In the same district of Telangana, a church building that was under construction was demolished by radical Hindu nationalists. Pastor Suryam of Fellowship of Indigenous Gospel Churches (FIGC) reported the incident to ICC.
“The demolition was carried out during the night deliberately to wipe out the evidence,” Pastor Suryam explained. “One day prior, Konda Naresh, who claims to be a leading member in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), threatened the believers at the construction site, saying that he will demolish the structure.”
“We have been running the worship service here for the last 16 years,” said Pastor Suryam. “We occasionally received threats, but this time they told us directly to our faces! There has been an increase in the aggressive nature of attacks. We attribute this to the BJP’s victory in the recent elections.”
“Since the demolition, the attendance [at] worship services on Sunday has significantly reduced,” Pastor Suryam said. “I took the issue to the police station, but was denied justice at every office. I have nothing more to do except to go to God in prayer.”
Another pastor, Pastor Israel, from the Mahabubabad district in Telangana State told ICC, “My church was literally choked with trouble from all angles.” He continued, “We couldn’t hold a service for the last four Sundays because radicals would disrupt the worship on Sundays. They threatened us by saying that if we continued to meet for worship, they would beat us.”
After receiving permission from local authorities, Pastor Israel constructed a temporary building to use as a church in Seethanagaram village. Despite having an authorized place of worship, Pastor Israel and his church members have been unable to meet for worship on Sundays due to the threats and harassment from radicals.
“I went to the local police station with a lawyer for help, yet the police ignored me and insisted that we should go to the higher court,” Pastor Israel explained. “It has been very hard dealing with this situation as every door of justice seems to be closed simply because we follow a different faith.”
As a result of these and other reported incidents, the Christian community of Telangana has been shaken. Unfortunately, the fear that has gripped Telangana’s Christians is not unique in India. Since the BJP declared victory in India’s national elections earlier this year, attacks on religious minorities, including Christians, have increased nationwide. Many of India’s Christians now fear for the future of their community as radical nationalists continue to push their extreme ideology of India as an exclusively Hindu nation.
For interviews, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: press@persecution.org