Evangelical Church in India Attacked by Extremists

The Evangelical Free Church Urban Movement (EFCUM) of India has revealed an attack by Hindu extremists targeted at a Christian Church in the southern state of Karnataka on 1st May, according to Compass Direct.

Pastor Charles Isaac, Director of the EFCUM of India, gave details of the attack. A crowd of nearly 500 villagers, who identified themselves as belonging to the Bajrang Dal, a Hindu fundamentalist group, and the Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), raided the Sunday Service of the King Jesus Church, part of a Christian mission group Harvest India.

About 60 people were meeting in the home of Pastor Paulraj Raju in Mangalwarapete village near the Mysore district in Karnataka state as the attackers came in. Pastor Issac said they attacked Pastor Raju, his wife and other church members. Church members were badly beaten, especially Pastor Raju.

"When the women tried to stop them from beating up Christian men, the attackers pulled at their clothes and tried to touch them sexually," Pastor Issac said.

In addition, Samuel Jacob, the director of Harvest India said, "The mob completely damaged all the items in the hall where the worship was going on. Besides, they publicly burned Bibles and Christian literature."

It was reported that the local Police has responded to the case promptly. However, Jeyaram, the officer in charge of the investigation, denied that the attackers were associated with the Hindu fundamentalist group Bajrang Dal or the Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).

Jeyaram also argued that there were only 10 to 15 attackers and that the incident was sparked by a dispute between Pastor Raju and a neighbour named Shekhar, who has recently converted to Hinduism, according to the Compass Direct.

In order to address the alleged ill treatment against Christians, a memorandum was submitted to the Chief Minister of Karnataka Dharam Singh on 3rd May on behalf of EFCUM India, requesting that he protect Christians and take action against the perpetrators. EFCUM is a member of the Indian Mission Association, an umbrella body of Christian churches and missions in India.

In January, Pastor Raju was beaten by local people and later arrested by local police on charges of attempted conversions. Compass Direct reported that he was detained until 3rd March. He was finally released after his wife filed a petition to quash the case against him and after the Karnataka High Court passed an order for his release.

Only one million of the 52.8 million inhabitants of Karnataka state are Christians. Hindus number 44.3 million, according to 2001 census figures.