By ICC’s India Correspondent

11/19/2016 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – Hindu radical forces motivated government officials to demolish the Shalem Prayer House, an independent church, in Telangana, India on November 2, 2016. This demolition marked the 31^st incident of religiously motivated violence in Telangana during 2016, demonstrating the increasing level of hate and intolerance by Hindus radicals toward Christians.

According to Pastor G. Suvarna Raju, the Shalem Prayer House may have only been a temporary shed made of bamboos and thatch, but it served as the house of worship for more than 100 Christians for 11 years. Without prior notice Hindu radicals, in the presence local media and local police, bulldozed the church in just a matter of minutes. Everything in the church was destroyed including fans, chairs, tube lights, and musical instruments.

Some of the Christians who saw the bulldozer appealed to the officials to stop, since there were 10 believers inside the church at the time. Mrs. Shamala, one of the believers inside the church, told International Christian Concern (ICC), “There were around 10 of us inside the church having a prayer meeting. Our fellow believers pulled us out, but then we were manhandled by the male policemen when we refused to get out of the way of the bulldozer.”

The policemen injured several people, including Mrs. Dayamani, a 40-year-old woman who suffered a right ankle fracture as she was pulled out by a police officer. Sunitha, a 28-year-old woman, fainted and collapsed from fear and was rushed to the hospital immediately

According to the church leadership, this incident was not a last-minute event. Pastor Raju observed, “The entire event was very well-planned because the radicals came to the church with the police and the media personnel.”

Officials justified the demolition by contending that the church illegally occupied government land. A revenue officer, Mrs. Vijaya, told the media, “We (the government) will not tolerate anybody encroaching on government land.” She went on to warn, “We will take strict legal action on those who build any kind of construction without the permission from the collector.”

This argument by the revenue officer, although valid, falls short because the entire village, including more than 500 homes and several Hindu temples, are also built on the same government land that the church was built on, but were not slated for demolition.

The recent church destruction has driven out what little hope was left in the Christian community. Pastor Suvarna Raju said, “Many of our believers are day laborers and can hardly meet their daily needs. Yet, with their meager earnings, they sacrificially provided for the church construction, including offering their own free labor to build the church. Today, all of our years of work and labor were brought down to the dust. We are not sure if we can build it again.”

According to Pastor Raju, the Christian villagers are “shattered, discouraged, and very angry. They have cried as if one of their family members died.”

Despite this anguish, Pastor Raju said, “I believe the Lord has a purpose for this land and we will carry on as long as the Lord allows us.”

This church demolition is just one of 30 other incidents of persecution against Christians in Telangana that have featured instances of government bias, the misapplication of local laws, physical violence, property damage, and entire villages depriving minorities of their basic rights through social boycotts. As 2016 comes to a close, the number of incidents of persecution against Christians in India seems to be increasing. Let’s hope that equality before law and the freedom of faith will soon be upheld by India’s government and that the suffering of India’s Christian community will be abated.