By ICC’s India Correspondent

3/30/2015 Washington, D.C. (International Christian Concern)-On March 5, 2015, church windows were destroyed by a pair of unidentified individuals, believed to be activists of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), in Balanagar of Mahabubnagar district, Telangana state.

Pastor CH Prabhudas, in charge of the Emmanuel Prardhana Mandiram, spoke with ICC during a visit to the church in Balanagar on an investigative mission. Reportedly, at midnight on the day of the attack, which also happened to be Hindu festival day “Holi,” neighbors who live close to the church building heard loud noises coming from nearby.

By the time they went to look for the cause of the commotion, nearly all of the windows were already destroyed. The two attackers used long wooden bamboo to break the window glasses, and also tried to damage other items in the church. When they noticed that that the neighbors saw them, the two suspects of Hindu radicals ran to the nearby bushes in attempt to flee the scene.

The members of the Hindu community at a visible distance were taking part in the celebration at almost the same time of the incident. The police personnel were also present at the celebration as a safety measures to curb any communal tensions. When the police heard the loud noises, they rushed to the church premises; however, the two people who destroyed the windows were already gone.

The next morning, following the complaint filed by the pastor, the higher rank police officers, called circle inspectors, visited the church and assured the Christians that they would do the investigation and will try by all means necessary to identify and bring the attackers under the law.

“It took twelve years for us build this church, with unending troubles from the Hindu radical groups on regular basis,” the pastor said.  He continued, “It took six months to just to lay foundation, the Hindu radicals would come destroy [it] every time we laid the foundation for the church building.”

Balanagar, a Mandal headquarter in the Mahabubnagar district, has been a difficult place for Christians to not only preach the gospel, but to even practice their faith of choice for the past few years.

Rev. Ronald John, President of Telangana Christian Joint Action Committee (TCJAC), termed Balanagar and its surrounding areas as a stronghold of the RSS and VHP (Vishva Hindu Parishad). While speaking with ICC, he said, “Attacks on Christians are growing on an increased scale. The situation [for] Christian minorities here in Mahabubnagar district is going from bad to worse.” He pointed out, “The reason for the increased attacks on Christians is that there has been wide hate propaganda by the Right Wing Hindu Nationalists organizations lately.”

The church along with the pastor expressed anxiety over the growing phenomenon of Christian persecution. Please pray that this church and other Christians in the region would be strengthened and find peace during this time of growing tensions.