attacks against Christians carried out by Hindu militants, BosNewsLife monitored.
In one of the latest incidents, youth of the militant Hindu group Bajrang Dal attacked Christian
believers in the Singroli area of the southern state of Madhya Pradesh Tuesday, January 2, said the All India Christian Council (AICC), a major advocacy group.
The attacks included violence against local Christian leader Nahum Das and his guests, the AICC said. "They damaged their four-wheeler and beat them up, causing serious internal injuries." Police allegedly refused to arrest those responsible and "took all the guests from New Delhi into custody."
MORE VIOLENCE
In the neighboring northern Uttar Pradesh state, Hindu militants beat four pastors and vandalized a vehicle, investigators said. Christians were also prevented from building churches this New Year, including in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, BosNewsLife learned.
In the morning of January 2, "Hindu fanatics" attacked the building site of a church at Rodham of Ananthapur district in Andhra Pradesh, "AICC claimed. Local leaders of two Hindu groups, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) "mobilized more than 250 people to protest against the building of a church in Rodham. The land was purchased for the church building by Good Shepherd Community Church (GSCC)."
The demonstrators raised slogans against Christianity and Pastor Eliphaz, who they reportedly accused of "converting people to Christianity" in the area. They demanded to stop constructing the church as it is about 70 meters (200 feet) from a Hindu temple.
MEDA REPORTS
Human rights watchers say the violence has been often encourages by media reports, including in the state of Chhattisgarh, where since Christmas newspapers condemned Christian missionary workers in the area. "Some Catholics in Raipur archdiocese stayed away from Christmas programs, fearing violence or harassment by right-wing Hindu groups," the AICC said.
In addition ‘anti-conversion’ legislation has made it more difficult for evangelical Christians to
pray openly or preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, church watchers say. One of the latest states introducing what critics call an "anti-Christian law" was Himachal Pradesh. Missionary workers and church leaders, ushered in the New Year there amid fears the law banning "forced" religious conversions could be used,"to appease radical Hindus at the expense of the Christian community," said the Global Council of Indian Christians(GCIC).
News about the New Year violence and pressure on Christians came shortly after Christmas in India was marked by violence in several regions. In the state of Orissa militants set on fire a church in the Boriguma area of Koraput District on December 23, while in Chhattisgarh state church members and students of a Bible school were attacked for singing Christmas carols, the GCIC said.
‘RE-CONVERSION’ CEREMONY
In addition BJP parliamentarians reportedly led a "re-conversion" ceremony on Christmas Eve, with over 100 Christians allegedly "changing" their "religion" into Hinduism in Chhattisgarh.
The developments have been linked to concern among Hindu hard-line groups about the spread of Christianity among impoverished groups including ‘Dalits’, the lowest caste in India’s ancient system of Hinduism. Several Dalits have been killed by militants in recent months, often by militants of ‘higher’ castes, several reports say.
Christians comprise over 2 percent of India’s predominantly Hindu population of nearly 1.1 billion people, according to the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The Indian government has said it does not tolerate religious extremism, but its influence seems limited on the local level of several states. (With BosNewsLife Research and reports from India).
