Twenty Pastors attacked in Andhra Pradesh

Twenty Baptist pastors were attacked allegedly by Hindu extremists in Andhra Pradesh Wednesday.

 

About 50 fundamentalists raided a prayer meeting at a church in Maheshwaram Mandal in Hyderabad.

 

They attacked the pastors with sticks and rods and verbally abused them.

 

The mob also accused the church leaders of forcing people to convert to Christianity.

 

Seven of the pastors were rushed to hospital as they had sustained injuries.

 

A case has been registered with the police in this regard.

 

All India Christian Council (AICC) said that the victims were all from Telugu Baptist Church and had gathered for a regular monthly prayer meeting.

 

“We are deeply concerned that anti-Christian attacks are taking place in the state. After Karnataka, such violence against Christians has started in Andhra Pradesh,” said John Dayal, AICC secretary general.

 

The AICC said that up to 1,000 local Christians are planning a peaceful rally to protest against the attack.

 

Source: au.christiantoday.com

Twenty Christian pastors were beaten by suspected Hindu radicals in India's southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday after radicals accused the pastors of forcefully converting Hindus to Christianity.

As a result of the attack, seven of the 20 pastors required hospitalization because of the severity of the injuries they sustained. Christians have staged peaceful protests to encourage local authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Twenty pastors from Telugu Baptist Church gathered at a church in Hyderabad, a major city located in Andhra Pradesh, for their monthly prayer meeting on Wednesday. According to witnesses, about 50 Hindu radicals broke into the church building and began "brutally attacking" the pastors with sticks and metal rods, causing severe injuries. Six of the pastors were dragged into the streets by the enraged mob, where they were beaten unconscious and verbally abused by their attackers. Seven of the pastors, identified by BosNewsLife as Thimothy, Kumar, Krupaiah, Roberts, Rosaiah, Lazarus and Thinothy, were rushed to the hospital for serious injuries.

The mob of Hindu radicals is suspected to be connected with the Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). RSS had no immediate comment regarding the attack when the right-wing group was contacted by media sources.

This vicious attack comes weeks after another Hindu nationalist group, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), lost control of the government of Andhra Pradesh's neighboring state, Karnataka. Under BJP's rule, an atmosphere of impunity for Christian persecutors allowed Karnataka to become one of the most dangerous places for Christians to live in India. Christians in Andhra Pradesh are concerned that the persecutors in Karnataka are now moving into their state.

"We are deeply concerned that anti-Christian attacks are taking place in [Andhra Pradesh]. After Karnataka, such violence against Christians has started in Andhra Pradesh," John Dayal, secretary general of the All India Christian Counsel (AICC), told media sources after the attack.  

Fearing the creation of an atmosphere of impunity similar to the one that exists in Karnataka, Christians in Andhra Pradesh are staging peaceful protests, demanding the government to take swift action to bring the perpetrators to justice. While condemning the attack itself, the AICC has called on the local government to take "stern action" against the culprits.

"Attacks on Christians in southern India, especially those on Christian leaders, have unfortunately been increasing over the past year," says William Stark, International Christian Concern's regional manager for Africa. "Members of Hindu nationalist groups like RSS and BJP use India's anti-forced conversion laws as a pretext to curb the spread of Christianity by intimidating Christian leaders and terrorizing new converts.

"In areas where these groups hold power in the local government, Christians are allowed to be attacked with impunity. For years, local authorities acquiesced and sometimes actively encouraged this sort of behavior. Decisive action must be taken. Such heinous acts must not be allowed to spread to new areas in India."

Tripura: Christian man beheaded for not converting to Hinduism

A 35-year-old Christian man was beheaded for refusing to convert to Hinduism. Indian media that covered the affair revealed that the man, Tapas Bin, was killed by his own father-in-law in the village of Teliamura (West Tripura District), in the north-eastern part of the country, where the victim's body was found a few days ago in a stream.

According to police, three years ago Bin married Jentuly, the daughter of 55-year-old Gobinda Jamatiya, the member of a local tribal religion. The Christian man had been a private tutor of Gobinda's daughter, and the couple had a one-year-old son.

Since the marriage, Gobinda had been pressuring Bin to abandon Christianity and join his tribal religion. When Bin persistently refused, Gobinda decided to kill his son-in-law with the help of an ojha (shaman), Krishnapada Jamatiya (no relation), and dispose of the body.

Police arrested the 42-year-old shaman but were unable to find Gobinda, who works at the West Tripura Science and Technology Department, and is thought to be on the run.

Khrishnapada confessed to the crime, providing detailed information about the killing. For example, he said that before the assassination, Gobinda and he had performed a puja, a ritual prayer.

Bin's wife Jentuly told police that her father did not recognise their marriage and had pressured Bin to convert. What is more, "My father might kill me and my son too," she said.

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Manipur Christian body slams eviction

IMPHAL: The All Manipur Christian Organization (Amco), while empathizing with the victims of the alleged forced eviction of 26 families and three churches from a locality here, has called upon the OkramIbobi Singh government to come up with a solution for the affected people. Amco is the umbrella body of various church organizations of the state.

The state government, with the purpose of setting up a five-star hotel, demolished the houses and the churches of Kabo Leikai a few days ago. Also known as the Naga river lane, Kabo Leikai is located adjacent to the state-run Hotel Imphal.

A joint action committee (JAC) set up against the eviction has decided not to accept any compensation from the government and instead demanded immediate reconstruction of the destroyed houses. The pressure group appealed to civil bodies, philanthropic organizations, human rights activists and well wishers to reach out to the victims.

It is learnt that the victims have already moved the court to restore their homesteads at Kabo Leikai. Some of the affected families are putting up at hotels, others at makeshift camps at the spot, while the remaining are taking shelter at their relatives and friends' houses, Amco informed.

"The government's move of evicting the people from Kabo Leikai reflects its insensitivity, if not of arrogance," Amco said in a statement, adding, "Enough time should've been given by the government to the victims to ensure they get compensation or relocation assistance even if the eviction was inevitable."

Amco said the government served a notice on May 18 and asked the people to shift out the following day, which was a Sunday. The eviction drive was on May 20. This reflects the government's unsympathetic attitude and religious intolerance, Amco said. "The eviction drive was carried out despite fervent pleas by the victims to give them a few more days," the statement added.

Amco alleged that the state government demolished three churches but left the shrine of another religion in the same area untouched. "It is unbecoming of the government to show such open discrimination against a religious group when we live in secular country," the statement said.

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Two more held in Staines case

The CBI on Friday arrested two more persons in the case of the killing of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons in Odisha’s Keonjhar district in January 1999.

Ghanshyam Mahanta and Ranjan Mahanta were arrested from their village in Keonjhar by CBI sleuths and brought to Bhubaneswar, where they were produced before a designated CBI court, which remanded them in CBI custody for three days.

Staines and his two sons, Philip and Timothy, were burnt alive on the night of January 22, 1999 by a mob while they were asleep in their station wagon at Manoharpur village.

As many as 18 persons, including the main accused Dara Singh, were arrested while three were still absconding. With the arrest of the two on Friday, one more person is still at large.

A Bhubaneswar court awarded the death sentence to Dara Singh and life imprisonment to 12 others in 2003.

The Orissa High Court subsequently commuted Dara Singh’s death sentence to life imprisonment in 2005. It retained life imprisonment for Mahendra Hembram and acquitted 11 others.

The Supreme Court upheld the Orissa High Court order in 2011.

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Orissa: 5 years after anti-Christian pogrom, little justice for victims

Five years after an anti-Christian pogrom in the eastern Indian state of Orissa left 100 dead and over 50,000 homeless, justice has been denied to victims because of police inaction and the intimidation of witnesses, according to John Dayal, the lay Catholic journalist who serves as secretary-general of the All India Christian Council.

According to Dayal, Christians in Orissa have filed 3,232 criminal complaints, of which only 1,541 were accepted by police and only 828 resulted in a police “first information report.” Trials followed in 327 cases, which resulted in 169 judicial acquittals affecting 1,597 defendants. In another 86 trials, defendants were convicted of minor offenses.

Acquittals “often occur because the key witnesses are threatened, intimidated, or afraid,” the Fides news agency reported.

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Hindu extremists attack Bible College in Kerala

New Hope Bible College, Palunda, was organising their annual Bible convention on 11th April 2013. While the meeting was on, a group of about 150 persons belonging to Hindu Aikyavedi, a Hindu fundamentalist organisation barged into the meeting venue and started attacking the believers and organisers.

They were accusing the organisers of forcefully converting backward community people to Christianity and instructed the organisers to send back the believers belonging to the backward community. The police team from Nilambur lead by Circle Inspector Mr. P Chandran reached the place and had discussions with the attackers and the organisers. After discussion, the organisers agreed to send back the people as demanded by the radical Hindus.

After reaching the agreement with the organisers, the Hindu radicals started attacking the press photographer Mr Rajesh of local channel “Swantham”. The police intervened and rescued Mr Rajesh. He was then taken to a private hospital in Chungathara and was later shifted to another private hospital in Nilambur.

After sending Mr Rajesh to the hospital, the police then started to send the believers to wayanad, the Hindu radicals started stoning the bus and damaged the glasses. The police had to resort to a mild lathi charge to control the situation.

Source : GCIC

Islamist group tells Christian missionaries: leave Kashmir or ‘suffer the consequences’

A spokesman for the United Jihad Council, a militant Islamist organization, said that Christian missionaries must leave the northern Indian region of Kashmir or “suffer the consequences.”

97% of Kashmir’s population is Muslim.

“Christian missionaries are exploiting poor and needy people by offering them financial packages for changing their religion,” charged Syed Sadaqat Hussain.

“Islam is the religion of peace and harmony that provides complete protection to minorities,” he added. “However, [the] anti-Islam activities of a few people cannot be tolerated.”

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Priest attacked and beaten in Pune

Father Wilson Patole seeks police protection to avoid future attacks.

A priest and several people gathered for prayers were beaten up by a mob of 20-25 people on the premises of a church in Pimprigaon on Sunday. Protesting against the church that has recently come up in the area, the mob allegedly asked the priest to close down the place and move elsewhere with immediate effect. The priest has demanded police security to counter any future attack.

The incident occurred around 6 pm on Sunday and a complaint was lodged by the priest late in the evening with Pimpri police chowky.

Father Wilson Patole, 48, was left with a swollen eye after a man punched him on the face "several times". He also suffered bruises on his shoulders. After targeting Patole, the mob attacked the rest of the around 40-50 people who had gathered at the church for evening prayers. The mob reportedly left after the priest called up the police, who arrived 15 minutes later.

"Around 6 pm, the mob barged into the church premises and smashed the banners put up inside. At that time, prayers were going on. The mob then stood outside the church premises," said Father Patole, adding: "They called us at the gate of the church for discussion. As soon as we reached there, they started beating us up. They were not carrying sticks or arms."

Father Patole said the mob was demanding that the prayer be stopped and the church closed down. "They did not give us any notice. If they do not want us here, they should have told us. We would have moved out," he said.

Father Patole alleged that though there were 20-25 people who attacked them, the Pimpri police lodged complaint against only two. "First they refused to lodge a complaint. Then they lodged a complaint against only two persons," he said.

Father Patole said: "We are seeking action in the matter so that such attacks do not occur in future. We do not want revenge. We are peace-loving people. The police should not arrest the persons involved, but only take deterrent action."

When contacted, DCP Shahaji Umap said: "A non-cognisable offence against two persons has been registered with the Pimpri police. We have not arrested them, but have taken preventive action."

As for providing security, Umap said: "If the priest approaches us, we will take appropriate step in the matter. There is nothing political in this...the local people were objecting to the church coming up in their area."

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Press Release: USCIRF’s 2013 Annual Report on the State of International Religious Freedom Identifies World’s Worst Violators. India placed on Tier 2 list.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 30, 2013| By USCIRF

Washington, D.C. -- The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent federal advisory body created by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) to monitor religious freedom abuses abroad, today released its 2013 Annual Report.  The Report highlights the status of religious freedom globally and identifies those governments that are the most egregious violators. 

“The state of international religious freedom is increasingly dire due to the presence of forces that fuel instability.  These forces include the rise of violent religious extremism coupled with the actions and inactions of governments.   Extremists target religious minorities and dissenters from majority religious communities for violence, including physical assaults and even murder.  Authoritarian governments also repress religious freedom through intricate webs of discriminatory rules, arbitrary requirements and draconian edicts,” said Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, USCIRF’s Chair.

The 2013 Annual Report recommends that the Secretary of State re-designate the following eight nations as “countries of particular concern” or CPCs: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Uzbekistan.  USCIRF finds that seven other countries meet the CPC threshold and should be so designated:  Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam.

“The Annual Report ultimately is about people and how their governments treat them. Violations affect members of diverse religious communities around the world, be they Rohinghya Muslims in Burma, Coptic Christians in Egypt, Buddhists, Uighur Muslims and Falun Gong in China, Baha’is in Iran, Ahmadis and Christians in Pakistan, or Muslims in Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan and in non-Muslim nations like Russia.  We recommend that the White House adopt a whole-of-government strategy to guide U.S. religious freedom promotion and that Secretary of State Kerry promptly designate CPCs, before currently designated actions expire later this year,” said Lantos Swett.

In Burma, ongoing political reforms have yet to significantly improve the situation for freedom of religion and belief.  Sectarian violence and severe abuses of religious freedom and human dignity targeting ethnic minority Christians and Muslims continue to occur with impunity.

In Egypt, despite some progress during a turbulent political transition, the government has failed or been slow to protect from violence religious minorities, particularly Coptic Christians. The government continues to prosecute, convict, and imprison individuals for “contempt” or “defamation” of religion, and the new constitution includes several problematic provisions relevant to religious freedom. 

In both Pakistan and Nigeria, religious extremism and impunity have factored into unprecedented levels of violence that threaten the long-term viability of both nations.  Targeted violence against Shi’i Muslims in Pakistan is pervasive, while repeated Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria exacerbate sectarian tensions.

“Many of these countries top the U.S. foreign policy agenda, and religion is a core component in their makeup.  Successful U.S. foreign policy recognizes the critical role religious freedom plays in each of these nations and prioritizes accordingly. Religious freedom is both a pivotal human right under international law and a key factor that helps determine whether a nation experiences stability or chaos,” said Lantos Swett. 

USCIRF also announced the placement of eight nations on its Tier 2 List for 2013.  The Tier 2 category replaces the Watch List designation USCIRF previously used.  These nations are: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Cuba, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Laos and Russia. USCIRF found the violations these governments engage in or tolerate are particularly severe, and meet at least one criterion, but not all, of IRFA’s three-fold “systematic, ongoing, egregious” CPC standard. 

In Russia, religious freedom conditions suffered major setbacks in the context of growing human rights abuses. In Indonesia, the country’s rich tradition of religious tolerance and pluralism is seriously threatened by arrests of individuals the government considers religiously deviant and violence perpetrated by extremist groups. Federal and provincial officials, police, courts, and religious leaders often tolerate and abet the conduct of religious freedom abusers.

The USCIRF report also highlights the status of religious freedom in countries/regions that do not meet the Tier 1 (CPC) or Tier 2 threshold. These include: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Ethiopia, Turkey, Venezuela and Western Europe. The Annual Report also addresses in-depth thematic issues:  Constitutional Changes; Severe Religious Freedom Violations by Non-State Actors; Laws against Blasphemy and Defamation of Religions; Imprisonment of Conscientious Objectors; Legal Retreat from Religious Freedom in Post-Communist Countries; Kidnapping and Forced Religious De-Conversion in Japan; and Religious Freedom Issues in International Organizations.

ABOUT USCIRF

USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government advisory body with its commissioners appointed by the President and the leadership of both political parties in Congress.  The 1998 International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) requires that the United States annually designate as CPCs countries whose governments have engaged in or tolerated systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of the universal right to freedom of religion or belief.  IRFA also tasks USCIRF with assessing conditions in these and other countries and making recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress.

In accordance with IRFA, USCIRF uses international standards, as found in UN conventions and declarations, for assessing religious freedom conditions.

To interview a USCIRF Commissioner please contact Samantha Schnitzer at (202) 786-0613 or sschnitzer@uscirf.gov. 

 

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Rector murder: Christian community seeks answers

BANGALORE: It has been 23 days since the murder of Father KJ Thomas, rector of St Peter's pontifical seminary. With no word from the city police on who perpetrated the killing, a prayer meeting was held by the Christian voice forum at the St Francis Xavier Cathedral ground here on Tuesday, to appeal for speedy investigation by the city crime branch.

The meeting was solely held to "assert more pressure on the Bangalore police authorities to take action as soon as possible," stated Amith Nigli, forum member.

"It is very shocking that someone could enter a religious place and commit such a heinous crime on a priest," said Father Bernard Moraes, Archbishop of the Church of Karnataka, "The culprit must be found at the earliest, or it is going to give rise to many rumours and suspicions which we do not need right now."

Father Ronnie Prabhu said: "It isn't right to blame them (police) completely. Everything takes its own time, but we do need immediate answers and that's our only request to the authorities."

President of Karnataka region catholic bishops' conference (KRCBC), Father Archibald Gonsalves asked the crowd to fight for justice constantly. "Why is it taking as long as 23 days for them to catch the culprits?" he asked. "It was not just death that took him away, it was a murder and we need our answers."

A memorandum was issued by the KRCBC to be presented to the state governor seeking speedy investigation.

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Christian victims tell People’s Tribunal about arrests on false charges by highly communalized Karnataka police

PRESS STATEMENT

Christian victims tell People’s Tribunal about arrests on false charges by highly communalized Karnataka police

Sangh Parivar hoodlums had free hand in assault on pastors, demolishing churches during 2012-2013: Uttara Canara worst impacted.

Benguluru, April 19, 2013

More than 70 Christian Pastors told a People’s Tribunal in Bengaluru city today how a highly communalized Karnataka police arrested many of them and kept them confined in police stations or jails on false charges in league with hoodlums of the Sangh Parivar. Women too were also not spared. The Women victims broke down as they narrated the violence against them.

The victims remained in confinement from overnight to several days, the distinguished jury consisting of eminent social activists heard in the Tribunal organized by the All India Christian Council to assess the victimization and persecution of Christian pastors and attacks on churches in the state. It was quite clear from the narrations that Uttara Canara was the foci of the anti-Christian violence, but incidents of persecution were reported from every one of the 30 districts of the state during 2012 and in the first three months of 2013.

The “People’s Hearing on Persecution of Christians in Karnataka” was held at the Institute of Agriculture Technologists in the city. The Jury consisted of Mrs Brinda Adige, the celebrated Founder member of Global Concerns India, Advocate Omkar KB, and Mr K L Ashok, general secretary of Komu Souhardha Vedhike [Communal Harmony Front].and Mr. Mohamed Rafi Ahmed,General Secretay Forum for Democracy and Communal Amity.

The Public Hearing comes in the wake of  the statement by former Karnataka High court judge Michael Saldanha that Karnataka had witnessed 1,000 cases of persecution of Christians in  three years between 2010 and 2012 – an average of more than  300 a year. This was the situation in 2012 also.  Most of the victims remain in great fear. Of the 200 persons requested to come to the hearing, only 80 agreed to come. But all of them were afraid of what would happen to them if they spoke in public at the hearing. Many asked the Christian Council how they would be protected if anything happened to them after they gave their evidence.

From the statements of the victim, it is clear that the police have been heavily penetrated and politicized under the BJP rule of Mr. B S Yediyurappa and of his successors, while local thugs and Sangh activists across the state have been encouraged to take the law into their own hands. Many villages show a sharp increase in intolerance, encouraged by the inaction of police forces. Incidents of intolerance included Sangh Parivar members goading villages to stop the construction of churches, demolition of existing structures and stopping people from preaching or peacefully distributing literature. Witnesses identified their attackers as belonging to RSS, the Bajrang Dal and some local frontal organizations. 

Justice was procured only after the victims approached the local and higher courts. The High Court had to intervene in one case to allow the construction of a religious structure.

The victims were, in essence, suffered four types of persecution – those who were imprisoned, those who had their churches destroyed, those who were physically assaulted and beaten up by mobs, and others who were stopped from praying or preaching.

Speaking on behalf of the jury, Advocate Omkar said it was clear the machinery of the state was used by the radical political elements to harass the Christian community and specially the pastors and religious leaders. There was a well-organized anti-Christian violence in 2008. It seems there is still a strong nexus between the police, the local village chiefs, tehsildhars against the community at the behest of the Sangh Parival. The state is also fully culpable. Advocate Omkar said the protectors had become the attackers.

Mr. K. Ashok called upon the community to make common cause with the civil society and progressive forces in asserting fundamental rights including freedom of faith. He also called for legal literacy in the community.

Mr. Mohamed Rafi Ahmed said it was heart rendering to hear the tales of horror and the many incidents of police complicity the Bajrang Dal and others. The Government must take notice of it. India has a secular Constitution and it is the right of every citizen to practice,  profess and propagate his faith. He asked the victims to stand for firm and pursue justice with the perseverance

The All India Christian Council expressed its deep regret at the inaction of the State Government and the State Minority Commission in coming to the rescue of the persecuted Christians.  The Council demanded that the Governor and Chief Minister send out categorical instructions to every police station to take notice of such incidents of violence and take stern action the aggressors.

The Council has also demanded a single-window redressal  system by the State Director General of Police to  listen to complaints because local police station are not recording the incidents, said Dr. John Dayal, Member, National Integration Council and Secretary General of All India Christian Council.

The testimonies have been recorded and are available for the press and the government. Copies will be sent to the concerned departments and a copy will be sent to the Chief Justice of Karnataka.

For further details, please contact,

Rev. Kumar Swamy, National Secretary for Public Affairs aicc, 09980917316

Rev Anand Kumar, State coordinator aicc 9739810548

and Dr John Dayal, Secretary General, aicc, 09811021072

Christians targeted in the valley again

Srinagar - Police in Srinagar, capital of Indian Kashmir, rejected as "false and misleading", a complaint by some mullahs who accused the Christians of "conversion of children." As sources of Fides report, the complaint stated that the foreign staff that arrived at "Agape House," a social and educational center run by the Christian faithful Indians, "were trying to convert Muslim children to Christianity."

The local police, after having carried out the investigation, dismissed the complaint of the mullahs. Fides sources note that the parents and relatives of children – all Muslims – who attend the center have expressed strong support towards Christians, praising their work in the field of education and denying any wrongdoing.In previous months some mullahs had taken some children who attended "Agape House" to join them to their "madrasa" , even if the parents did not agree.

The Christian faithful who run "Agape House" - part of the "Agape Mission" initiated in 2006 by a community of Christians of various denominations - were also threatened and intimidated with night raids. Some extremists also set the house on fire, and were stopped by the police.

In the past, the same accusation of "proselytizing of children" had hit C.M. Khanna, Protestant Pastor of the "All Saints Church" in Srinagar. The Pastor was arrested and an Islamic court, after a summary trial found him guilty . The High Court of Kashmir had then canceled the charges, releasing him .The Kashmir region is 99% Muslim. Some local Islamic organizations would like it to be an independent Islamic state, governed by the Sharia law.

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False complaint against Christians rejected

SRINAGAR, India) - The mullahs of Srinagar in Kashmir lodged a police complaint saying that many foreign visitors come to the Agape Home and try to convert children to Christianity in Shivapura area of Srinagar. The local newspapers also printed this false story the next day. But after proper investigation, the police have rejected the complaint by the mullahs. A case was also filed against the mullahs by the victims. Every child’s parents and relatives, including friends, had come to the police station to make statements, demonstrating strong support towards the Christians and the good work which is being done at Agape Children’s Home. The situation was indeed very traumatic, especially for the kids, but now everyone is fine.

Kashmir is a predominantly Islamic region (99%). Some organizations would like a completely Islamic state ruled by the Sharia law although India is a secular democratic republic country. These organizations have strong misconceptions about Christians and so they persecute the Christians.Last month a group of bearded mullahs (Islamic religious leaders) took Javid & Firdous from the Children’s Home to join their Madrasas. Unfortunately their parents did not or could not, object to it as they were threatened in the village by masked individuals at midnight on the previous day. The same group returned to the Children’s Home to take away other kids and also attacked the person in-charge of the home. The inmates objected and asked them bring the children’s parents or relatives, if they wanted to take the children away.

In the meanwhile, another group of men arrived with huge stones and sticks and attacked them also beating their guests who tried to escape. The culprits smashed their car, broke the windows of the Home and forcibly entered it. The inmates locked themselves inside the bathroom and began praying. Then the police arrived and pushed the men outside. This gave them sufficient time to hide in the attic where they could just crouch and crawl about. Watching through the floor boards, they could see the men searching the rooms for them. They tried to set the house on fire, but the police stopped them from doing that. In the mean time the riot squad arrived with heavy weapons and armored trucks. They secured a perimeter and took the inmates to some safe place.The same people also threatened their landlord and killed their dog. Unfortunately, the terrorized landlord asked the inmates of the Home to vacate the place immediately. As a Christian minority they have already petitioned the Chief Minister and also the States’ Chain of Command for personal security for them and a safe place to live in. Please pray for the safety of Christians and other minorities in Kashmir.

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“Ghar Wapsi” and the not so veiled threat of the Sangh

“Ghar Wapsi” and the not so veiled threat of the Sangh


JOHN DAYAL


Not many people in the world, and specially Christians in India, will recognize Phalgun Amawasya, Kaliyug Varsha 5114 as April 10, 2013. But it is an important date to remember. That was the date that in the well-known Samantwadi, a pretty place near the southern tip of the state of Maharashtra, saw a meeting of what they described as “devout” Hindus.  Samantwadi, a former principality under the Bhonsales, is known for its Brahminic traditions. But what was unusual about this meeting was a resolution passed by about 6,500 persons in the ‘Hindu Dharmajagruti Sabha’ organised by the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) to create awareness amongst Hindus “towards increasing attacks on Hindu Dharma, conversions of Hindus; oppression of Hindus to appease minorities demoralizing Hindus; slaughtering of cows revered by Hindus; efforts to eliminate Hindu Dharma through the medium of ‘love jihad’.”



After a series of fiery speeches, the meeting resolved “to establish Hindu Rashtra for elimination of anti-nationals and anti-Hindus; to stop attacks on Hindu Dharma; even if they have to sacrifice everything.”



This could be passed off as a one-off attempt by some lunatic fringe, goaded by its Islamaphobic leaders, to articulate its angst.

But two factors demand that secular India and its government take serious note of such fulminations. One is a series of parallel events involving the top brass of what is called the Sangh Parivar saying the same thing as they boast of their growth in recent years, even under “friendly” Indian National Congress regimes. And these fringe elements are mushrooming by the night.



The second is a statement, that can well be taken as a threat, made by the head of the Sangh Parivar, Dr. Mohan Bhagwat, that conversions will be “reversed”, a challenge he has knowingly thrown to the Christian church in India. The last is a claim by the Sangh that they have indeed made as many as 200,00 Christians, mostly Dalits and Tribals, into Hindus, a process they call “Ghar Wapsi”, a Return Home in the mistaken belief that all Dalits and Tribals are anyway Hindus.



The HJS itself has by its own accounts organized more than 870 ‘Dharmajagruti Sabha’ and “created awareness amongst more than 11,00,000 Hindus towards “Dharma”.



The 7th April 2013 was interesting also for the participation of organisations people may not have heard of before – the Hindu Rashtra Sena, the Sanatan Sanstha, and  ‘Ranaragini’, apparently a gender focused group.  This demands a study of the manner in which the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, the parent organisation, now works through perhaps as many as 125 to 150 different organisations working at the grassroots under various disguises targeting groups as different as Dalits and Tribals on the one hand, professions such as engineers and doctors, all the way to the organised and unorganized labour where it has made serious inroads into a sector once dominated wither by the Communist parties or by the Indian National Congress Trade Union Congress.



Even as genuine data on the growth of the RSS remains hidden in the records of the Intelligence Bureau, and now perhaps the National Investigation Agency after the detection of Hindutva terror against Muslims and State players, some figures are now available, though terribly dated, from RSS sources. These record phenomenal growth in the subsidiary Sangh agencies.  The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh had crossed the One crore mark by 2009. According to the last official count by the labour ministry in 2002, the BMS had 62.2 lakh members while the Congress-affiliated Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) had 38 lakh and the Communist Party of India’s AITUC, 33 lakh.



The Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, which faces tough competition from other Other Backward Community and peasantry groups in North India, claims One million people. Dinesh Dattatreya Kulkarni, organising secretary of the farmers’ union, told the The Telegraph newspaper of Kolkata: “Our only competitor used to be the Shetkari Sangathan of Sharad Joshi. But he too converted it into a political party, the Swatantra Bharat Paksha. Not being in politics gives a core of integrity to our work because we are not forced to make compromises or deals, or to defend the indefensible.”



The Rashtriya Seva Bharati, an important and silent agency that does grassroots work for the Sangh in towns and villages, now as 1,57,776 members. The students wing active in universities, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad which has now penetrated even the Left wing Jawaharlal Nehru University student politics and which boasts the senior leader Arun Jaitely as its brightest alumni, claims a membership of 19 lakh, or nearly two million, in major universities and colleges. The ABVP has the largest following in BJP-ruled Karnataka and in Andhra Pradesh, a state where the party practically doesn’t exist.



The most alarming is the growth is in the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, which works in the tribal areas of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Orissa, including Kandhamal, grows at the rate of a 1,000 units a year and now totals close to 14,500 by its figures disclosed for 2009. Kripa Prasad Singh, joint general secretary of the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram in his interview with he Telegraph said,  “Congress governments have never harassed us because they appreciate the services we render to the Tribals,” Singh said. “Even the CPM government in Tripura has been friendly.”

In Kerala, under the nose of the Marxists, the Congress and the Christian Church, the RSS Pranthiya Karyakarthru Sibiram has announced it will increase the Sangh’s influence in the rural areas of the State by launching around 10,000 shakhas, one each in specially-identified villages, a doubling of its presence in the middle of the last decade.



It is in this not yet fully decoded matrix that one looks at the carefully orchestrated crescendo of statements from RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, and those in charge of the Ghar Wapsi movement, militant groups in Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh in particular, who have been articulating this direct challenge not just to the Church in India, its evangelical wings in the Catholic and Pentecostal groups specially but to the secular society at large. It is also a challenge to the State because conversions, and the logical conclusion of the progress of evangelisation and propagation of faith, is a guarantee enshrined not just in the Constitution but upheld by the Supreme court and High courts repeatedly even as they warn against forcible or fraudulent conversions. Interestingly enough, the courts are silent on Ghar Wapsi, and at the moment of writing, do not treat them as conversions, much less forcible conversions despite the massive evidence of violence in the Sangh campaigns.



The RSS has long been calling for a national law against conversions. It wants the so called Freedom of Religion Laws of Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and several other states, extended to the entire country, putting in place as strict regime that can make it all but impossible for Christian pastors to either preach directly or baptize any convert without the permission, sometimes prior permission, of the civil and police authorities of the state.

“Hinduism doesn’t accept conversions. Hindus try to reverse conversions,” Bhagwat said, inaugurating an Rs 18 crore convention centre of the RSS in Kerala, the first of its kind in that enlightened state. “Conversions are not necessary. If you have the basic human values, what you wear, what you eat and what you pray all these are immaterial,” he said. Calling for a new law to stop religious conversion, he said the Scheduled Tribes, who convert into Christianity, should be debarred from the benefits of reservation.



This year on 6 January, Bhagwat said “Prevalent untouchability in society is breeding conversion and a ‘samras samaj’ (casteless society) is possible only by stamping out the menace. Discriminations based on caste and religion do not end even after converting to Christianity or Islam hence conversion is no solution to end discriminations.” To promote unity in the society, he suggested, all communities shall together celebrate birth/death anniversaries of great saints of all religions. Bhagwat said he would ask RSS regional heads to organise an ‘All Religion Unity Meeting’ at block level. The RSS has long held it against the Christian community that those who convert cut themselves off from local saints and holy places, or events, there by also cutting themselves from the local culture and the community at large.



Earlier, in 2011 February 11, Bhagwat had vociferously asserted that there is a need to frame a new law to stop religious conversion.”To stop the religious conversion in the country, to give employment to the poor people from the scheduled tribes, to give them education, to give them jobs, we need to frame a new law, guaranteeing that whoever converts from their religions should not get the benefit of reservation,” he said at Madhya Pradesh’s Mandala District where the Sangh had organised a Kumbh religious “mela” on the river Narmada. “If some body becomes a Christian from the scheduled caste, then why should they be given the benefits of the reservation?” he added.



The church has so far not woken up to this argument, and priests and pastors at the grassroots level have not been educated to challenge the thesis.

They are also ignorant, if not entirely impotent, in how to respond the Ghar Wapsi movement.



The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, an adjunct of the Sangh, claims over 200,000 Christians had been converted to Hinduism by 2011, for which they released data earlier this year. The Ghar Wapsi has been through Andhra and the Tribals states of Orissa, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh, even Maharashtra.



In Balasore in Orissa in one such mass conversion rally, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) said its focus was on preventing religious conversion and asked its members to protest wherever there is an attack on any Hindu. With its attention focused on checking conversion, VHP has succeeded in preventing about 50 lakh Hindus from switching over to other faiths in last 10 years,” VHP’s international general secretary Praveen Togadia claimed.

What happens at these rallies? Here is an account from one account of a function held at Mothi village in Algona district of Andhra Pradesh the VHP Dharma Prasad Samiti “around 500 children were presented the locket of Hanumanji and all those who returned home were gifted new clothes.”

I have had occasion to document Ghar Wapsi events in various villages of Orissa, and not just in Kandhamal, where the process has involved shaving off the head of men and women, their purification through a mixture of cow dung and cow urine, the chanting of mantras around the fire, and wherever possible, the burning of “alien” books such as the Bible. Colleagues who have documented the Ghar Wapsi organised by former BJP minister and strongman Dilip Singh Judeo speak of how his armed cadres – armed with bow and arrow as much as with modern guns – would surround the place and keep watch while he “initiated” the Christian into the Hindu fold.



My own observations after field studies are of Ghar Wapsi as a movement that uses armed force and violence, certainly the threat of violence, towards a conversion of neo-Christians to Hinduism.



It cannot be called a home coming because the Tribals do not accept Hinduism ad a default language, and over the past years, there has been a vigorous movement among those of them who are not Christians to assert their roots in the Sarna and other indigenous religions. The 2011 census was slightly better than the 2001 census in allowing some space for indigenous religions to have their voice heard as opposed the past when they were all routinely lumped under the Hindu label. This lacuna still remains in law and the BJP ruled states list all so called “Indic” religions as Hindus.  The matter needs to be taken to one of the superior courts in the interests of constitutional provisions for freedom of faith and belief guarantees every Indian citizen.



The Ghar Wapsi activities also encourage lumpen elements and smaller organised village level groups to gather strength and demand homogenization in the villages. This is not simple matter and has in it seeds of grist future violence in rural groups deeply divided on the basis of a militant new version of Hinduism.



That is a threat to peace. The State must wake up to it.



[First published in Indian Currents,  14 April 2013]

Christian Priest Beaten and Murdered

Police in India are still searching for the murder suspects after the priest and rector of a major Catholic seminary was found beaten to death on Thursday.

Priest and rector K.J. Thomas was found dead in Bangalore’s main Catholic seminary.

K.J. Thomas, age 64, was discovered by another priest lying in a pool of blood in the corridor near his room at Bangalore’s ‘St. Peter’s Pontifical Seminary’ early Monday, April 1, police and Christians said.

Archbishop Moras explained: “Early today I received the shocking and the sad news of the most brutal murder of Fr K J Thomas, Rector of St Peter’s Pontifical Seminary, Bangalore in the early hours of 1 April. I immediately rushed to the Seminary to initiate the Investigation. The top police officials came to the spot and are investigating this murder case. This is a most heinous crime… Please pray for the repose of his soul, and consolation and strength to the bereaved family members to accept this irreparable loss.”

The motivation for the murder is still unclear, although at least three individuals appear to have been involved. The students were all away on holiday at the time. Fr Thomas’ room was ransacked but, as far as they could judge, the police found the priest’s valuables intact.

Fr Patrick Xavier, the seminary Procurator, discovered the body and raised the alarm. Preliminary investigations suggest that the 65 year-old Rector died as a result of “severe head injuries.”

Fr Thomas, a native of Kerala, had taught Systematic Theology in the seminary for more than 30 years and, at his death, was serving his second term as Rector.




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Church burnt in Chhattisgarh again

Church burnt in Kondagaon district Chhattisgarh last night. More backlash expected as extremists are meeting now to discuss further plans. Please pray for Pastor Padam Patel and the rest of the believers. 

Communal forces targeting Chhattisgarh Christians, alleges forum

The Chhattisgarh Christian Forum (CCF) has alleged that the community is being systematically targeted by “communal and anti-national forces” by way of regular “attacks almost every month.”
In a press note, the forum charged the police with conniving with anti-Christian, fundamentalist forces to harass the community. It highlighted the recent arrest of the head of a children’s home and its warden in Durg district. The police had contended that Reverend Swaminathalu and warden J. Dilip Kumar of the Bethel Children Home were booked on the basis of “sufficient evidence,” it said.
The controversial Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code was invoked against them for ‘coercive sex against minors.’ They were also facing charges of criminal intimidation and falsification of information.
They were charged under Section 23(cruelty to a child) under the Juvenile Justice Act. The anti-conversion law, 1968, which Chhattisgarh inherited from Madhya Pradesh, has also been slapped on them, the CCF noted.
The Sub-Divisional Officer (Police) of the Patan Block in Durg, Nivedita Pal, who is the supervising officer of the case, told The Hindu that the two were arrested on complaints from “minors from the children’s home.”
But a journalist from Durg, Dinesh Kumar, said the allegations were “concocted.”
“I spoke to the boys who were allegedly molested on Friday. They were eager to move back to their home from the rescue centre and said they had no complaint against anyone.
On Saturday, after recording their statement in the presence of senior police officials, the six boys were taken to the district general hospital for medical examination, where they told journalists that nobody molested them and that they were being coerced to give statements,” Mr. Kumar told The Hindu.
According to Mr. Kumar, Father Swaminathalu had said the children were compelled to frame charges against him. He also claimed that a local NGO “masterminded the conspiracy” against him and the warden.
According to Ms. Pal, there was “evidence” against Rev. Swaminathalu and Mr. Dilip Kumar.
“They were arrested on the basis of strong prima facie evidence,” she said. She denied the charges that they were “falsely implicated” in the case. Both Rev Swaminathalu and the warden were remanded in judicial custody.
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Religious Fanatics Invade Home, Brutally Attack Indian Christians during Holy Week

Reported by GFA. Access link HERE

Mother’s Hand Cut Off, Family Severely Beaten

CARROLLTON, Texas – On March 27 in the middle of the Christian observance of Holy Week, a band of Religious fanatics burst into the home of Indian Christians, beating all family members and maiming the mother. The family had just sat down to dinner in their home in an undisclosed area of Uttar Pradesh, India, when the attack began.

Every member of the family suffered brutal injuries. Mrs. Survati, the mother, was severely maimed. Attackers severed her hand, cutting it into two pieces. Their 22-year-old daughter, Archana, was badly beaten and her hand fractured. The father, Ramnath, and daughter Antika were also beaten, and Arvind, their 20-year-old son, suffered injuries that rendered him unconscious.

Neighbors came to the aid of the family and admitted them to a hospital where they are all currently receiving medical aid.

“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church,” said K. P. Yohannan, Gospel for Asia (www.gfa.org) founder and president. ‘Persecution and suffering, the way of the Cross—this is what Christ promised us, and I am convinced nothing is going to stop his Church.”

Bablu, a Gospel for Asia-supported pastor, ministers to about 200 believers spread over this area of India. Because some live long distances away, the pastor conducts prayer meetings in various locations in believers’ houses, including the home of this persecuted family. Religious militants have targeted these prayer host homes for attacks.

All evidence points to a strategy of violence to eliminate Christians from this village. The group of fanatics is currently focused on a planned attack on Pastor Bablu, waiting for him to return to other houses in the area where he often preaches or holds prayer services.

Indian Christians in this area are actively joining believers around the world focusing on the most holy week of the Christian calendar, commemorating the passion, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

“John 12:24 tells us, ‘Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.’ Jesus died and rose again. Through our choice to enter into the suffering of Christ, we are given the privilege to bring the Good News of hope,” said Yohannan. “This family experienced this privilege, and the Lord will use it to build his Kingdom.”

Church demolished by VHP goons as district officials watch in Chhattisgarh.

The Nagalpalika (city council) of Jagdalpur city in the state of Chhattisgarh, India demolished a Church allegedly under the sway of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) [World Council of Hindus] on March 13, 2013.

The move has been widely criticized by state Christian leaders and has caused turmoil in the small Christian community.

According to reports  the Church was built on a land belonging to the pastor Budhram Baghel after obtaining due permissions in 2006.

The Church building in 2006 was a temporary shed which was constructed after obtaining permission of the village head. The village council of village Gadia had even donated 10000 rupees towards the construction of the temporary Church building then. Later this temporary structure was made permanent after obtaining necessary clearances in January 2012.

The Church known as the Divya Jyoti Church, serves the spiritual needs of 100 plus tribal Christians who are now without a worship place.

According to reports Yogeshwar Kashyap, Lakhmuram and Shyamlal of Gadia village, allegedly VHP activists, filed a complaint with the Tesildar (Revenue administrative officer) of the area alleging that the construction of the Divya Jyoti church building took place in the government land.

They in their report demanded the demolition of the Church building. Local media was mobilized by the VHP people and local vernacular media covered the news on March 12, 2013.

On March 13, 2013 the local VHP Vice President Kailash Rathi and office bearer Yogendra Kaushik came with a bulldozer with a huge mob of Hindu fundamentalists, and started demolishing the Church Building.

While the demolition was being carried out the Tehsildar (Revenue officer), Local Police Station In charge  Mr. Shukla, Patwari (Officer incharge of the documentation of the land), Sarpanch (Village Head) Mr. Lakshman, and a posse of police personnel were watching the entire proceeding silently.

According to reports from local Christian leaders, the demolition started at about 01 PM on 13th March 2013. The Christian leaders alleged that the VHP office bearers were commanding all the administrative officials and Police, as if they were in charge of the whole district, the officials were meekly obeying them and taking orders.

The Christian leaders have said that the mob demolishing the Church constituted of Bhonjaram, Jatia, Dursai, Hungo, Budhram, Sakru, Gaita, Anant, Pilu, Ranu, Gutli, Boga, Samnath, Kuya, Yogesh, and Lakhu among others.

It is important to note that while the Construction of the church building was termed illegal by the office bearers of VHP, no measurement of land was ever carried out by the Revenue officials present. No notice of any kind was ever served to any of the aggrieved.

It was observed that the word of the VHP activists was the law which was meekly followed by all the administrative officials. A tractor- loader demolished walls and roof of the church building.

When local tribal protested and tried to stop the demolition they were beaten, verbally abused and pushed around. These included many women and children. The women were subjected to lewd gestures by the members of the VHP.

When Christian tribals  approached the police station to lodge an FIR they were threatened with dire consequences and were asked to leave the police station. They were warned that they could be charged as Naxals if they do not leave and could lose their lives. 

During the demolition objects of faith were desecrated. Offerings were looted and taken away by the fundamentalist.

Part of Pastor Budhram Baghel’s house which was standing there for the last 70 years on his own land, was also destroyed, his ration and other belongings were thrown out of his house.

While the local Christians have managed to register a complaint in the Lohandiguda police station, no case has been registered.

Christians in India Wounded, Jailed, Expelled

NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – Christians suffered serious head injuries, expulsion from home and incarceration based on false witness as Hindu extremists continued their reign of terror in India this month, sources said.

In the southern state of Kerala, some 100 Hindu extremists on March 10 attacked a Brethren Assembly church service in Chirayinkeezzh village, Trivandrum District, beating the Christians with wooden clubs; one church member sustained a serious head injury, said Pastor M. Anil Kumar.

The pastor, who has since relocated due to death threats, said a church member who goes by the single name of Ajith was hospitalized for three days for treatment of his head wounds, and that a Christian woman identified only as Lizie also sustained head injuries. The mob falsely accused church members of forceful conversion, he said.

Area Brethren Assembly leader K.V. Varghese said police arrested three of the assailants after Christians filed a complaint. Hindu extremists protested the arrests by calling for an all-day strike on March 12.

False Witnesses

In Madhya Pradesh in central India, two Christian leaders who were arrested after Hindu extremists beat them and falsely accused them of forceful conversion were granted bail after repeated requests on March 6.

State police arrested Pastor Isaac Rajamani and evangelist Raju Shikaria on Feb. 18 after Hindu extremists beat them on Feb. 16 in a village near Khandwa, Friends Missionary Prayer Band (FMPB) leader Jaisingh Sugumaran told Morning Star News. The extremists mounted the attack at the Gulai village home of a sick couple who had invited Rajamani and Shikaria to pray for them.

Attorney Sanjay Masini said the Hindu extremists held the two Christians for an entire night.

“The extremists took pastor Rajamani and evangelist Shikaria to a nearby house, accused them of forceful conversion, detained them the entire night and mercilessly thrashed them,” he said.

Rajamani told Morning Star News the extremists threatened to kill them.

“The extremists were telling me not to conduct worship again, and they were also discussing among themselves whether they should simply kill us or take us to the police station,” he said.

The next morning, the intolerant Hindus took the two Christians to the Khandwa police station, where a mob was waiting.

“As the two Christians got down from the Jeep, the angry mob shouting anti-Christian slogans ran towards them, pushed them down to the ground and pounded on them,” Sugumaran of FMPB said.

The extremists brought two people to the police station who gave false statements that Rajamani was converting people to Christianity by allurement, Sugumaran said.

“There was no case of forceful conversion,” he said. “The Hindu extremists forced two people who do not even know Pastor Rajamani to falsely witness against him of forceful conversion.”

The man who requested prayer, identified only as Kannaiah, said that he was healed from his illness by Jesus and that Rajamani did not force or allure him to convert to Christianity, Sugumaran added.

Rajamani’s wife, Sita Rajamani, tried to contact the pastor by mobile phone throughout the night, but to no avail. The next morning, their landlord told her that police had arrested her husband.

“She rushed to the police station and found her husband and evangelist Shikaria squatting inside the lock-up with bruises all over their bodies and wearing only underwear,” attorney Masini said.

As Christian women were consoling the pastor’s wife at her home later that day, Hindu extremists surrounded the house and began shouting anti-Christian chants.

Rajamani and Shikaria were sent to Khandwa Jail later that evening.

“We were not able to eat food till Sunday, as our heads and necks were too painful after the attack,” Rajamani said.

Hindu nationalists believe that all people in India are Hindu by virtue of being born in the country, though many tribal people are raised in tribal religions. They also feel that Christianity is a “foreign” faith that threatens their caste-based religion. India’s population is 74.3 percent Hindu, 14.2 percent Muslim, 1.9 percent Sikh, 0.82 percent Buddhist, and 5.8 percent Christian, according to Operation World.

Expelled

In the eastern state of Orissa, Hindu extremists in Bhalutangara village, Kankadahada block, near Dhenkanal, became furious when a Christian family refused to pay fees for festivals involving idol worship.

The Rev. Christodan Takri, a church leader in Amar Jyoti, told Morning Star News the Hindu extremists on March 1 beat the family of Rabinarayana Marandi, took their mobile phone and drove them from the village.

The Christians submitted a police complaint, and police and administrative officials arranged for the assailants to meet with the church members on March 8 to work out a “compromise.”  The Christians agreed to contribute payment for social welfare programs and refused to give anything toward the Hindu festival idols, but the extremists insisted that village tribal law required them to contribute to all local Hindu festivals.
Threatening to withdraw government benefits, local authorities ordered the Christians to comply with Hindu extremist demands for payment and to take part in all village religious activities and rituals.

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Christian chased away from Village

According to reports, Laxman Kumeti, a Chritian from Irko village in Narayanpur in Chhattisgarh was attacked and beaten up by a mob from his own village.

The villagers were upset about his Christian faith and testimony.

The reports say that the villagers beat him up and threw him out of the village.

Please pray for him as he has nowhere to go.

Christians ambushed in Madhya Pradesh

According to reports a small crowd led by Hindu extremists ambushed and threatened local believers after they were returning from a prayer service on March 15, 2013.

A prayer meeting was organized in the Shrigarsati village in Madhya Pradesh near Dindori, and was attended by around 100 people.

After the meeting was over and the pastor had gone back to his home, around 5 – 7 people ambushed a group of believers who were also returning home. The attackers were carrying weapons.

They abused the villagers and vilified the Christian faith using the most filthy language, reports as pastor from the area.

The Christians led by the local pastor filed a first information report the next day. There are no arrests yet.

Christian villagers beaten in Orissa

Christians in the eastern region of India were tortured and beaten for hours in their village by local police officers last month, Barnabas Fund reported Tuesday.

Around 60 officers surrounded Phatachanchara village at 2:30am and forced their way into the homes of Christians on Feb 15.

The Ganjam district village in Orissa, India was in an uproar and a four-year-old boy received a fractured hand after an officer stepped on it, according to Barnabas Fund, an organization that supports persecuted and oppressed Christians.

One of the villagers apprehended by officers was tied to a tree and assaulted while crying out to God. "O God, O Jesus. Alleluia, Alleluia," they cried, causing the police officers to become more angry and violent, according to the U.K.-based organization.

The Christian Post attempted to contact Patrick Sookhdeo, international director of Barnabas Fund, for comments, but was unsuccessful.

Barnabas Fund reported that Pastor Jahaya Mandal was interrogated by police after comingforward to see what all of the commotion was about. While a church deacon, Korneil Roita, was then tied to a tree and severally beaten.

Mandal, Roita and six other Christian villagers were led out of the village, bound at the hands at 6:30am. Police forced them to walk on thorny, rocky ground for over two miles with bare feet. This caused great pain and bleeding in the tired feet of the villagers. They were then taken to another village over seven miles from their own.

Christian Indians are at risk of attack, typically by Hindu extremists, because they are the religious minority in the region. Police often do not intervene, but they rarely take part in the attacks. In a note on Persecution.org, International Christian Concern stated that police killed five Christians in the state that the villagers were tortured.

The note read, "Violent attacks against Christians in India, including assault, battery, rape and murder, have long gone ignored or under-investigated by local police officials. In the worst cases, local police officials have crossed the line from passive acquiescence to active participation in attacks on Christians. According to a report from India's eastern state of Orissa, five Christians were killed by local police after being mistaken for Maoists."

Odisha is home to over 36 million people and is primarily Hindu.

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Bajrang Dal men attack Christian prayer house in Udupi, 7 injured

Seven persons were injured when they were allegedly assaulted by Bajrang Dal activists during an attack on a Christian prayer house at Moodubelle in Udupi district, on suspicion that conversion activities were being carried out there, a senior police official said. The attack was carried out on Friday night after the activists had lodged a police complaint against a man, accusing him of indulging in conversion, Udupi SP D R Boralingaiah told PTI.

A group of Bajrang Dal activists barged into the man's residence at Moodubelle, also a prayer house, and assaulted the people gathered there, he said, adding that 19 of them had been arrested.

Senior officials, including IGP Pratap Reddy visited the place. The coastal districts of Udupi and Mangalore had in the past seen attacks on churches triggered by suspicion that they were carrying out conversion.

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More acquittals in Kandhamal cases

A fast track court has acquitted three persons in a case relating to the killing of a physically handicapped youth during the 2008 Kandhamal riots.

Additional Sessions Judge of Fast Track Court-I, Sobhan Kumar Dash, yesterday acquitted Bidesi Nayak, Susila Sahani and Belalsen Kanhar in connection with the murder of Rasananda Pradhan Gadragam near Rupagam on August 24, 2008, during the riots.

According to the prosecution, a mob had surrounded the house of the victim, who was handicapped and unable to move anywhere. He was allegedly burnt alive after being doused with petrol.

Rest of the members of the family had managed to escape. Police found his charred body three days later.

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How Hindu extremists respond to 'threats'

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They had diverse backgrounds. Some of them had participated in the movement to build Ram temple in Ayodhya, some were associated with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and later drifted from it, some participated in anti-conversion campaigns, a few were accused of rioting in Gujarat in 2002 and

others were just criminals but they all believed in militant Hindutva and also that Muslims and Christians were abusing the generosity of India.

In the early 2000s, they slowly began to find cohesion and came out as a bunch of loosely coordinated groups with pan-India reach targeting Malegaon (2006 and 2008), Samjhauta Express train, Hyderabad's Mecca Masjid and Dargah. But for the support and strategic vision provided to them, they would have remained local ruffians or Hindutva tough men making aggressive speeches saying 'Muslims from across the border are attacking our temples and somebody needs to reply' or at the most they may have assassinated political opponents or attacked Christian missionaries.

Almost none of them had the intelligence to think of Malegaon, Samjhauta Express or Mecca Masjid or the acquitted accused in the Parliament attack case SAR Geelani as targets. So the question is who turned them towards targeting these places and people? The ideologue of the group to a great extent was Swami Aseemanand, who allegedly propagated the 'Bomb Ka Badla Bomb Se' theory but investigators believe that a few others also shaped their thinking.

So far investigators have found at least three groups of Hindu extremists active in Madhya Pradesh (MP), Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh (UP). And they don't discount the possibility of a still undetected separate group working in Delhi. Two blasts in Delhi - Jama Masjid (April, 2006) and Mehrauli (September, 2008) are yet to be solved and Hindu extremists are prime suspects in both cases.

Investigators have found that over five dozen people participated in a training camp in Raigad near Pune, Maharashtra in 2004. Besides having recruits from Maharashtra and MP, some came from other states as well. At least two of the participants in the Raigad camp died in a bomb making exercise in Kanpur in August, 2008, say investigators.

"We have reasons to believe that some retired military officials trained these recruits from UP, Maharashtra, MP, and Jammu and Kashmir in handling weapons and explosives," said a source. Hindu radicals also held camps in Bagli near Dewas and in Faridabad, Haryana.

It was a potent mix - Hindutva tough men capable of murdering people being trained in weapons and explosives and given a vision to attack high profile targets. Investigators also believe that the groups in Maharashtra and MP had some kind of coordination resulting in a series of attacks between 2004-2008.

The twin blasts in Malegaon and Modasa in September 2008 was the last known operation of the Maharashtra-MP group. Due to persistent crackdown by investigative agencies they have not been able to mount another. But investigators still believe that many leaders and foot soldiers are out there.

Two attacks rattle Christian community in Sarguja Chhattisgarh

Chhattisgarh state saw two more incidents agianst the already persecuted and targeted Christian community.

On February 21, 2012 the police arrested four pastors after Hindutva activists accused them of forceful conversion in Aara which comes under district Sarguja in Chhattisgarh .

It was reported that Calvary Gospel Mission led by Pastor Albis Bara had organised a three day revival meeting. The meeting reportedly had police protection and had two policemen guarding the venue.

On the second day after the meetings and subsequent dinner was finished, Hindu extremists from Shiv Sena stormed into the meeting place along with police people.

The police took the Pastor (s) Albis Bara, Akshay Kumar, Harendra and Angad Singh to the police station on the pretext of ‘talking’, where they were then arrested under Sections 151 of the Indian Penal Code. The section penalizes people for knowingly joining or continuing in assembly of five or more persons after it has been commanded to disperse. This charge was levied against the Pastors when the meeting was having police protection in the first place, which makes the meeting valid.

The pastors were later released on bail.

At the same time in the same district of Sarguja, Christians In Doeri village, were forced to stop a three day special meeting after Hindu extremists attacked them.

The believers Church had organized the meeting which too was targeted on the second day by Hindutva activists. They made the usual allegations about forceful conversion against Christians and created trouble for the 1000 plus people who had gathered peacefully there. In order to calm down the situation the leaders of the Church decided to discontinue the meeting and no police complaint was registered.