sacred contexts of Navratri and Diwali. By attempting to promote a generic “season-long” celebration, the bank was accused of undermining the specific religious sanctity of these major Hindu festivals. Social media erupted with demands for the ad’s removal, as many viewed the inclusion of a Christian folklore figure in the midst of festivals dedicated to Goddess Durga and Lord Rama as a blatant attempt to dilute Hindu cultural boundaries and normalize Christian imagery within the Hindu calendar.

The Subversive Portrayal of Maa Durga as Mother Mary in Kolkata

During the festive season on December 24, 2024, a Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata became the center of a major controversy for depicting Goddess Durga in the likeness of Mother Mary holding Lord Shiva as Baby Jesus. This shocking distortion of Hindu iconography replaced the traditional, powerful imagery of the Mother Goddess with Christian-inspired designs, sparking deep resentment and anger within the community. Critics pointed to this as a calculated attempt to conflate Christianity with one of the most significant Hindu festivals, effectively hijacking a sacred space to serve a narrative of religious syncretism that erodes the unique identity of Shaktism.

The Secularisation and Appropriation of Holi via Church “Color Runs”

On March 7, 2023, various church-organised “Color Run” events were criticized for systematically appropriating the elements of Holi, the sacred Hindu festival of colors. By stripping the event of its theological roots – historically celebrating the victory of Prahlad over Holika and rebranding it as a secular or Christian-affiliated athletic event, churches were accused of cultural theft. This trend is seen as a strategic move to sanitize Hindu traditions, allowing the Christian community to enjoy the festive aesthetics of Holi while deliberately ignoring and erasing its deep-seated religious and cultural significance to Sanatana Dharma.

Missionary Intrusion into the Sacred Raas Garba of Gujarat

On April 11, 2019, during the vibrant Navratri celebrations in Gujarat, Christian missionaries were observed infiltrating the traditional Raas Garba festivities to introduce foreign religious practices. These individuals were reported to be reading from Christian texts amidst the devotional dancing, a move that sparked intense social media debate and alarm. For many, this was seen as a direct assault on a core Hindu cultural event, marking a disturbing attempt to use the communal joy of Garba as a gateway for the systematic Christianisation of Hindu spaces.

The Subversion of Telangana’s Floral Heritage During Bathukamma

On October 24, 2018, the Bathukamma festival in Telangana—a floral celebration deeply rooted in the worship of Goddess Gauri—became a site of religious controversy. While the festival traditionally involves women arranging flowers in conical shapes and singing songs to the Divine Mother, a group was observed incorporating Christian religious practices into the ritual. This deviation was viewed as a deliberate attempt to dilute the Hindu character of the festival, transforming a sacred tribute to Goddess Gauri into a tool for religious syncretism.

Provocative Placement of Crosses at the Moda Kondamma Festival

During the Moda Kondamma festival in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on May 6, 2018, a serious incident of religious provocation occurred when Christian crosses were placed on welcome arches without any local consent. This unauthorised display was perceived by the Hindu community as a blatant attempt to mark territory and undermine the sanctity of their faith. The act sparked widespread anger and resentment, as locals viewed the intrusion of Christian symbols onto their ceremonial structures as a targeted effort to humiliate and overshadow Hindu traditions.

The Erasure of Ambe Ma During Navratri Celebrations

On October 14, 2018, a major controversy erupted when Christian missionaries and church entities systematically replaced the sacred image of Goddess Ambe Ma with that of Jesus during Navratri-themed events. Given that Navratri is a pinnacle of Hindu devotion dedicated to the divine feminine power, the removal of the Goddess’s image was seen as a direct act of spiritual erasure. By hijacking the format of the festival while discarding its Hindu soul, these organizations were accused of attempting to deceive the public and sanitize the “pagan” elements of the celebration for their own theological agenda.

Desecration of the Uthralikavu Pooram Traditions in Kerala

On April 30, 2019, the revered Uthralikavu Pooram festival in Kerala, famous for its grand elephant processions, faced a significant controversy when Christian crosses were mounted atop the sacred festival structures carried by the elephants. This intrusion into the aesthetics of a centuries-old temple celebration was met with widespread resentment from devotees. Many saw the placement of crosses on the ceremonial displays as a calculated move to assert Christian dominance over a Hindu space and disrupt the spiritual sanctity of one of Kerala’s most cherished religious traditions.

The fifteen documented incidents between 2018 and 2026 serve as a stark warning of a broader agenda to dismantle the unique religious fabric of the Hindu faith. From the insertion of Santa Claus into the sanctity of Diwali to the mounting of crosses on the sacred elephant processions of Kerala, these acts represent a deliberate provocation and an encroachment upon the sovereign spiritual space of the majority community. When the Sun God, Surya, is replaced by a crucifix, or when Goddess Ambe Ma is discarded in favor of missionary icons, the very soul of the tradition is at stake. To preserve the integrity of Bharat’s civilisation, it is essential to recognise these “inculturation” tactics for what they are: a sophisticated form of cultural erasure. Protecting the purity of Hindu festivals is not just about maintaining rituals; it is about ensuring that the sacred symbols and deities of Sanatana Dharma remain at the heart of the nation’s cultural identity for generations to come.