Steel On Steel Persecution Update
January 1, 2010
Edited by: Donald McElvaney, www.missionbarnabas.org
India Briefs: Recent Incidents of Persecution
By Mahruaii Sailo and Binaifer Wadia
Andhra Pradesh, December 23 (Compass Direct News) – Hindu extremists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Dec. 20 seriously injured a pastor and beat his wife in Decarakonda, Nalgonda. At about 7:30 p.m., Pastor R. Timothy, his wife Nirmala and their child were on their way to a neighboring village when the Hindu extremists stopped them and attacked them, reported the Global Council of Indian Christians. They hit the pastor on his head with an iron rod and beat his wife on her left leg. The pastor was bleeding profusely when passersby saw him and called an ambulance. He received hospital treatment, including five stitches on his head. A local Christian leader filed a police complaint against the extremists at Nalgonda town police station, and a First Information Report was registered against the assailants. No arrest had been made at press time. – MS
Karnataka – Police on Dec. 20 arrested eight Christians after Hindu extremists filed a complaint of forceful conversion against them in Madugere, Tumkur. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that police arrested pastors N. Nagesh, Joshua Abraham and one identified only as Jilani, along with five other church members, as they were heading toward a nearby area after Sunday worship. The Christians were accused of forceful conversion and charged under Sections 295-A and 153 of the Indian Penal Code for “malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class” and “giving provocation with intent to create riot” respectively, and they were locked up in Madugere jail. With local Christian leaders’ intervention, they were released on bail on Dec 21. – MS
Karnataka – Police in Chikmagalur district on Dec. 19 disrupted a Christmas service of Christ Fellowship Church and falsely accused a pastor of forcible conversion. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that officials of Lingadahalli police station, acting on a false complaint from the Hindu extremists of the Bajrang Dal, barged into the house church and verbally abused the 80 Christians present, asking them if they were being given promises of money to convert. Police then told Pastor S. David to accompany them to the police station. A GCIC coordinator told Compass that officers questioned David for nearly 90 minutes. They sent him away after warning him of possible attacks from extremists if he conducted such large services at the house church. – BW
Karnataka – Police arrested a Christian after Hindu extremists filed a baseless complaint against him of forceful conversion on Dec. 15 in Mandhya. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported a person identified only as Srinivas beat B. Bhaskar of a Brethren Assemblies fellowship after finding him praying for a sick friend in a hospital; Srinivas later alerted an area leader and member of the Hindu extremist Rashtiya Swamyamsevak Sangh. As is customary in India, police arrested the victim instead of the aggressor; Bhaskar was arrested under Section 153-A of the Indian Penal Code for “promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion.” He was sent to Mandhya jail and was released on bail on Dec. 17 with local Christian leaders’ intervention. – MS
Karnataka – Police on Dec. 14 arrested a pastor and his wife after Hindu nationalist extremists beat them and filed a false complaint of forcible conversion in K.R. Nagara-Mysore. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that at 10:30 a.m. nearly 15 extremists from the Bajrang Dal stormed into a house church, verbally abused Pastor Herurer Manjunath, slapped him repeatedly and accused him without basis of forcible conversion. They also slapped his wife, Saraswati. The intolerant Hindus broke two chairs and tore up some Christian literature in an attack that lasted for nearly 45 minutes. After they left, Manjunath went to the local police station to file a complaint, but instead officers charged Manjunath and Saraswati under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. A GCIC coordinator told Compass that both were not released on bail until Dec. 18. – BW
Karnataka – Police on Dec. 14 detained Christians in Kodagu district after falsely accusing them of converting people in local tribal villages. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that Thimmappa Rammana invited independent Pastor Benedict Sunil to his rented home in Ammathi village, about eight kilometers (five miles) from Gonikoppal, Virajpet Taluk, for a service of around 100 Christians. At around 11:30 a.m., Ammathi police arrived, insulting those present and falsely accusing the pastor of forcibly converting local tribal villagers. They questioned many about their faith and inquired whether they had permission from the landlord to conduct such a meeting. A local GCIC coordinator told Compass that police took Rammana, Sunil and 11 other Christians to the police station for further questioning, later transferring them to the Virajpet Rural police station where they were detained for a few hours. Sub-Inspector Santosh Kumar of the Ammathi Police outpost told Compass that he had received complaints from villagers that conversion activities were taking place at Rammana’s house – as if conversion were illegal in India – so he had sent officers to bring them to police outposts and warn them of the complaints. He added that, as a preventive measure to avoid future clashes, he advised Rammana against conducting prayer meetings in his house. – BW
Karnataka – On Dec. 12 in Bangalore, police detained a pastor and choir members of City St. Paul Methodist Church after Hindu extremists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh accused them of forceful conversion. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that the extremists arriving in Jeeps and on motorbikes stopped the choir members on their way home from visiting a church member’s home. They verbally abused the Christians. An area police inspector reached the site and took the pastor and choir members to the police station for questioning. Only with local Christian leaders’ intervention were the Christians released at 4 a.m. – MS
Andhra Pradesh – Hindu extremists accused a pastor of forceful conversion and beat him on Dec. 9 in Kistapuram, Mahabubnagar, according to the All Indian Christian Council. Accusing Pastor Ninanapu Moses of forceful conversion, members of the Hindu extremist Bajrang Dal at about 8 p.m. attacked a prayer meeting led by Pastor Moses, verbally abused the Christians and beat them. The pastor received hospital treatment for internal injuries. Local Christian leaders filed a police complaint, but no arrests had been made at press time. – MS
Karnataka – Hindu extremists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Dec. 9 accused Christians of forceful conversion in Chikballapur. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that at about 2 p.m. the extremists stormed into the prayer meeting held at the home of a pastor identified only as Joseph. In attendance was Pastor Franklin Prabakar and church members from Grace Gospel Church. At about 1:30 p.m., the extremists stopped the prayer meeting, threatened the Christians and accused them of forceful conversion. Alerted by the extremists, Chikbalapur Kasaba police arrived at the spot and took eight Christians to a local police station. The Christians were released at 11 p.m. later that night. – MS
Haryana – Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal on Dec. 7 accused the operator of an orphanage of trying to forcefully convert street children to Christianity by providing shelter and food in Faridabad, Haryana, sources said. The extremists stormed the charitable trust orphanage home run by B.K. Mishra at about 7 p.m. and severely beat him, smashed his car and pressured the police to arrest him. Black and blue from the beating, Mishra sustained injuries on his face, back and legs, the sources said. Police refused to register a case against the attackers, and the home was closed down due to the extremists’ pressure. – MS
Karnataka – Local Hindu extremists on Dec. 6 accused Pastor C. John Christopher, a leader of Grace Gospel Church Saythagiri in Anekal, near Bangalore, of forceful conversion, and Anekal police issued him a warning. The police barged into the church’s Sunday worship, searched the premises and took the pastor to the police station. Officers asked the pastor to submit his license for conducting worship meetings, as well as church property documents, and the pastor submitted the required papers. No case was filed against the pastor, but police warned him not to conduct future Christian meetings. – MS
Karnataka – Hindu extremists accused a Christian teacher of forceful conversion and disrupted her class on Dec. 2 in Mandhya. The Global Council of Indian Christian reported that Hindu extremists entered the classroom of Gangothri Vadovasthan at Chikanahalli Government Primary School at about 2 p.m., falsely accused her of trying to forcibly convert the students to Christianity and verbally abused her in front of them. They also insulted the school authority for appointing a Christian teacher. The Hindu extremists filed a complaint against the Christian at Harakeri police station. School administrators forced Vadovasthan to take leave from the school due to the extremists’ pressure. – MS
Andhra Pradesh – Police on Nov. 24 detained a Christian worker from Australia, Paul Jemison, on baseless charges of “forceful conversion” in Utnur. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that at 7:30 p.m. Jemison had gone to the Industrial Training Institute campus for the screening of a film for about 200 students, after which he began telling about Christ to students. Nearly 20 Hindu nationalist extremists arrived and accused him of “forceful conversion,” speaking derogatorily of his foreign origin. They forced Jemison to a police station, where they filed the complaint of “forceful conversions to Christianity” against him. A representative of the Adilabad Division of the All India Christian Council said Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sriram Nayak had complained to police after being alerted by District Tribal Welfare Officer Dasarath Nayak. A GCIC coordinator told Compass that Jemison was detained in the station until late that night and then released. Additionally, extremists warned a local pastor identified only as Premanandam, as well as his daughter, not to invite any more foreign workers to the town. – BW, MS
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