Christians in India suffering increasing levels of persecution
In the three years since right–wing Hindu nationalists swept to power in india, there has been an alarming rise in persecution of Christians with violence against them increasing at a frightening rate.
Paul Robinson is Chief Executive of Release International, which supports persecuted Christians around the world.
He confirmed: “In states across India, militants have threatened and killed church workers. Extremists have tried to force Christians to renounce their faith and convert to Hinduism. And they have bombed, torched, vandalised and demolished churches.”
A report by the All–India Christian Council records violence against Christians rose by 40 per cent last year. Murders doubled.
The report, Atrocities on Christians in India, states: “Attacks have become severe and more frequent. Incidents used to be confined to a few states. Now the violence has spread to 23 states.”
The sharpest rises have been recorded in Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.
Release partners describe a further upswing in politically motivated attacks since the March 2017 elections, which also saw mass support for Hindu nationalists.
“Fanatics have become more common, attacking minorities, boys and girls who are dating and the Dalit community,” says the Release partner, who has to remain anonymous.
The Dalits are the underclass who fall outside the Indian caste system and are assigned the most menial jobs in society. Many are converting to Christianity.
Paul Robinson says: “We are watching an alarming rise of religious intolerance in India. Militants beat one evangelist with chains, stripped him and forced him to drink urine.
“They desecrated a Christian cemetery, dug up skeletons and scattered them across the graveyard.
“This rising intolerance is linked to extreme nationalism, which argues that to be Indian is to be Hindu – and tries to impose that by force. The authorities must act immediately to prevent the violence.”
In 2016 the All–India Christian Council recorded 108 incidents in the first six months alone. And a separate report by the Evangelical Fellowship of India logged more attacks against Christians in India in 2016 than in the two previous years put together.
There have been moves to put an end to Christian outreach. Hindu nationalists have imposed anti–conversion laws in five states. Now they are trying to bring in a national bill, aimed at preventing Hindus from converting.
Through its international network of missions Release International serves persecuted Christians in more than 30 countries around the world, by supporting pastors and Christian prisoners and their families.
Release International also supplies Christian literature and Bibles, as well as working for justice.
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