Christian violence. Since last week, Hindu militants in the southern state of Karnataka reportedly tortured two young women and a minor who converted to Christianity in an attempt to "reconvert" them to Hinduism. Their Hindu parents allegedly refused to intervene.
The incident took place in Guruparahalli area, eight miles (12 kilometers) from Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka, December 14, Christian rights activists said.
Jyothi, 20, Nandhini, 18, and Jalaja, 16, all sisters, converted from a Brahmin -Hindu background family and were threatened abused and tortured to stop worshipping Christ," said Sajan K. George, national president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC).
ANNOYED BY CONVERSIONS
He said troubles began when a man, identified as Ramesh, and a group of about a dozen others on December 13 were "annoyed by the conversion of the three sisters and entered their home."
They "were surprised to see Nandhini, one of the sisters, was reading the Bible. The fanatics…told the girls to stop their Christian activities immediately and said they would come back the same evening to verify," George added.
When they returned, militants discovered the Bible verse “My grace is sufficient for you” placed on the table along with the Bible and other Christian literature. They reportedly threw the Bible, Christian devotional cassettes and a calendar with Christian pictures on the floor while damaging the Bible.
The militants apparently replaced the Christian calendars with that of a Hindu God named ‘Sai Baba’, and compelled them to worship the Hindu picture as a sign of conversion of faith. They also asked them to apply the Hindu sign on their forehead, George alleged.
BEATEN UP "MERCILESSLY"
Because the three sisters refused to do so, they were "beaten up mercilessly," he said. "The youngest sister was pulled and dragged by her hair and banged against the wall while the other two sisters were beaten so much that they fainted. One of them was an asthmatic patient. It was sad to know that their Hindu parents did not react to the harsh behavior of the radicals against their daughters."
Hours later, the militants left and the local church managed to file a complaint against the Hindu gang at a local police station, but it was not clear whether any arrests had been made.
There have been similar attacks elsewhere in India, which also included the stoning of Christian missionaries and the rape of a pastor’s wife, GCIC and other groups said.
In the northern state of Haryana on Sunday, December 17, 50 Hindu militants reportedly attacked a Christian couple, Rakesh Sen and Suman Sen, for their involvement in the New Life Fellowship church in their home in Lakarpur of Faridabad district.
MORE HINDU VIOLENCE
Dozens of other militants also attacked a pastor in the central state of Chhattisgarh on the same day, accusing him of "forced conversions," Indian Christians said. They reportedly attacked Pastor Philip Jagdalla as he returned to his home after teaching Sunday school at his church.
In another incident a crowd of angry parents reportedly attacked Archbishop Bernard Moras of Bangalore on December 18, smashing the windshield of his car. The archbishop was visiting a Catholic school complex and church vandalized by a mob of over 100 people the previous night in the suburb of Jalahalli, a town north of Bangalore.
Protestors demanded the arrest of Father Mathew Theruvanmoola, principal of St. Claret High School, on allegedly trumped up charges of sexual misconduct and for distributing Bibles and converting students. Thousands of people reportedly ransacked the school.
It came on the heels of an attack in Madhya Pradesh state’s troubled Jhabua district where church leaders and missionaries have increasingly become the target of Hindu fundamentalist groups, investigators said.
MILITANTS ATTACK PASTORS
In a statement to BosNewsLife, the Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) with website www.persecution.org said it learned that two Pastors were attacked with bamboo sticks by about 10 activists of the Hindu extremist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on November 30.
Hatey Gundiya received injuries in his hands and feet, Gokul Gundiya was hurt in his eyes, ICC said. The incidents come at a time of growing opposition to the spread of Christinaity in India, a predominantly Hindu nation of about 1.1 billion people.
Analysts say the incidents especially occur in rural areas outside main cities. Churches in large cities often enjoy at least some protection as many international news organizations are located there. (With BosNewsLife Research and reports from India).
