allegedly attacked him in jail in the southern state of Karnataka.
The All India Christian Council (AICC), which represents mission and church organizations in India, said prisoner Rajan, who worked as a trader, was attacked by about 15 activists of the Hindu group Bajrang Dal on August 4.
His injuries were only discovered after family members visited him, added AICC in a statement monitored by BosNewsLife Tuesday, August 15. "When his two sons visited him in jail, they found him badly injured. Still the jail authorities refused to take him to hospital," the AICC said. "In spite of Rajan saying that he was ready to identify the attackers, the authorities did not register any case against them, " the group added.
Pressured by Christian leaders, Rajan was transferred to what is known as the ‘Mysore Sub-jail’, where he has been recovering from the ordeal, the AICC said. The attack has underscored concern over the treatment of Christian prisoners in India, BosNewsLife established.
HINDU GROUPS
Human rights watchers have linked the attack to anger among Hindu groups over his Christian mission work among Dalits in Karnataka’s Mudubidrai town region where he was involved in establishing the Dalit Education Center.
Under India’s ancient system of Hinduism, Dalits are often seen as "the lowest caste" and often referred to as "the untouchables" by Hindu leaders. Yet church groups have reported a growing interest among Dalits in Christianity, angering Hindu groups who fear to lose control over this large group.
Hindu organizations allegedly influenced police to imprison Rajan earlier this year on charges of forcing his wife to commit suicide. His wife committed suicide several months ago after Rajan fired a worker from his company. Rajan, who married three years ago, reportedly claimed he dismissed the worker after discovering the man had an affair with his wife.
SECRET AFFAIR
Rajan’s supporters say Hindu extremists misused the situation to allege that Rajan had an affair with another woman and forced his wife to commit suicide. The reported violence in prison comes amid growing pressure on Christians not to preach to non-Christians and halt mission activities, investigators reported.
On the day Rajan was attacked, the Supreme Court of India ruled that police do not require warrants to arrest and detain anyone accused of involvement in religious conversion activities.
"Clearly this ruling opens the door for police with ‘Hindutva’ (Hindu nationalism) sympathies to act as a Hindu Taliban," said Elizabeth Kendal who researches persecution trends for the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission.
CORRUPT POLICE
"It also opens the door for Hindutva forces to employ corrupt and sympathetic police as their agents of persecution," she added. "Nuns, pastors, bishops and evangelists, as well as Christian aid workers, teachers and social workers, are all immediately at risk of arrest and imprisonment because of their Christian witness," Kendal said.
"In fact every Christian, actively witnessing or not, is at risk from hostile elements that may exploit the opportunity to bring false charges against them, inspired by a variety of motives, in the same manner that the blasphemy law is exploited for personal gain in Pakistan," the researcher said.
In Karnataka, one of the states where investigators claim pressure is mounting on Christian groups to stop preaching, the Karnataka High Court also overturned a judgment that had quashed a complaint against Pastor Paulraj Raju, of Mangalwarapete village, for forcibly converting Hindus.
LATEST SETBACK
It was the latest setback for Raju, who leads the King Jesus Church, part of a Christian mission group Harvest India. He had been attacked in the past.
Last year a Sunday worship service of about 60 people meeting in the home of Pastor Raju in Mangalwarapete village near the Mysore district in Karnataka state was interrupted by Hindu militants, BosNewsLife learned.
Pastor Raju, his wife and other church members were badly beaten, and some women were sexually harassed, several sources said. Several other Christians, including priests and a Christian mother, were reportedly attacked in Karnataka in recent weeks for their involvement in evangelical work. (With BosNewsLife Chief International Correspondent Stefan J. Bos, BosNewsLife Research and reports from India).
