Andhra Pradesh, just days after fellow fighters murdered a pastor in the troubled region, an official with close knowledge about the situation said Monday, June 26.
Sajan K George, President of the influential advocacy organization Global Council of Indian Christians(GCIC), told BosNewsLife that Sr.Maria Julia, Sr. Cristilda, Sr. Hema Felicia, and Sr. Reena Francis of the Missionaries of Charity were abducted Sunday, June 25, in the town of Thirupati.
The Missionaries of Charity is a Catholic religious order established in 1950 by Nobel Peace Prize (1979) laureate Mother Teresa to tend to "the poorest of the poor." The order currently consists of over 4,500 nuns and is active in 133 countries.
"According to the information reaching us, the sisters were dragged and beaten up by the Hindu radicals before detaining them, " said George. Their whereabouts were not immediately clear. He said police was investigating amid reports of another attack against nuns at Gandhi Hospital in the town of Secunderabad. They were "persecuted for wearing the cross and praying for the sick," added George. More details were not immediately available.
George identified the militants as belonging to (Sangh) Parivar, a lose family of organizations promoting the spread of Hinduism across India as the only religion in the nation of over 1 billion people. There were no immediate reactions from Parivar officials, but militants in the state have made it clear they are concerned over what they call the "forced conversions" carried out by missionaries and other Christians.
PERSECUTION "ALARMING"
Christians have denied the accusations. George said attacks against the nuns comes at a time when, "The level of persecution in India is rising at an alarming" phase. "The state machinery is not serous in providing justice to the persecuted Christians in India and especially for the Christians in the state of Andhra Pradesh," he added.
Earlier this month Pastor Prem Kumar of the town of Nizamabad was murdered, while three other pastors, identified only as Jacob, David and Aharon, were "beaten up for sharing the love and peace [of Christ]," he said.
Elsewhere in India, Hindu militants on Sunday, June 18, reportedly broke into Hossana church in the area of Kosa Nala in Chattisgarh state, attacking Pastor David Raj and other church members, including his wife. They allegedly placed a rubber tire around the pastor’s neck and attempted to burn him to death.
MOB BEATEN
After the mob beat them, Raj and his wife Ratna Jyoti were arrested and charged with attempted forced conversion and promoting enmity between religious groups.
Compass Direct news agency quoted local sources as saying that two women were tricked into signing a statement accusing Raj and his wife of offering them cash and a motorcycle if they converted to Christianity. The couple was eventually released on bail.
"The Christian workers are intimidated and persecuted for their faith," George stressed. He said the situation would "haunt and embarrass the government of India for a long time to come" as it just expressed "commitment to the International Human Rights Council formed in Geneva this month." George told BosNewsLife earlier he would meet UN officials and US State Department representatives to discuss the persecution of Christians in India.
INDIA GOVERNMENT
He also urged Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to speed up efforts to protect Christians in states that are ruled by the radical Hindu-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies. "Church leaders have cautioned the [national] Government that unless urgent steps are taken…the impression will go that there are two sets of laws operating in the country’s criminal justice system; one operating in areas ruled by the BJP and another Constitutional law operative in the rest of India."
He also expressed concern over what he called the "unabashed violence against poor and illiterate Tribals in remote villages who profess the Christian faith or are even remotely hospitable to a visiting pastor."
George noted that "violence is no longer confined to beating up the man or demolition of the family hut…It is now graduating to molesting of women, parading them in the streets and finally subjecting them to gang rape as a method of teaching them a lesson and other followers of Christ." (With BosNewsLife’s Stefan J. Bos and reports from India).
