India, Dec. 27 -- On Thursday, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi attended the morning Christmas service at the Cathedral Church of the Redemption in New Delhi, sending out a message of communal harmony and peace. In his Christmas greetings, he said: "The service reflected the timeless message of love, peace and compassion. May the spirit of Christmas inspire harmony and goodwill in our society." PM Modi was keeping up a tradition he began two years ago, when he attended Easter celebrations at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Delhi. That year, he also hosted leaders of the Christian community on Christmas. This message of harmony must guide not only his supporters but also State action against vigilantes stoking polarisation in the name of faith. Proactive action is an imperative now because of the concerted effort to disturb social peace ahead of Christmas this year. In Assam and Chhattisgarh, vigilantes claiming allegiance to the Sangh Parivar sought to harass Christians and disrupt celebrations on Christmas and the days preceding it. A video from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, where a visually impaired woman attending a Christmas programme is seen to be publicly abused by a BJP office bearer, was particularly disturbing. In Chhattisgarh, digital posters were circulated, calling for a bandh on Christmas Eve. Thankfully, the day passed relatively incident-free, but the fear and tension triggered by Hindutva vigilante groups deserve condemnation and action. The task is both legal and political. Christians constitute less than 3% of India's population, and are mostly concentrated in states such as Kerala and in the Northeast. In northern and central India, they are a tiny minority that is visible mostly when vigilantes harass them. Such actions of violence - these have been going on for some time in the name of preventing conversion with vigilantes known to trespass on worship places and even harass clergy and laity - disrupt social harmony and impinge on India's global image. Christianity in India dates back to the pre-colonial era; the faith is not identified with proselytisation, but modern and relatively affordable educational institutions and hospitals established and managed by the clergy. It has to be restated that the Constitution guarantees the freedom to profess, propagate, and practise any religion of one's choice. Though there is no national anti-conversion law, some states have introduced legislation to prevent religious conversions carried out by "force, fraud, or inducements". Vigilante groups have sought to weaponise these laws and harass members of non-Hindu faiths. The State must act against such individuals/groups so that it deters others from encroaching on what is the remit of the State. Parallelly, political action must be taken so that the vigilantes become aware of the red lines. Political outreach can also help to heal the scars of attacks on individuals and worship places. On a transactional note, the BJP should know that the vigilantes are disrupting its political outreach. The party has pitched a positive message of harmony in the Northeastern states - Christians are in a majority in Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Nagaland - and in Kerala, where Christian voters are electorally significant. It has inducted representatives from the community to the Union Cabinet to signal a politics of inclusion. The BJP leadership - and the government - should not allow fringe elements to overshadow the PM's message of harmony and India's civilisational ethos, which is vasudhaiva kutumbakam (the world is one family)....