ICC Note:
In the last month alone, reports of Christians being attacked by mobs of radical Hindu nationalists has increased dramatically. A church still under construction was attacked by a mob and torn down brick by brick as the pastor was beaten by the crowd. Over the month of August, three Christian women were attacked in separate incidents leading many Christians to live in constant fear of attack. Much of this anti-Christian violence can be attributed to the rise of Hindu nationalism. Followers of the Hindu nationalist movement believe that Christianity is a foreign religion and that true Indian citizens are Hindus. Openly persecuting the followers of Christianity is only one of the tactics these groups use to gain support and punish minorities.
9/17/2013 India (Worthy News) – Last month a large mob of Hindus destroyed a church in northern India and then beat the pastor and his congregation, according to Barnabas Aid.
Four previous pastors have been driven away because of this kind of ongoing violence by Hindus against Indian Christians.
The church was still under construction when it was destroyed on August 25 when hundreds of Hindus climbed on top of the building and began tearing it up from the top down.
In Karnataka state, south-west India, other Christians were also attacked in three separate incidents.
On August 18, Hindu extremists stormed the home of Ms. Doddamma in Chikkamalaguru district demanding to know who gave her permission to preach Christianity.
When she didn’t answer, they dragged Doddamma and her daughter to a nearby temple where they tried to force them both to return to Hinduism; when the pair refused, the extremists brutally beat them while their home was destroyed.
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