Hindu militants launch fresh attacks on Indian Christians

There have been fresh attacks against Christians in India - the latest in a series of incidents highlighting the pressures facing Christians from Hindu militants, reports Release International.

Reports have come in that two attacks took place on Thursday in Andhra Pradesh. Hindu militants, allegedly from the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), attacked a group of pastors holding a conference.

The pastors had gathered in Badrachalam in premises rented out to them by the Temple.

During a morning prayer time, extremists attacked the pastors. But instead of arresting the militants, the police arrested 15 Christian pastors, who are now on bail.

The same day, in Hyderabad, a pastor and another man were attacked by Hindu activists, who accused them of forcing Hindus to convert to Christianity.

Pastor John Mohan has been threatened by extremists to stop preaching Christianity in the area.

On Thursday, they accused him along with another man of forcing people to become Christians.

The irony is that the co-accused is not even a Christian. He is a vehicle inspector who refuses to take bribes to illegally certify that vehicles are safe for use. Observers believe the charge of forced conversion was levelled against him to remove him from his position. The man, Ramesh Babu, is a friend of the pastor.

When extremists confronted the pastor and the vehicle inspector, they blocked the road to prevent police dispersing them. They are demanding a halt to all Christian activities in the area and the suspension of the vehicle inspector.

On June 1 militants burst into a morning church service in Chhattisgarh state. They destroyed furniture and accused the congregation of forcing Hindus to convert to Christianity. They threatened them to stop worshipping Christ.

On May 27, militants beat a pastor with iron rods on his way home from a prayer meeting. They accused him of forcing Hindus to convert to Christianity. The day before (May 26) militants demolished a thatched church in Andhra Pradesh.

Last Christmas, militants killed four Christians and burned 730 homes and 95 churches in Orissa.

"The dreadful list of attacks against Christians goes on," says Andy Dipper, CEO of Release International, which supports the persecuted Church. 'Our partners in India report murder, destruction and intimidation of Christians. Making matters worse, he added, is the growing number of states passing anti-conversion laws.

"Ostensibly to prevent forced conversion, these have become an extremists' charter, and are being used to try to silence Christian witness. Please pray for our brothers and sisters in India."

Through its international network of missions Release International supports Christians imprisoned for their faith and their families in 30 nations. It supports church workers, pastors and their families, and provides training, Bibles, Christian literature and broadcasts.