Seven Church Members beaten up by Hindu Radicals in Karnataka

By James Varghese
12/31/07 KARNATAKA, INDIA (ANS) — Seven church members were severely beaten up by Hindu radicals on the New Year Day, January 1, early in the morning at 2 am.

According to the news carried by www.persecution.in, Pastor Krishnappa, aged 30, and six others were attacked. This brutal attack took place at Basavanahally in the Chickmangalur district of Karnataka state in India.

According to the eye witness of the brutal attack, seven members of a church called Hebron Prarthanalaya (Prayer Hall) were attacked and the condition of two of them – Anand, 29, and Raju, 28, are stated to be serious. They have been admitted in the nearby Chickmangalur Government hospital.

Another member of the church named Pushpavaty was injured with a rod. The names of the other victims are not known. The radicals have also damaged vehicles parked outside the hall. One car and a motor cycle also burnt by the radicals.

More than 200 believers of Hebron Prayer Hall were praying in the Seventh Day Adventist’s facility in Chickmangalur when about 25 radicals entered the church with metal rods, knives and started to mercilessly attack on the peaceful worshippers.

In a telephone conversation, Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) President, Dr. Sajan K. George, spoke to the head of the police force, Mr. Vipu Kumar, but he claimed that it was very minor skirmish.

A spokesperson for the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) said that they “deplore the heinous attack on Christians in Karnataka on the New Year Day.”

The spokesperson went on to say that “the tiny Christian community is living in fear, adding, “Nowhere is the violence more disturbing and persistent than in the state of Karnataka.”

Despite all efforts by Christians, including the GCIC and other groups to get the authorities to act, including press releases, protests, processions and petitions to the Governor, there was a “notable lack of political will” to act to uphold the rule of law and the Constitution in the state of Karnataka.

“We compiled the attacks (79 in all) against Christians in Karnataka for the period Jan 2006 to July 2007, and released the report to the press and also submitted copies to the President of India through the Governor of Karnataka at the end of July,” said the spokesperson. “This number went up to about 100 by the time the government came to an end in December. Christians – and a large section of the rest of the country’s population – heaved a sigh of relief when the government collapsed under the weight of its internal contradictions and President’s Rule was re-imposed on the state.” (Presently there is president rule and no party is ruling)

The GCIC spokesperson added, “Therefore, taking stock of the year past, while we are sorry to report that there has been unprecedented violence against Christians during the year, the year ends on a positive note with a lull in the violence and the hope that the New Year will see the secular fabric of the nation strengthened rather than damaged further.”

Still, this latest attack will not sit well with Christians living in this troubled Indian state.