Indian Government Remains Unwilling to Protect Religious Minorities 

2/5/2016 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – International Christian Concern (ICC) was greatly concerned to learn of a priest and three Christian church officials who were hospitalized after being attacked, beaten, and dragged by a mob of 35 alleged Hindu radicals in the village of Ettimadai in Tamil Nadu, India on January 29.

The Christians were attacked as they waited outside of a police station in their car to speak with authorities concerning the arrests of a priest and two others from a church-run AIDS/HIV center. Reports from India explain that the Christians tried to escape from their attackers but were pursued by the mob and dragged and beaten for a mile and a half. Despite their cries for help, the police did not intervene on their behalf. As a result, all four victims had to be taken to the hospital where the priest remains in the intensive care unit.

This is the latest instance of violent persecution against religious minorities in India. Despite the many cases of persecution against Christians and other minorities, the Indian government continues to be relatively silent and is unwilling to enforce their own constitution guaranteeing freedom of worship. The outcry for justice and rule of law continues by Christian leaders as violence and persecution continues.

Fr. Johnson Veepattuparambil, the Public Relations Officer, Catholic Bishop House of Syro Malabar Church told ICC, “Today, this cruelty has been done by a fanatic mob on the Christian community. Tomorrow, it may turn against any minority community. The attitude of the police in the police station goes to say that there is no safety even in the police station.”

Mar Paul Alappatt, Bishop of Ramanathpuram, echoed Father Veepattuparambil’s comments, saying, “This incident itself proves that there is no safety for minorities in India, which is a democratic country. In total, the life of minorities remain a question mark if such attacks are not stopped forthwith. This incident has raised dissatisfaction and anxiety among all the minorities.”

Fr. Savarimuthu Sankar, Public Relations Officer of the Archdioceses of Delhi, said, “This is a glaring example of [the] impunity the Hindutva groups enjoy ever since BJP formed the government. Only a strong political will along with proactive steps by civil servants and law and order agencies will curb such incidents.”

ICC shares their disbelief at the incident and their frustration with the lack of government response.  Regional Manager for South Asia, William Stark, stated, “Violent assaults on Christians and their places of worship in India continue to be reported with disturbing regularity. As reported by the Catholic Secular Forum, the Christian community in India was attacked 365 times in 2015, marking a 20% increase from 2014.Perpetrators of this violence often go unpunished. In this most recent case, the assault on the Christians in Tamil Nadu took place right outside of a police station. As long as India’s government and local authorities are unable or unwilling to protect Christians from this violence and punish those responsible, I fear that the annual number of attacks on Christians will only continue to grow.”