bow for Hindu idols which they see as ‘gods’, an official told BosNewsLife.
Sajan George, the national president of advocacy group Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) said his group established that over 20 Hindu militants entered Bevainahalli village late Monday, November 6, and "knocked on every door" to see where Christian believers were living.
Those houses where Hindus were living "were safe" from attacks, but homes of Christians were singled out for violence. "The Christians were verbally abused and intimidated" and at least some of them were allegedly "slapped by these rough and rowdy radicals," George and GCIC investigators said.
The Christians were told to come out of their houses and were forced to stand next to the village’s Hindu temple where they were told that "their ancestors were all Hindus and they should now re-convert to Hinduism," the GCIC explained in a statement.
HINDU ‘GODS’
"The Christians were then forced to enter the village temple" where Hindu militants "made them bow to the Hindu gods" and eat food offered to these gods, known as the Prasad. Christians also received a Hindu painted sign, known as "kumkum’, on their foreheads.
Police allegedly refused to intervene and at least one inspector was even watching the forced procedures, GCIC claimed. However in published remarks, Police Inspector K.L. Krishna said he only watched to "ensure the safety of the Christians and personally made certain no violence took place."
This was not an isolated incident. "The attacks on Christians in Karnataka is spiraling upwards," noted George. Last month Christian tribals in Karnataka state were recovering after allegedly being forced to bow down before Hindu idols. Hindu militants reportedly prohibited Pastor Revanna Naik and his congregation from worshiping on Sunday, October 29, and forced them to worship Hindu deities.
CHRISTIANS REFUSE
Three of the 11 Christian families at the church in the remote Kurumaradikere village, in Chitradurga district,refused to bow before the idols or participate in a ceremony that would indicate allegiance to the Hindu gods, despite being persecuted in the village.
"This is the worst form of punishment that could be meted out to these Christians who stood firm in their Christian faith," GCIC’s George said.
There have been also violent attacks against other churches in the region and elsewhere in India, amid apparent concerns among Hindu groups about the spread of Christianity in India. Most of the country’s 1.1 billion people are Hindus. Christians are believed to comprise less than three percent, according to estimates. (With BosNewsLife Research and reports from India).
