In towns across India, Hindu extremists continued to pressure Christian churches in September. The usual pattern: After the disruption of church or worship services, Christians were physically assaulted and sometimes arrested and jailed on suspicion of forcibly converting Hindus to Christianity. Three of the Indian states included in this roundup – Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh – have laws against forced religious conversions on their books.
• Gobara, Janjgir Champa, Chhattisgarh, Sept. 4 — Police arrested Pastor Anand Nirala after Hindu extremists accused him of forceful conversion, making derogatory remarks against Hinduism and disturbing the peace, according to The Evangelical Fellowship of India. Nirala was released on bail after area Christian leaders intervened, but another case has been registered against him on the basis of the same complaint.
• Birmawal, Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh, Sept. 7 — Police arrested Pastor John Pargy of India Gospel Church on accusations of forcible conversions, and stopped him from distributing gospel tracts. According to another pastor, Jaykar Christi, Pargy’s accusers told police he also made derogatory remarks against Hinduism. Pargy was jailed, then released on bail on Sept. 10.
• Sagar, Shimoga, Karnataka, Sept. 9 — Hindu extremists led by a person identified only as Omkara barged into the house of a Christian, disrupted a prayer meeting and beat the pastor, identified by the name Damodar. Moses Muragavel, of the Karnataka Legal Aid Cell, told World Watch Monitor that the extremists accused the pastor of forceful conversion, and kicked and slapped him while the police stood by. The police later took the pastor to Taligoppa police station and forged an agreement: The pastor will not force anyone to convert, and the Hindu group will not disrupt prayer meetings. A pastor form the area, identified by the name Jeekumar, told World Watch Monitor that calm has returned the area and that Pastor Damodar is conducting prayer meetings as usual.
• Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, Sept. 12 — A man with a gun threatened to shoot a pastor if he continues his ministry in the area. According to the All India Christian Council, Pastor Giri Babu of the Friends Missionary Prayer Band gave a small piece of land for a prayer hall, and the foundation was laid. Objectors broke the newly built wall and ordered the church to stop conducting services. On Sunday, as Pastor Babu and his family were on their way to the church, a Hindu extremist with a gun to shoot him if he continues to conduct worship services in the area. A complaint about the threat was filed with the police.
• Biligunda Virajpet, Coorg District, Karnataka, Sept. 14 — With five police officers at their side, a group of Hindus accused a Christian woman of forcibly converting people to Christianity. One of the police officers pressured her to sign a pledge to leave the village within 10 days. The woman, named Meenakshi and a member of the Assembly of God Church, filed a complaint with police, and has refused to leave the village. “We go to church quietly and we never indulge in forceful conversion,” Meenakshi told World Watch Monitor.
• Durgapur, Thana Shankargarh , Balrampur, Sept. 16 — Led by Amit Dubev, members of Bajrang Dal, a Hindu nationalist group, disrupted the Sunday worship meeting led by pastor Kapil Kerketta, and accused him of forcibly converting people to Christianity, according to Rev. Mukti Prakash Lakra. The pastor and his wife, Monika Kerketta, and two other couples were forced to the Shankargarh Police Station. The police determined there was no evidence to support the charge, and let the Christians go.
• Near Arasikere, Hassan, Karnataka, Sept. 18 — A mob of about 50 Hindu extremists broke up a prayer meeting held for the HIV-positive and the blind, according to the Karnataka Legal Aid Cell. Led by the president of the local Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, the attackers destroyed the dinner prepared for the worshippers, and attempted to capture the pastor, identified as Raju. They forced four worshippers, at least one of them blind, to the Arasikere Police Station, and filed a complaint accusing the pastor of forcible conversions to Christianity. The four Christians were detained through the night. Christian leaders in the area have intervened to defend the believers.
• Shimoga, Karnataka, Sept. 21 — Attackers forcefully entered the houses of five Christians from Bethel Prarthanalaya Church, beat them and burned bibles, according to the Global Council of Indian Christians. They forced the Christians into Hindu rituals at a nearby temple, and threatened further violence if they did not renounce Christ. Several people were treated for injuries. Police have made no arrests.
• Dhar, Madhya Pradesh, Sept. 24 — The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that Hindu militants barged into a house prayer meeting of the Philadelphia Church and assaulted Pastor Sigdar Jamre. They dragged him to the police station, where he was arrested. A local Christian leader, Bishop Deva Das, told World Watch Monitor the pastor was released on bail Sept. 25, and is scheduled to appear in court Oct. 6.
• Gudadahalli, Karnataka, Sept. 24 — Militant Hindus forced their way into a Pentecostal prayer meeting in a town north of Bangalore, beat the pastor and burned all the Bibles, according to the Global Council of Indian Christians. The 10 extremists, led by a person identified only as Anand, then marched the pastor and his wife to a nearby temple and forced them to participate in Hindu rituals.
• Dalligada, Kandhamal District, Odisha, Sept. 24 — A dozen members of Bajrang Dal barged into the prayer meeting of an independent church, chased the Christians out and seriously injured a junior pastor. Pastor Krishna Chandra Devra told World Watch Monitor that the Christians in the meeting ran toward the forest, but Junior Pastor Mantu Nayak fell into a ditch, where the attackers beat him so severely that he required hospitalisation, with injuries to the head and fractures in both arms. Police registered a First Information Report against the attackers, arrested eight of them and continue to search for the remaining four.
• Hunsur, Karnataka, Sept 26 — Four police officers stopped a prayer meeting in Kattemalavadi, near Hunsur in the Mysore district, and questioned the pastor about his license to run a church. Two members of Bajrang Dal arrived and beat the pastor and worshippers, and took away bibles and other Christian literature, as police looked on. At the police station and under questioning of the police sub-inspector, identified only as Arun, the church members said they had freely converted to Christianity. The sub-inspector reprimanded the Bajrang Dal members, but filed no charges.
• Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, Sept. 27 — Hindu extremists led by Ramana Reddy pounded the doors of the Penuel Prayer Church in the Sarroornagar section of Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh state. They damaged the building with fireworks, according to the All India Christian Council. The pastor and his family locked themselves in the house until morning. The council said watched the Christians closely and have been waiting for the opportunity to attack. Police have not made any arrests.
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