By ICC’s India Correspondent
03/03/2017 Washington, D.C. (International Christian Concern) – As a group of Christians in Kondhapally, a village located in India’s Karnataka state, gathered for a prayer meeting, Hindu radicals attacked. The perpetrators not only beat their victims severely, they also burned their Bibles and destroyed much of the church’s property.
The event took place on Republic Day, held on January 26 in India each year. Pastor Basanna, the leader of the small Christian community, decided to organize a special prayer meeting that morning, so he invited the church members to a rented house where they usually held their services. Around noon, a mob of 70 people, believed to be members of a Hindu radical group, barged into the house, carrying kerosene gas, and began to assault those attending the meeting, including Christian women and children.
According to Pastor Basanna, this is not the first time that this group of local Hindu radicals has attacked or destroyed church property. “The losses in the previous attacks were small compared to the damages they did in this attack,” Pastor Basanna told International Christian Concern (ICC). “They broke the PA system, speaker boxes, music instruments and chairs. Later, they burnt everything using the kerosene they brought with them.”
Pastor Basanna was not present when the attack took place because he went to pick up a guest speaker, Pastor Rudresh, from the bus station. When the radicals realized the pastor was not at the church, they went searching for him.
When they found both pastors at the bus station, they brutally beat them and tore their clothes. They also applied red powder on the pastors’ foreheads, a symbol of Hinduism.
“The general public remained as silent spectators,” Pastor Basanna told ICC as he described the attack. “Nobody tried to rescue us despite the several pleas from myself and my wife. They even pushed my wife to the ground which caused her severe pain due to the stiches she had from a recent C-section. They said while beating me, that they will kill me if I try to run a church in their village.”
After he was beaten, Pastor Basanna was barely able to reach the police station to report the attack. To his surprise, there was already an accusation filed against him by the Hindu radicals who claimed that he was forcefully converting Hindus to Christianity. Nevertheless, Pastor Basanna submitted a complaint against his attackers for their assault.
Later, police seized the rented house where the Christians were meeting and warned the pastor that he is no longer permitted to run the church there. As a result, during the weeks following the attack, Pastor Basanna has been forced to hold his services under a tent on a piece of land that he owns.
Pastor Basanna continues to receive violent threats from the Hindu radicals for staying in the village and continuing to run the church. He told ICC that he refuses to deny his calling and prefers to continue preaching the Gospel.
“Even if I have to die, I will stay in this village. I will not leave this village,” Pastor Basanna boldly declared.
Please keep Pastor Basanna and the members of this church, who live in constant fear of persecution, in your prayers. This attack was part of a new wave of persecution that is sweeping across India as a result of state elections. Without real intervention from Indian authorities, attacks like these will continue to increase both in frequency and severity.