By Marshall Ramsey, BosNewsLife Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, INDIA (BosNewsLife)– Two Christian house church pastors remeined behind bars Sunday, August 22, a week after they and some members of their congregation were attacked and arrested for preaching the Gospel in India, Christians said.
Pastors Sheathes Pas and Ravi Pas were detained August 15 in town of K.R.Nagar in India’s south-western state of Karnataka, after Hindu militants of Hindu nationalist groups Rashtiya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bajrang Dal, reportedly broke up their during worship service. They also attacked the pastors and worshipers, according to church members.
About 20 congregants, plus the pastors, were taken to the local police station after the attack, said the All India Christian Council, an advocacy group investigating the incident. The members of the congregation were later released, but the pastors were believed to be in jail Sunday, August 22.
MORE ATTACKS
The incident is the latest in a series of attacks against Christians in India.
RSS is a Hindu paramilitary volunteer organization, which initially served as a social and cultural organization in British India with the express purpose of opposing British colonialism in India and Muslim separatism. Bajrang Dal is another militant Hindu organization operating in India, based the ideology of Hindutva, a term used to describe Hindu nationalism.
They and other groups have expressed concerns about the spread of Christianity in India, a predominantly Hindu nation. Christianity is spreading also among Dalits, deemed the lowest caste in India’s ancient system of Hinduism.
All India Christian Council said it work for the release of the pastors. Indian officials could not immediately be reached for comment, but several states have taken meassures against what they view as “forceful conversions” of Hindus, which include preaching to them.
