ICC Note:

A Christian in India was publicly humiliated for allegedly attempting to convert three Hindus to Christianity. According to reports, a mob of 200 Hindu radicals attacked the Christians home, shaved the man’s head and face, festooned him with a garland of shoes, and paraded him around the village. Police needed to gather reinforcements in order to break up the procession and take the Christian man into custody. Conversion to Christianity remains a tense issue in India where Hindu radicals see it as anti-national. Often, Hindu radicals enforce harsh punishments for Christians reaching out to Hindus and Hindus that show an interest in converting to Christianity. 

2/7/2016 India (Asia News) – Awdhesh Savita, a Christian of Uttar Pradesh, was forcibly taken from his home by 200 enraged Hindu extremists, who accused him of trying to convert three people to Christianity. The man was shaved, festooned with garlands of shoes and carried through the streets of his village riding a donkey.

Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), has sent an appeal to the Indian National Commission for Human Rights, demanding justice. He tells Asia News: “The GCIC harshly condemns the public humiliation of this young man and extremist forces trying to foment and incite violence and hatred against the Christian minority.”

The incident happened on January 29 last, but it was only made public in these days. Awdhesh was humiliated in public by members of the local branch of the Bajrang Dal, a militant youth wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP, Hindu ultranationalists). The crowd surrounded his home in Randar, in Jalaun district, forced him to leave it, shaved his head, mustache and eyebrows and then led him to the organization’s headquarters.

When police arrived at the scene, the extremists refused to hand over the man. Only after the arrival of reinforcements, Awdhesh was transferred to the police station of Orai, the district capital.

The president of the GCIC reported that the Christian is accused of trying to convert devout Hindus. The members of the militant group reported to police that he lured them with the pretext of attending a satsang, a Hindu gathering in which people meditate together, usually in the presence of a guru.

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