ICC Note:

Christians in the tow of Attingal, Kerala were attacked and severely beaten by Hindu radicals as persecution continues to spread in India. The Christians were attending a worship service when hundreds of radicals stormed their service and attacked. Incidents of Christian persecution in India have skyrocketed under the current government who has been in power for over one year now. As attacks on Christians and there places of worship continue to increase, will the government finally step up and protect its minority citizens?

6/30/2015 India (Christian Post) – The Evangelical Fellowship of India has reported a violent attack against Christians in the country that was committed earlier this month when over 200 Hindu radicals stormed a Protestant church in the town of Attingal, Kerala, beating up the pastor and some of the worshipers, and breaking the altar.

EFI shared the news with Fides News Agency, reporting that the attack took place on June 14. The radicals apparently shouted slogans like “Bharat Mathaki Jai” (“Hail Mother India”) during the attack, which was broken up after police arrived.

Christians in Attingal have since staged a protest march in the city, calling for harmony and religious freedom, while counter-demonstrators reportedly chanted anti-Christian slogans and threats.

Although Christians are only a distinct minority throughout India, their numbers have been rising, and followers of Christ make up as much as 40 percent of the population in Kerala.

The rise of Christianity in numbers has been met with attacks and hostility from Hindu radicals, who have often accused Christians of trying to convert Hindus to their faith. Several church services have been attacked throughout the country, and there have been at least two gang rapes of Christian nuns reported this year.

Voice of America reported last week that a nun in the Indian city of Raipur has been gang raped, in what Christian community leaders called an ongoing “anti-Christian hate campaign.”

“We are 100 percent sure that the nun was raped yesterday. There cannot be any dispute over this fact. And it appears to be part of the ongoing anti-Christian hate campaign across the state,” said Arun Pannalal, president of Chhattisgarh Christian Forum.

Some Hindu radicals have also suggested that Christians and Muslims in India be forcefully sterilized, and said that Hindu gods and goddesses should be placed in churches and mosques.

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